Health care and reform is broken. There is a shortage of doctors, besides the fact that medical students are loaded with medical school debt. There is a long term solution: medical students lacking in adequate financial funds should have the cost of their medical school education paid for by the federal government.

This would not be a giveaway or money loser for the government. Let me explain. By accepting a free ride for his/her medical school education, the student doctor would upon graduation agree to provide free medical office treatment/care to a percentage of poor patients. The doctor's obligation would be determined by the federal government.

The return of the federal government's initial investment would be through Medicare/Medicaid savings. For every 1% Medicare might save in a year, over the course of 15 years would factor to a total savings of $15 trillion. It is easy to understand what the federal government would save as the pool of participating doctors grows. This practice could later be expanded to include other medical providers, such as x-ray and lab technicians.

Joseph P. Martino, Millburn, NJ

Go Back