Medical educators and health professionals warn that new federal student loan caps in President Donald Trump’s tax cut law could make it more expensive for many people to become doctors and could exacerbate physician shortages nationwide.
And, they warn, the economic burden will steer many medical students to lucrative specialties in more affluent, urban areas rather than lower-paying primary care jobs in underserved and rural communities, where doctors are in shortest supply.
“The growing financial barriers may deter some individuals from pursuing a career in medicine, particularly those from low-income backgrounds,” said Deena McRae, a psychiatrist and associate vice president for academic health sciences at University of California Health.
The new federal loan limits, which are enshrined in the GOP legislation signed by Trump on July 4, cap the amount professional degree students can borrow at $50,000 a year, up to a maximum of $200,000 — well below the average cost of a four-year medical school education.
For students who graduated this year with an MD degree from a four-year medical school in the United States, the median cost of attendance was $318,825, according to Kristen Earle, director of student financial services at the Association of American Medical Colleges. And for those who entered a U.S. medical school in the 2024-25 academic year, the median first-year cost was $83,700.
Health care experts and politicians on both sides of the aisle agree that medical schools must find ways to lower their costs, but critics of the loan caps say limiting federal lending isn’t the answer. Congressional Rep …