The Department of Health Care Services has awarded 40 dentists with $10.5 million total to pay off their student loan debt through its new program designed to increase access to care for Medi-Cal patients.
About 1,300 healthcare providers applied to the CalHealthCares program, which offers up to $300,000 towards debt relief in exchange for meeting specific criteria, one of which requires applicants to have a 30 percent or higher caseload of Medi-Cal patients.
The award recipients will provide services to Medi-Cal patients in counties throughout California. Many of the recipients are general dentists, with nine being dental providers. All of the dentists have practiced in various settings, including community clinics, academic settings, or Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers.
Recently graduated dentists and others who are willing to relocate their practice to places that are in higher need of services are eligible to apply for the Medi-Cal Physicians and Dentists Loan Repayment Act of 2018 created by Proposition 56.
According to the American Dental Education Association, the average debt for dental school graduates for the class of 2018 was $251,869 for public schools and $326,133 for private schools.
About $340 million of the revenue generated from Proposition 56 has been allocated to the CalHealthCares program, which includes $50 million for dentists. The CDA and Department of Health Care Services have worked together to form the program through tax funds.
