Not paused. Not decreased. CANCELED. ERASED, if you will. By now I’m sure you are all aware of the Biden Administration Student Loan Debt Plan. Millennials and Gen Z’ers alike have been applying pressure and we finally have the response we’ve all been gritting our teeth for. Drumroll please…
President Biden has secured forgiveness of $20,000 in student loans for those who had Pell Grants in college, $10,000 for those who did not have Pell Grants, an extension of the student loan pause through December 31, 2022, and a repayment plan that caps at 5% of monthly income for those with undergraduate loans. The debt forgiveness applies to all those earning less than $125,000 annually. Now, am I glad more $$$ is being removed from my hefty bill and that I have more time before I have to start repaying it? Yes. Do I think this plan is enough? NO!!
Joe, Joseph, Giuseppe, Joe Joe, I want my student loans canceled, my guy. It is way too expensive to get an education in this country and still “pull ourselves up” by the bootstraps. Especially for first generation college goers, undergraduate student debt alone can be crippling. How does one even consider a graduate degree without familial wealth to back it–wealth that so many cannot accumulate because of the constant overhead of student loan debt? I do believe everyone in this country deserves student loan cancellation. Please excuse me while I switch gears and speak from the perspective of a health care worker.
The health care workers with student loans? Can we talk about it? We saw IMMEDIATELY which societal roles are indeed essential at the very start of the pandemic. Masks are off and jet-setting is back, but day in and day out, I’m still being exposed to the covid. My peers are still being exposed to the covid. Now we have monkey pox on the rise and God knows what else. With all these covid variants, we have and continue to constantly put our lives on the line. There is no getting around that. In NYC, once winter season starts, covid still gets it poppin and it starts to look real 2020 around here. There is a GI Bill to fund education for veterans. I’m gonna need someone to run health care workers a bill too.
I’ve been working since the pandemic began: in 2020 as a contact tracer/case investigator supervisor and from 2021 on as a resident physician. Even as a resident—in New York of all places—I still have yet to receive hazard pay. Where would this country be if health care workers did not exist in 2020 or now? I don’t even want to think about it. Everyone—especially doctors—PAID a hefty price to go into medicine and SERVE. Traditional physicians undergo 4 years of college and 4 years of medical school. It’s expensive, y’all. And us non-traditional doctors? Under my belt, I have 4 years of college, 2 years for my MPH, 1 year for a post-bac program, 2 years for my MS, and 5 years for medical school (delayed graduation). For those who do not know, you cannot work during medical school and pay your way through. Medical school is not like graduate school (I have done both so I know through experience). The curriculum is intensely rigorous. There is literally no time. Also, earning an MD is not the same as earning a PhD. As a PhD candidate, you typically get a stipend to attend school. As an MD candidate you pay to attend school. Unless you have some ridiculous scholarship or familial wealth, you will come out of medical school with debt. I thank God for my undergrad scholarships so my bill of $XXX,XXX is not even more astronomical. Moreover, resident physicians only make a fraction of what Attendings (finished with training) make. Residency programs are allotted $100,000+ for each resident per year. That’s not what we’re bringing home in our paychecks, y’all. Inflation is insane especially in NYC. And we are expected to pay on student loans? After we have sacrificed our youth, our social lives, our relationships all in preparation to serve others, how are newly minted physicians supposed to save for a home, place funds into a retirement account, pay our current bills, live a little (if that’s ok??), and pay student loans? Should we just wait until we are in our late 30’s to jumpstart our lives? And don’t even get me started on the single adult experience of trying to save for a home without a partner to split the rent with you…as a resident physician in NYC. Nah. My finances are great (we thank God!!), but with all we sacrifice, we deserve to have finances that are excellent.
The math ain’t mathing. Yes, doctors eventually gross more after training, but, depending on the specialty, we are not necessarily rolling in the dough. If there is anything that will teach us to appreciate our health care workers, it’s this ongoing pandemic. If there is anything tangible that will show health care workers they are appreciated and regarded, it’s student loan cancellation. The 10 year repayment option is nice. I am glad it exists. Still, we all know debt cancellation is better. And for those stating they had to repay their loans and others should too, good for you. Please sit down.
We’ve heard before that there will be no more student loan pause extensions. We will see what we see in December. The country has been just fine without our payments. Keep your heads up, y’all and seek financial advisement if you can. In the meantime, definitely sign up for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Through this program, you pay on your loans for 120 consecutive months. After that time period (10 years), the balance is forgiven. Because of the covid-related pause on student loans, I have not had to pay on them as of yet. HOWEVER, every single month that goes by (yes! without payment!) counts toward the 120 month requirement. There are forms you must complete yearly to authenticate your employment at a qualifying site and to authenticate your salary (for income-driven payment plans). Be sure to submit those forms annually so there are no discrepancies once your 10 years are done. Get your affairs in order for if/when this payment pause ends. For more information on the Biden Administration Student Loan Debt Plan and to sign up for a notification about the upcoming application, click here.
As a future women’s health provider who cannot currently practice full spectrum abortion care in my city of choice, whose GYN rotation is ending today, and who is over the offensive legislation in this country…I’m off to go woosah. Have the most incredible weekend, y’all. I’ll be getting into something fun! Be sure to follow along on my Instagram stories!
xx,
Photos by Sweetie Mensah
