There’s no shortage for the applicants but there is a shortage of money to provide them loans.
The director of the Office of Primary Care and Vermont Area Health Education Centers Network at the University of Vermont College of Medicine has said that a state program that helps pay off student loans to encourage health care practitioners to set up practice in underserved areas of the state continues to attract interest.
Establishment of Vermont Educational Loan Repayment Program
Started in the mid 1990s, in response to a shortage of health care professionals in rural parts of the state, particularly primary care practitioners,the Vermont Educational Loan Repayment Program for Healthcare Professionals was established. For doctors and other primary care practitioners, on yearly basis the program pays up to $20,000 in student loans, up to a maximum of six years, for each annual award with a one-year service commitment.
Lower Pays of physician in Vermont
Cote has said that with huge amounts of debt from $200,000 to $300,000 these physicians and nurse practitioners and physician assistants had been graduating so in their decision-making process about where they’re willing to work that has played a significant role, she also added that physician pay is lower in Vermont as compared to many other states and even lower in rural parts of the state.
She has said that although Vermont doesn’t have the resources to eliminate the debt barrier, the state is still able to reduce in a health care professional’s decision-making process it so it’s not as much of a factor.
More applications Less provisions for loans
She said that the state made approximately 100 loan awards to primary care practitioners out of the 174 applications received last year, averaging $6,700 to each.
For dentists, nurses and nursing teachers there are also separate programs .
In year 2009, a total of $1.4 million for the programs has been allocated by the Legislature. But Cote said as the state faced a budget deficit the program was slashed to $870,000 for fiscal 2010 having $445,000 of that allocated toward student loans that are owed by doctors and other primary care practitioners.
She has said that with less money it means that either the program gives out fewer awards or smaller awards. Cote has further said that however that to persuade someone to set up practice in the state the awards need to be large enough.
