National Conference on Student Debt

Announcing the National Conference to Address Medical Student Debt:
The Financing of Undergraduate Medical Education

When:	September 21, 2005
Where:	Capitol Hill, Washington DC
Convener:	Dr. Fitzhugh Mullan, Murdock Head Professor of Medicine and Health Policy, George Washington University
Co-sponsored by:	American Medical Student Association (AMSA), Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), and American College of Physicians (ACP)*

A webcast of this event is available through kaisernetwork.org, a free service of the Kaiser Family Foundation. Along with the webcast, a transcript and related resources are available.

Medical education debt in the United States is staggering. Over 80% of graduates carry educational debt. The median debt burden for indebted graduates of public medical schools now exceeds $100,000, and the median debt for graduates of private schools is $135,000. According to data from the Association of American Medical Colleges, medical education debt is 4.5 times as high in 2003 as it was in 1984, far outpacing the consumer price index. Moreover, 25% of students have debt exceeding $150,000, and some new physicians have debt over $350,000.

Medical educational debt and the current loan-oriented system of financing undergraduate medical education adversely affect the entire American health care system. Our nation is struggling to increase racial diversity in health care and reduce health disparities, and the rising debt burden is canceling out the modest gains we have made. Even though African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans make up approximately 25% of the U.S. population, they account for only 11% of medical students. At the same time, more and more of the country's medical students are coming from wealthy families - in 2002 more than 60% of incoming medical students were from families in the top 20% of annual income.

A lack of diversity in medicine has impact on patient care, particularly in the care for medically underserved populations. Under-represented minority medical students and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to enter primary care fields and to work in underserved communities. Decreased access to education for aspiring minority physicians translates to a lack of access to medical care for underserved populations, further exacerbating the crisis in disparities across the country. In addition, the debt burden has been shown to be responsible for the measurable decline in students entering primary care fields.

A unified approach focusing on collaborative relationships between Congress, advocacy organizations, and the academic community, is needed to implement a comprehensive solution to rising medical education debt.

The American Medical Student Association in collaboration with the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American College of Physicians represent a broad coalition of medical organizations coordinating the event to advocate on behalf of today's physicians-in-training with regard to rising medical education debt. Members of Congress and their staff, loan servicers, medical school deans, senior representatives from prominent medical organizations, as well as leading researchers on the issue of medical student debt will be invited to participate in the discussion of student debt burden and the alarming implications on diversity in medicine, access to care, and disparities in care.

The summit format will combine didactic sessions on the latest student debt statistics and broader implications with interactive panel discussions addressing a multitude of strategies and proposals for reform. The goals of the Summit are to:

1. Engage in a substantive dialogue on the issue of medical student debt;
2. Identify innovative ways to contain the costs of medical education, and
3. Formulate alternative approaches to financing undergraduate medical education.

The ever-increasing medical student debt burden raises concerns for the future of medical education and for the entire American health care system. Our medical student advocacy organizations hope to build upon coalition efforts to develop possible comprehensive solutions to this increasing debt burden on students and the effects on health care delivery. We expect this summit to bring national attention to the rising cost of medical education and its deleterious effects on the physician workforce and our nation's health, and to also provide meaningful direction for policy and advocacy.

CONFERENCE SUMMARY

AMSA has been spearheading efforts for a National Summit to address the issue of skyrocketing medical student debt. On Wednesday, September 21st, 2005, we brought together a coalition of medical organizations, student organizations, legislators, financial aid deans, educators, and lenders, in the National Conference on Financing Undergraduate Medical Education. The event was held on Capitol Hill, and was sponsored by the Macy Foundation and other medical organizations. It was also webcast by kaisernetwork.org, a free service of Kaiser Family Foundation.

You can watch the entire webcast online. Be sure to watch the introduction, with remarks by Convener Dr. Fitzhugh Mullan, along with Representatives Tom Price and Jim McDermott. Don't miss the lunch keynote panel "The Bold and the New" with innovative solutions presented by experts in the field of medical education and loan repayment. The wrap-up and summary remarks at the end (27:57 of the final clip) include consensus statements of the group and possible directions for the future of student debt, and are also particularly important to view. There are several other panels held throughout the day with noted experts outlining the problems and implications of debt, and an enlightening one on students discussing their own stories dealing with debt. Watch this unique presentation brought to you by AMSA and our coalition partners, and broadcast by Kaiser!

* Sponsorship generously provided by the Macy Foundation, the American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Physicians, Association of American Medical Colleges, American Medical Student Association, The Institute of College Access and Success, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, American Association of the Study of Liver Diseases, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, and the American College of Chest Physicians.