Bloomberg Philanthropies has pledged $1 billion to Johns Hopkins University to cover medical school tuition for the majority of its students, a significant move aimed at addressing barriers to entry in the medical field and improving U.S. life expectancy.

Announced in Michael R. Bloomberg's annual letter on philanthropy, this initiative will also enhance financial aid for students at Johns Hopkins' nursing, public health, and other graduate schools.

Starting in fall 2024, Johns Hopkins will offer free tuition for medical students from families earning under $300,000 annually, which encompasses 95% of U.S. households. Additionally, students from families earning up to $175,000 will receive coverage for living expenses and fees. This financial support aims to reduce the average student loan debt for medical graduates from $104,000 to $60,279 by 2029.

Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg L.P., highlighted the critical need for more healthcare professionals. "The high cost of medical, nursing, and graduate school too often bars students from enrolling," Bloomberg said. "By reducing the financial barriers to these essential fields, we can free more students to pursue careers they’re passionate about — and enable them to serve more of the families and communities who need them the most."

Bloomberg Philanthropies’ previous $1.8 billion contribution to Johns Hopkins in 2018 made undergraduate admissions need-blind and increased the socioeconomic diversity of the student body. The new $1 billion gift aims to extend those benefits to graduate programs.

Johns Hopkins will join a growing list of medical schools that offer free tuition to their students, including Albert Einstein College of Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, NYU Long Island School of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, and Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, according to the website Prospective Doctor.

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