Rising med school costs harmful to state

On Jan. 29, the administration at my medical school, the University of Illinois at Chicago, announced a 21 percent increase in tuition, effective for the 2012-2013 academic year — making UIC, the only public medical school in Chicago, also the most expensive to attend. This will hurt the Illinois health care system in a number of ways. Our medical school is currently the largest educator of physicians for the state — one in six physicians in Illinois has an M.D. from UIC. If this tuition increase is enacted, it will cause many of our brightest students to leave the state for medical school and serve other communities, lowering the quality of care here in Illinois.

There currently is a severe shortage of primary care physicians in Illinois as well as the country. Shortfalls of as many as 40,000 primary care doctors are projected for 2020. Despite this, only a small number of new M.D.s are choosing careers in primary care; just 20 percent of 2011 United States physician graduates are entering this field. This tuition hike will increase the financial burden of a career in medicine, which will ultimately widen the primary care gap.

It is already difficult for students from modest financial backgrounds, who often come from areas with minimal access to health care, to become physicians. After graduation, many of these students go back and care for their communities. A tuition increase of this magnitude further discourages these individuals from becoming doctors, which will decrease the care available in areas that need it most. This tuition increase will undermine the caliber of physicians in this state and limit access to primary care, particularly in underserved communities. If the increase is allowed to stand, it will be difficult to keep Illinois healthy.

Liz Friedman

Chicago