Texas offering loan repayments to pediatric dental, medical physicians who accept Medicaid

The Texas Department of State Health Services is offering as much as $140,000 in student loan repayments disbursed over four years to pediatric dentists and physicians who treat Medicaid beneficiaries, the Houston Chronicle reports.

The repayment program, funded by $150 million allocated by the state Legislature in 2007, was created under the settlement of a lawsuit about the lack of access to care for children enrolled in the state's Medicaid program. The program, the first in the state to target pediatric services, would require physicians to provide services to Medicaid beneficiaries for four consecutive years. As many as 300 physicians and dentists could participate in the program each year, and some specialties and geographic areas could be given priority.

More than 80 dentists and physicians applied for the program within the first two weeks, Stephanie Goodman, a spokesperson for the department, said. The department began accepting applications for the program March 1. The first group of recipients will be selected in June.

According to the American Dental Education Association, on average, dental students graduated with $145,000 in student loans in 2006. The Association of American Medical Colleges reports that medical students graduated with $139,517 in student loan debt in 2007. Medicaid reimburses at lower rates than private insurers, so physicians and dentists with large amounts of debt might believe that they cannot afford to accept Medicaid beneficiaries, according to Ken Janda, president and CEO of the Harris County Hospital District's managed care organization Community Health Choice (Kever, Houston Chronicle, 3/21).