The state’s new Hawaiʻi Healthcare Education Loan Repayment Program (HELP) is alleviating the educational debt of 492 medical and healthcare professionals, who were notified of their acceptance into the program in late December.
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HELP was developed by the Governor’s Office, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), the Healthcare Association of Hawaiʻi, the State Department of Health and others to ease the shortages of physicians and other health care professionals by retaining those who already practice in Hawaiʻi and recruiting those who are in medical residency training programs on the U.S. continent.
“It is so rewarding to see this program come to fruition, as it was this type of assistance that first brought me to Hawaiʻi so many years ago,” said Gov. Josh Green. “HELP will prove to be a great start toward decreasing our longstanding and challenging shortage of healthcare professionals across the state.”
First HELP cohort
The first HELP cohort includes close to 300 primary care and behavioral health providers across the state, 90 other specialties or professions practicing in rural areas, and about 40 medical residents in training. Retaining these professionals ensures Hawaiʻi will not lose them to other states.
The average indebtedness of physician applicants is about $185,000, with 20% having more than $300,000 left to pay off.
“The COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on many, especially those in private practice,” said JABSOM Interim Dean Lee Buenconsejo-Lum. “Most have not fully recovered and face difficult decisions about staying in Hawaiʻi. This program helps us keep local doctors and other providers here despite our very high cost of living and myriad other challenges.”
In exchange for two years of full-time service in Hawaiʻi, high-demand healthcare professionals will qualify for loan repayments up to a maximum of $50,000 per year. The eligible amount varies depending on the profession, location of practice and educational indebtedness. All must provide care to, or work for organizations that have at least 30% of their patients receiving public insurance.
Building on existing foundations
HELP builds on the decade-old, federally funded Hawaiʻi State Loan Repayment Program. The HELP program reaches more healthcare professionals in one year than the prior program reached in the past 10 years. The 2023 Hawaiʻi State Legislature provided an unprecedented $30 million over two years in educational loan repayment for health professionals licensed or otherwise certified to practice in and provide care to patients in Hawaiʻi.
Marc and Lynne Benioff are providing major philanthropic support for HELP with an additional $5 million over two years, to help retain health professionals on Hawaiʻi Island. Out of the first 400 recipients, 77 from Hawaiʻi Island will receive loan repayment from the state funds. An additional 65 Hawaiʻi Island providers will receive funding from Marc and Lynne Benioff in this first round.
