All physician student loan debt should be forgiven if it is not paid off after ten years of standard, on time payments regardless of specialty or specific public service.
Each year thousands of young physicians graduate from medical school with over $100,000 in student debt. Much of this debt is incurred in the form of government loans (Direct, Stafford and Perkins). The debt can be a burden for many physicians entire working career. The debt often influences career decisions, steers young doctors away from primary care specialties, and forces many recent doctors to live paycheck to paycheck. Federal loan forgiveness will free young physicians to follow their passion and practice evidence based, humanistic medicine while still providing a reasonable standard of living for their families.