Most people agree that loan forgiveness for medical students who agree to undergo geriatrics training would be a good thing. The American Geriatrics Society has a nice summary of the topic here. However, the idea has yet to be practically implemented… with the exception of South Carolina. Click here to read about South Carolina’s program, which forgives up to $35,000 in debt for each year of geriatrics training if doctors agree to establish a geriatrics practice in the state.
Interestingly, the Senate version of the current health reform legislation includes several different loan repayment provisions. Some are intended to help increase the pediatric health care workforce. Some are aimed at dentistry and dental faculty. There is also a fairly robust nursing faculty loan forgiveness program. And finally, there is reasonable attention to public health workers. However, as far as I can see, loan repayments are not offered to geriatric physicians (or even to the broader group of "primary care provider" physicians.) Since the Senate's bill incorporates what remains of Wisconsin Senator Kohl's "Retooling for an Aging America Act," I think it is a more likely vehicle than the House bill, but I could be wrong.
I guess it is one state down; only 49 more to go!
Editorial note: This post was featured in the 1/21/10 edition of the Health Wonk Review, hosted by the Disease Management Care Blog.