CHICAGO - The American Medical Association (AMA) voiced its strong support for new legislation introduced by Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) and Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) to permanently reinstate medical student loan deferment eligibility during residency. The government's Council on Graduate Medical Education now predicts a shortage of 85,000 physicians by the year 2020, as the U.S. population ages. Making it harder for students to defer medical student loans during a portion of their residency years could further deter the best and brightest from pursuing a career in medicine.

In a recent letter to the senators, the AMA thanked them for their leadership on this important issue and pledged its support to help advance the legislation. Helping medical students, residents and young physicians better finance their education and manage their high debt burden is a top legislative priority for the AMA.

"The average medical student today graduates with $139,000 in debt," said AMA Board Member Chris DeRienzo, fourth-year medical student at Duke University School of Medicine. "Making it harder for residents to pay back this high debt can deter young physicians from going into primary care medicine or practicing in underserved areas where patients desperately need them."
The new legislation, S. 2303, would permanently restore the medical student loan deferment program, known as the "20/220 pathway," which allows medical residents to defer payment on their loans for up to three years during their residency training based on economic hardship. This bill also expands the current economic hardship qualifications, which may allow more medical residents to benefit from this program.

"We applaud Senator Burr and Senator Isakson for recognizing the critical importance of the medical student loan deferment program that so many of our nation's hardworking medical residents rely upon during their training," said Mr. DeRienzo. "We are committed to working with Congress and the Department of Education on a long term solution for continued loan deferment eligibility for medical residents."

At the urging of the AMA, the Department of Education temporarily postponed elimination of the medical student loan deferment eligibility on November 1. The elimination was part of the recently-enacted H.R. 2669, the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. Congressional action is needed to permanently restore this loan deferment eligibility for medical residents.

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