Hundreds of doctors statewide have applied for a state program to defray their student loans as part of a plan to alleviate Hawaii’s doctor shortage.
Gov. Josh Green on Wednesday said the Hawaii Healthcare Education Loan Repayment Program, or HELP, already has seen substantial interest since launching in September, with over 800 applications in the first month.
The program, — developed in partnership by the John A. Burns School of Medicine, the Healthcare Association of Hawaii and the state Department of Health — will disburse $30 million to licensed health care professionals in Hawaii.
Eligible applicants can receive loan repayments of up to $50,000 per year, but must commit to at least two years of full- or part-time service in Hawaii.
That commitment comes with sizable responsibilities, and breaking it will result in penalty payments of up to $5,500 per month of service not completed, with the minimum total penalty equaling either 150% of the contracted repayment amount or $31,000, whichever is less.
Eligible applicants also must work for a medical provider in which at least 30% of its patients are publicly insured.
Malia Hill, policy director for the nonprofit Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, said the student loan issue is a particular problem for the state’s medical industry because of how it impacts younger doctors.
“We have an aging workforce,” Hill said. “Statewide, 21% of doctors are 65 years old or over. But if you’re a young doctor and you’re coming here, where we already have all these other problems with high overhead, on top of all this student loan debt, then you might look elsewhere.”
Radiologist Scott Grosskreutz said it’s not uncommon for medical students to graduate with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, the burden of which can make the higher cost of living in Hawaii seem unmanageable.
Green on Wednesday said the program will prioritize physicians “with deep ties to our state,” as well as mental health and addiction specialists. He added that rural and underserved areas will particularly benefit, because those places are disproportionately affected by the doctor shortage.
The program is open to a wide range of various medical professionals, from physicians to midwives to audiologists to chiropractors to registered nurses and more.
Meanwhile, Hill said the Grassroot Institute and the state Legislature are pursuing other strategies to alleviate the shortage.
She noted the Legislature passed a bill earlier this year making it easier for licensed physicians in other states to practice in Hawaii, and said she hopes that similar policies for different types of physicians — nurses, psychiatrists, etc. — will follow.
She added that some form of telehealth reform also would go a long way toward addressing the doctor shortage, explaining that a practitioner can only provide remote telehealth services to Hawaii residents if they are licensed in Hawaii, which defeats the potential benefits of telehealth services.
The application deadline for HELP ends on Dec. 1. More information and applications can be found at tinyurl.com/ys64mtwe.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.