AOA Fights Student Debt
Michael Criswell, AOA-PAC National Liaison, UMSL

At the 2005 Congressional Conference held this past April, the American Optometric Association (AOA) showed their concern over the financial burden that our nation's future optometrists face. With rising student loan debt and impending loan repayments, new graduates are being steered into the practice setting that yields the highest salary, rather than seizing their dream opportunity. In conjunction with the American Optometric Student Association (AOSA), the AOA lobbied for three issues that would limit student debt: maintain fixed-interest loan consolidation interest rates, deductibility of student loan interest from federal taxes, and Graduate Medical Education (GME) funding.

Currently, the federal loan consolidation program allows students to lock in fixed-interest loans for up to thirty years. With historically low interest rates, graduates have been able to lock in at 3.5% or lower. As most have noticed however, rates are beginning to increase. Critics of the current method of loan consolidation want to move to a variable-rate, which is only capped once 8.5% is reached. The law allows uninterrupted administration of the current loan program through the 2005 fiscal year. With the law expiring this year, the AOA and the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) joined fellow health professional programs in collectively recommending the continuation and improvement of the Higher Education Act that currently governs loan consolidations.

When students accept their loans from the government, many overlook the impact that interest plays on their overall debt. In the past, one could deduct that interest in its entirety from his or her federal taxes. In recent years, laws have been passed to reduce the amount of interest that could be deducted from taxes. The current tax laws limit deductions to $2,500. The AOSA has joined forces with the AOA and ASCO to endorse legislation that both eliminates this $2,500 cap and proposes additional avenues to lower financial burden. Among this year's current legislation are House bills: H.R. 401, the “Make College Affordable Act of 2005”; H.R. 1033, the “Student Loan Interest Full Deductibility Act”; H.R. 1380, the “Higher Education Affordability and Equity Act of 2005” and Senate bill S. 371, the “College Quality, Affordability and Diversity Improvement Act of 2005.” These proposals all address current limitations on educational loan interest deductions.

In order to offset expenses incurred during residency training, the AOA proposes the extension of GME to newly graduated optometrists. Under this program, one may pursue a residency at a hospital, clinic or any other Medicare-eligible facility and receive funding in exchange for his or her services at that facility. Implementation of GME funding in optometry would increase both services rendered in rural areas and educational opportunities.