2
HEALTH PROFESSIONS DIVISION
Fred Lippman, R.Ph., Ed.D.
HPD Chancellor
COM Outlook
is produced by
Nova Southeastern University
College of Osteopathic Medicine
3200 South University Drive
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33328-2018
MANAGING EDITOR/GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Scott Colton, B.A., APR
COM/HPD Director of Medical
Communications and Public Relations
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Debra R. Gibbs, B.A.
Medical Communications Coordinator
EDITORIAL CONTACT
Scott Colton
(954) 262-5147 (phone)
(954) 262-3887 (fax)
Anthony J. Silvagni, D.O., Pharm.D., M.Sc.
Dean
EDITORIAL BOARD
Lynne Cawley, M.Sc.
Scott Colton, B.A., APR
Marti Echols, Ph.D.
Debra R. Gibbs, B.A.
Robin Jacobs, Ph.D.
Alina Perez, J.D., M.P.H.
Debbi Cohn Steinkohl, M.H.S.A.
Jill Wallace-Ross, D.O.
Delfina Wilson, Ph.D.
COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE
George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
In August, Congress passed the Bipartisan Student Loan
Certainty Act of 2013.
The new law ties student loan interest rates to the market and
locks in the rate for the life of the loan. But as the economy im-
proves, students may see interest rates rise above current levels
because the rates can change from year to year. For the current
school year, undergraduates can obtain federally subsidized Staf-
ford loans at an interest rate of 3.86 percent, while graduate and PLUS loans will be of-
fered at 5.41 percent and 6.41 percent, respectively, and are not subsidized. The law also
guarantees a cap on loan interest rates, ensuring that undergraduate rates can never rise
above 8.25 percent, while graduate loans are capped at 9.5 percent and PLUS loans have
a limit of 10.5 percent.
Do not believe for a moment that this issue is now settled. Students in a professional/
graduate curriculum, having different criteria for their loans than undergraduate students,
face a higher rate of interest. With the interest rate based on the 10-Year Treasury note,
interest is expected to rise in the reasonable future. As previously stated, professional/
graduate student loans are no longer subsidized, so the interest starts on the first day of
the first dollar borrowed and will continue throughout the four years of medical school as
well as through residency.
Medicine is the only profession that requires a residency, prohibiting a new physician
who completes four years of medical school from accepting a position before the completion
of a residency/fellowship that lasts anywhere from three to seven additional years. Instead
of interest building from six months after graduation, it begins the first day of the first loan.
The interest on the previous interest can be extrapolated throughout the entire 7- to 11-year
educational continuum and will increase the debt of the graduating physician significantly.
A reasonable proposal would be to include medical students in the undergraduate
subsidized program at the lower interest rate cap. With the major national shortage of
physicians and the significant need for primary care physicians, this would be a major
incentive for students to select medicine, particularly students in the lower socioeco-
nomic portion of our population.
When we compare the total number of medical students to the total number of all
graduate/professional students in the United States, carving out the medical students
from the larger group would not result in an expensive exception. Instead, that removal
would have a significant impact on the opportunity for all qualified students to become
physicians, regardless of their financial backgrounds.
I would suggest all of you contact your U.S. senators and representatives to recom-
mend that medical students be considered as an exception to the graduate/professional
criteria in the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act of 2013, and that they will be in-
cluded with the undergraduate program since they are bound to residencies/fellowships
before employment after graduation.
While the current situation does have a moderate interest rate for education, the in-
terest rate starts immediately for those entering medical school and is sure to increase. It
is essential to avoid burdening students to the point where the majority who matriculate
will only come from those who are economically equipped to study. Moving on this is-
sue immediately is crucial, and the voices of students—who are most affected by the new
law—should have more impact than that of practitioners.
Our country was built by providing education opportunities for all. Let’s not allow the
short-term gain that occurs from the inclusion of medical students in the current legisla-
tion to take an important opportunity from the people. The current law imposes an un-
necessary burden on the backs of future physicians.
COM
Outlook
COM Outlook . Fall 2013
Fall 2013
Volume 14, Number 4
Dean’s
Message
By Anthony J. Silvagni, D.O., Pharm.D., M.Sc., FACOFP dist.
