Student loans are still top of mind for our frontline & healthcare workers

As hope grows for a future beyond COVID-19, there is one group that deserves our overwhelming appreciation and respect–the frontline healthcare workers who fought to keep us safe during the pandemic. Our frontline healthcare workers have been under enormous strain, and unfortunately student loans only add to that burden.

A survey of student loan borrowers found that healthcare workers are still struggling with student loan debt. 66% of healthcare workers have faced increased anxiety, depression or stress due to student loan debt during the pandemic, while 48% of healthcare respondents say they are still unable to afford their student loan payments, even with current COVID-19 federal relief efforts. 

Even though there has been a pause on both federally-held student loan payments and interest since March 2020 through this September, many borrowers in the medical profession have been unable to reap all of those benefits for a few reasons.

Because many who work in healthcare must attain advanced degrees and complete years of residency, taking on private loans can be the only option for some to finance their education. Most private loans have continued to require monthly payments during the pandemic. Some might think medical professionals earn a high income and can afford to pay off their debts. However, this isn’t true in all cases, considering the average annual income for a nurse starts below $60k.

There’s been lots of talk about the future of the public service loan forgiveness program, and headlines about only small handfuls of medical professionals being able to access that much needed program, largely due to administrative hurdles.

The most recent Department of Education data shows that there is a high barrier to entry for loan forgiveness. From their November 2020 report, 99% of applicants were denied – but most denials are due to fixable errors such as not having yet hit 120 monthly payments, having the wrong repayment plan or loan type, or missing information on 10+ pages of manual paperwork. Many healthcare workers are counting on this program in order to not be strapped to their student debt for decades. It is critical that we help health care workers get the student loan forgiveness they deserve.

Additionally, student loan debt and mental health are inextricably linked. We found that 65% of borrowers are facing increased anxiety, depression, or stress due to the burden of student loan debt during the COVID-19 pandemic. Assisting the people that have been keeping our country open and 300 million Americans alive and healthy for over a year of the COVID-19 pandemic with getting necessary loan forgiveness is one significant step in alleviating a major source of mental and financial stress.

Working with doctors and nurses and administrators across many large hospitals and healthcare providers, I’ve seen borrowers go from the hopelessness of neverending student loan debt to the elation of loan forgiveness.  Employers can ultimately lead the way in helping their employees find a brighter financial future.

Tobin Van Ostern is co-founder of Savi, an online service that walks student loan borrowers through the best repayment and forgiveness options. Savi is a student loan benefit provided by leading employers, financial institutions and membership groups. Previously, Van Ostern has led work at the 2008 Obama campaign, Center for American Progress and YI Advisors with a plethora of national news features. Drop a line and learn more: tobin@bysavi.com. Savi and our partners are focused on making sure that frontline health care workers are able to access the student loan forgiveness they need and deserve.