BY: CLAIRE KIM
For medical students, being a doctor is the ultimate dream… until they realize they have a student debt worth thousands of dollars ahead of them. This has been a long-lasting problem for many medical students as tuition costs have skyrocketed for some of the best medical schools in the nation. For only four years of education and training, students are forced to pay from a range of $32,495 to $52,515 PER YEAR. In the end, some families are stuck with a budget worth more than 100K even after they gain a full-time job.
Such expenses have been one of the leading dilemmas for rising doctors as they are challenged to accept a life with a high income and high debt. In response to such frustration, the government has come up with a plan in which revenue from Proposition 56 would be collected to help doctors pay back their loans. However, to make sure the money is not wasted, the government has made a couple qualifications. “To qualify, the physicians, who receive up to $300,000 each in debt relief, must agree to spend a third of their time with Medi-Cal patients over the next five years” (New York Times).
With this plan in action, future physicians of America can finally have some breather room after graduation. At least the government has been doing one thing right this year.
claire kim. 