[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 44 (Thursday, March 12, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E662-E663]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      INTRODUCTION OF THE GERIATRICS LOAN FORGIVENESS ACT OF 2009

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 12, 2009

  Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Geriatrics 
Loan Forgiveness Act of 2009. This bill would take an important step 
towards encouraging more health professionals to enter the field of 
geriatrics and care for our aging population.
  In 2011--just two years from now--the first baby boomers will turn 
65. By 2030, the number of Americans 65 and older will have nearly 
doubled, to over 70 million.
  Our nation currently has too few health care professionals who 
specialize in geriatrics to treat older adults with complicated 
illnesses,

[[Page E663]]

and that problem is going to dramatically worsen in the very near 
future. Yet there are currently fewer than 9,000 geriatric physicians 
practicing in the United States, far below the 36,000 or more needed to 
effectively care for the nation's booming population of seniors by 
2030. The numbers are similar across health care disciplines, including 
nursing, social work, psychology, pharmacy and psychiatry.
  Geriatric specialists are the foundation of high-quality, 
comprehensive health care for our older adults. This kind of 
specialized care is complicated and demanding. For example, about 80 
percent of the senior population has one or more chronic conditions. In 
2002, older people made up 13 percent of the U.S. population yet 
accounted for 36 percent of all hospital stays, 49 percent of all days 
of hospital care, and 50 percent of all physician hours.
  Despite this growing need, many health care professionals inclined to 
study and practice in geriatrics are dissuaded from doing so because 
treating the elderly carries financial disincentives for them. 
Currently, over 86 percent of medical school graduates carry 
educational debt, and the median debt burden for graduates of public 
medical institutions has risen to over $119,000 while that for private 
school graduates has increased to nearly $150,000.
  The Geriatrics Loan Forgiveness Act of 2009 would address the 
national shortage of geriatric specialists by enabling geriatric 
specialists to participate in the existing National Health Service 
Corps Loan Repayment Program, encouraging more health care 
professionals to be certified in geriatrics. This program currently 
forgives up to $25,000 on behalf of an individual for each of the first 
two years of obligated service.
  In its April 2008 report, ``Retooling for an Aging America,'' the 
Institute of Medicine recommended that ``Public and private payers 
should provide financial incentives to increase the number of geriatric 
specialists in all health professions.'' The Geriatics Loan Forgiveness 
Act would provide a very important incentive for health care graduates 
to enter geriatric specialties early in their careers and become part 
of the workforce that we need to provide quality health care to 
America's seniors.

                          ____________________