Hawaii's education loan repayment program proves to be popular
Gov. Josh Green developed the $30 million loan repayment initiative, known as HELP, in partnership with the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, the Healthcare Association of Hawaii and the state Department of Health. The program, which launched in September 2023, offers debt relief for educational loans incurred by qualifying licensed and certified health care professionals in Hawaii.
The program received $30 million from the state Legislature, with an additional $5 million over two years from Hawaii island philanthropists Marc and Lynne Benioff and nearly $1 million annually in federal funding. Hawaii Dental Service funded $300, 000 for dentists.
Health care professionals can get up to $50, 000 a year of debt relief for each of the two years they commit to working in the islands.
As of May, HELP had awarded funding to 771 health care professionals across the state. The program has disbursed $23.24 million in state funds and $3.54 million from the Benioffs' donation.
All 771 recipients will receive the program's maximum repayment : 420 individuals will be paid their full contract amounts, while 351 will have their student loans completely forgiven by October. Meanwhile, 1, 820 individuals remain on the HELP waitlist, though another 180 awardees are expected to receive funding in the upcoming cycle, scheduled for Sept. 1.
Dr. Sam Shomaker, JABSOM dean, said 93 % of medical school students receive some form of financial aid that plays 'a huge role in reducing medical student debt. It allows students to pursue specialities they're most interested in.'
The typical health care professional in Hawaii carries an average student debt of at least $250, 000, according to Dr. Kelley Withy, director of the Hawai 'i /Pacific Basin Area Health Education Center, based at JABSOM.—RELATED :
Last year, there were over 12, 000 licensed physicians across the state, Withy said, but only 3, 599 provide patient care. And not all practicing physicians work full time, so she said that collectively they offer about the full-time equivalent of only 3, 022 physicians.
Green, a physician himself, said he understands firsthand the urgency of Hawaii's doctor shortage, particularly in primary care, and has expressed his commitment to continued funding of the loan repayment program.
Programs like HELP 'are making a real impact by easing student debt and keeping health care professionals here at home, ' he said. 'This is how we build a stronger, healthier Hawaii.'
Shomaker noted that 60 medical residents are receiving loan repayments and have committed to returning to Hawaii after completing their training.
'I expect that to increase significantly, since these students want to return home and a financial incentive will help a great deal, ' he said.
Several other incentives are in place to support health care providers in Hawaii, including the preceptor tax credit, which offers physicians, nurse practitioners and pharmacists a $5, 000 tax credit for teaching. Other benefits include a new discounted mortgage rate program, elimination of the general excise tax on certain insurance payments previously paid by physicians and efforts to reduce the administrative burden of obtaining prior authorization to treat patients.
Additionally, Shomaker said new initiatives are connecting senior physicians with residents to ensure smooth transitions when doctors retire.
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