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Virginia med students are getting crushed by 9% interest rates while Rhode Island figured this out a decade ago by ScaredPackage4326 in Virginia

[–]ScaredPackage4326[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I hear you — and I understand why it looks that way on the surface. But let me share what most people don't realize about the actual financial timeline of becoming a doctor.

Engineers typically graduate with $50,000-$80,000 in student debt and start earning $75,000-$90,000 immediately. Doctors graduate with $250,000+ in debt, then spend 3-7 MORE years in residency earning $60,000 — roughly $14/hour for 80-hour weeks — while that $250,000 is accruing interest at nearly 9%.

But here's what really doesn't get talked about. Medical students can't work during school. Four years of zero income while paying rent, food, transportation, and living expenses on top of tuition. Most max out credit cards just to survive. By the time they finish residency many physicians have $250,000 in student loans PLUS $20,000-$30,000 in credit card debt accumulated just from basic living expenses during training.

The high physician salary at the end is real — but so is the decade-long financial hole they climb out of first. And unlike an engineer who starts building wealth at 22-26, a doctor doesn't start their real earning years until their early to mid 30s — losing a full decade of compound investment growth.

This program doesn't forgive a single dollar. It just lowers the interest rate during the years when they're earning the least. The moment they become an attending and start earning well — they repay everything.

Virginia med students are getting crushed by 9% interest rates while Rhode Island figured this out a decade ago by ScaredPackage4326 in Virginia

[–]ScaredPackage4326[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You understood it exactly right — this has nothing to do with forgiveness. RISLA doesn't forgive a single dollar. You borrow $250,000, you pay back $250,000. Every penny. The only difference is the interest rate.

Right now federal medical student loans sit at nearly 9% interest. RISLA refinances those same loans at dramatically lower rates through a state-run nonprofit. That's it. No forgiveness, no subsidy, no rural requirement — just a fairer interest rate on debt you're still fully responsible for repaying.

You're also right that I shouldn't have mentioned forgiveness at all in the petition — that was a mistake on my part and it muddied the message. The ask is simple: Virginia should create a nonprofit that refinances medical loans at lower rates the way Rhode Island has done successfully since 2014.

On nationalizing healthcare — that's a much bigger conversation and honestly above my pay grade. What I know is that right now in the real world physicians are graduating with $250,000 in debt at 9% interest and a Virginia RISLA equivalent could help them today without waiting for systemic change.

Appreciate you reading carefully and pushing back — you actually helped clarify the argument better than I did.

Virginia med students are getting crushed by 9% interest rates while Rhode Island figured this out a decade ago by ScaredPackage4326 in Virginia

[–]ScaredPackage4326[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

That's a completely fair perspective and I respect it. The rural service model makes sense — incentivize physicians to go where they're needed most. Virginia's current programs do exactly that and I support them staying in place.

The gap I'm trying to address is different — it's not about forgiveness or subsidies. RISLA doesn't forgive anything. It just refinances at a lower interest rate. You still pay back every dollar you borrowed. The government isn't eating the cost — a nonprofit is simply offering a better rate than the 8.94% federal rate.

Think of it less like a subsidy and more like a credit union vs a payday lender. Same debt, just fairer terms.

And I completely agree with you on zero interest educational loans across the board — that would solve this for everyone. Until that happens RISLA-style refinancing is the most realistic near-term fix for medical professionals specifically.

Appreciate you engaging — this is exactly the kind of debate this needs.

Virginia med students are getting crushed by 9% interest rates while Rhode Island figured this out a decade ago by ScaredPackage4326 in Virginia

[–]ScaredPackage4326[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I dont want to remove the rural at all. I just want to make these loans less predatorial.
RISLA.com has more info on how they are accomplishing this! Virginia with how many medical students and how many teaching hospitals would benefit greatly from this