The Colorado Health Foundation has created a new program that will pay off medical-school-student loans for doctors who agree to practice in rural communities, Mark Hadren reports for the Denver Business Journal. According to state officials, 57 of Colorado's 64 counties, most of which are rural, suffer from an insufficient number of primary-care physicians to serve the local population. The Physician Loan Repayment Program hopes to combat this problem that is partly created because many young doctors flock to big cities because they offer higher salaries and fees, which are necessary to pay off student loans.
The program is partnered with the Colorado Community Health Network and the Colorado Rural Health Center and will pay up to $150,000 in three years to 18 physicians. "There are many parts of Colorado that are in desperate need of primary care physicians," says Dr. Jack Westfall, director of the Colorado Area Health Education Center. "Often the communities that are in most need of a physician have the fewest resources to recruit a doctor, leaving individuals to suffer worse health and making it difficult for communities to attract others to live and work there, which can impact the economy," he said.
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