MARY E. KLOTMAN & MICHAEL RELF: Bill before Congress could be "devastating blow" to healthcare workforce

The recent bill approved by a House congressional committee in Washington would harm the very students filling the gaps in this shortage, in order to pay for another initiative. Members of both parties on the committee expressed concern about the proposal but it eventually passed with votes from both Democrats and Republicans.

At Duke, if the bill were to become law, nearly 1,400 students in our healthcare programs would lose access to essential loans and funding. An additional 2,000 students would see the same fate, including many of our undergraduates and graduate students in programs such as divinity and public policy that depend on this assistance.

It would not just be students at Duke: more than 64,000 students across the United States would have their aid revoked and newly enrolled students would not even be offered the low-cost loans.

But to pay for it out of another student’s pocket seems counterproductive and short-sighted. While it addresses some critically important issues in our society, it could cause significant hardship to current students and obstruct initiatives addressing our healthcare workforce shortage eventually affecting all North Carolinian patients and their families.

The United States student financial aid program is built on a partnership. In most cases, a student’s financial contribution to their education is supplemented with assistance from the institution they choose to attend, and the government. This three-legged stool has supported millions of students as they pursue dreams – in our cases – of helping others as healthcare professionals.

But the stool collapses when one of the legs is pulled away – and that is exactly what Congress is proposing. The consequences of this proposal will have a dramatically negative impact and it falls short of addressing a much broader problem.

What would happen to these students? Many of them would seek aid from bank-based loans that may be harder to get, are more expensive, and come with higher interest rates and fewer benefits. Some of our students might not qualify for bank loans – jeopardizing their entire education.

So, at a time when we need to attract people from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds and experiences to healthcare, fewer students would be able to pursue these programs, certainly, not in the numbers we need to address the state’s dire healthcare needs.

No student is more important than another. As a country, we need a workforce that is well-prepared to contribute to economic growth and address future challenges. These workers will come from all types of educational programs – community colleges, technical programs, four-year institutions, and graduate and professional programs.

Congress should not be preventing them from pursuing careers that will benefit all of us.