The average debt for medical students who graduated in 2019 is about $200,000, the Association of American Medical Colleges reported.
Health care workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic should see their student debt forgiven, according to House Democrats who introduced a bill Tuesday that would establish a national forgiveness program for federal as well as private loans.
"We own more than thanks and cheers at 7 p.m.," New York Representative Carolyn Maloney, who introduced the bill, told reporters. "We have an obligation to ensure men and women are relieved of the debt they incurred to train for this critical work."
Nine other Democrats have cosponsored the bill, known as the Student Loan Forgiveness for Frontline Health Workers Act. Nurses, doctors, medical residents, researchers, interns and lab workers are among the health care workers who would be eligible for debt forgiveness if they were found to have made "significant contributions" to the coronavirus response, CBS News reported.
The bill could also entice medical professionals to become involved in battling the pandemic, Maloney said.
RELATED STORIES
