Program pays student loans, gets care for underserved

Getting physicians, nurses and other medical professionals to work in underserved areas is a perennial problem. After all, few can afford to work for the low salaries such positions offer, given their typically high student loan debt levels. To solve this problem, a DC-area program has begun paying off substantial amounts of student debt to professionals willing to work in poor, underserved areas of the city.

Participants in the program include 25 nonprofit clinics and city Health Department sites, where physicians and dentists can get nearly $53,000 of school loans repaid for their minimum two years of services, or $120,000 for four years. Other health professionals can get up to $66,000, depending on how long they stay. As a bonus, the income isn't taxable on DC returns.

To find out more about the program:
- read this piece from The Washington Post

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