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mahatmakanejeeves

(56,897 posts)
Thu Aug 23, 2018, 11:40 AM Aug 2018

NYU's Move To Make Medical School Free For All Gets Mixed Reviews

NYU's Move To Make Medical School Free For All Gets Mixed Reviews

August 23, 20185:00 AM ET

New York University's School of Medicine is learning that no good deed goes unpunished. ... The highly ranked medical school announced with much fanfare this month that it is raising $600 million from private donors to eliminate tuition for all its students — even providing refunds to those currently enrolled. Before the announcement, annual tuition at the school was $55,018.

NYU leaders hope the move will help address the increasing problem of student debt among young doctors, which many educators argue pushes students to enter higher-paying specialties instead of primary care, and deters some from becoming doctors in the first place.

"A population as diverse as ours is best served by doctors from all walks of life, we believe, and aspiring physicians and surgeons should not be prevented from pursuing a career in medicine because of the prospect of overwhelming financial debt," Dr. Robert Grossman, the dean of the medical school and CEO of NYU Langone Health, said in a statement released by the university. NYU declined a request to elaborate further on its plans.

The announcement generated headlines and cheers from students. But not everyone thinks waiving tuition for all med students, including those who can afford to pay, is the best way to approach the complicated issue of student debt. ... "As I start rank-ordering the various charities I want to give to, the people who can pay for medical school in cash aren't at the top of my list," says Craig Garthwaite, a health economist at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
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Full disclosure: but for my inability to do better than get a "C" in Organic Chemistry....
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NYU's Move To Make Medical School Free For All Gets Mixed Reviews (Original Post) mahatmakanejeeves Aug 2018 OP
I have been saying for some years now that one way to get medical costs PoindexterOglethorpe Aug 2018 #1
Every place I've seen Igel Aug 2018 #3
It's very complicated. PoindexterOglethorpe Aug 2018 #4
It is a lot like the tax reduction exboyfil Aug 2018 #2

PoindexterOglethorpe

(25,750 posts)
1. I have been saying for some years now that one way to get medical costs
Thu Aug 23, 2018, 11:52 AM
Aug 2018

under control is to make medical school free, or very nearly so. The enormous debt most of the acquire forces them into lucrative specialties, even those that might prefer the less well paid, less glamorous ones.

Of course, all college should be free, or very nearly so. And it would be quite simple to put a lid on the number of credit hours a person can earn before being required to pay tuition. Something like 20 or 30 percent more than the hours required for a degree, to allow for a change or two of major. Even that's more generous than most students should need. And this isn't a time frame, just the number of hours over however long it takes the student to complete a degree.

Igel

(35,197 posts)
3. Every place I've seen
Thu Aug 23, 2018, 07:38 PM
Aug 2018

free college tuition I also saw caps on the number of students admitted to each major, restrictions on majors, and competition so fierce that it was difficult to get in and keep one's position.

One school, if your average went too low you were out. Not "on probation." Out. Because there were 20 people waiting for that slot, and odds were most of them would do better than you--and since the public is investing in you, the public has a big say in what you do.

The attempts to make sure that WIC recipients only purchase appropriate items, that Section 8 housing has to meet certain rules ... Apply that to college programs.

The NYU thing? If private donors cough up the $ in such a way that the medical standards stay in place and they exert no real control over the curriculum or admissions, that's the business of the donors. If they don't like it, they won't donate. What would be bad is if they donate and NYU gets used to it, so that when the donors start saying, "How about this person or this group?" or "Perhaps you'd want to consider producing more doctors that do Y?" NYU would say, in an Igor-esque voice, "Yes, master."

PoindexterOglethorpe

(25,750 posts)
4. It's very complicated.
Thu Aug 23, 2018, 11:56 PM
Aug 2018

Many years ago a cap was put on the number of medical students, which resulted in students studying abroad, as in Mexico and various Central American countries.

That cap had to do with thinking that if we limit the number of doctors, we protect their incomes. What that limit meant for patients was never addressed.


ALL medical schools should be free.

So should all undergraduate and graduate programs. It's not hard to put in place systems to prevent abuse. Just put a limit on how long someone can be an undergraduate or a graduate program. Easy peasy.

exboyfil

(17,857 posts)
2. It is a lot like the tax reduction
Thu Aug 23, 2018, 11:56 AM
Aug 2018

On the margins you might get more doctors interested in lower paying primary care, but a more direct approach is adjusting the compensation (either in the form of salary, bonuses, loan forgiveness etc) for those fields in which you want greater representation.

Of course having the ability to negotiate better rates from the highly compensated doctors is also a factor. That would be what a single payer system would do.

Some level of risk minimization should also be considered. What happens if you wash out? Can't obtain a residency etc. Disability? Death in those cases in which parents also borrow?

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