Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, based in Nutley, N.J., is aiming to strengthen its primary care physician workforce by addressing the financial burden of medical education.
Seventy percent of medical students in the class of 2023 graduated with educational debt, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. Of those, 84% owed more than $100,000, and 54% had more than $200,000.
To combat this challenge and the growing primary care physician shortage, a handful of universities — including New York University in New York City, Montefiore in New York City and Johns Hopkins in Baltimore — have launched tuition-free programs with donations ranging from $100 million to $1 billion.
But those efforts have not significantly shifted graduates toward primary care, according to early data.
“It doesn’t appear to really work,” Jeffrey Boscamp, MD, president and dean of Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, told Becker’s. “In the end, you come out debt free, and you still do orthopedics or urology or some [other high-paying medical specialty]. It doesn’t really drive you toward primary care.”
Hackensack Meridian launched its Primary Care Scholars Program in 2024 amid projections that the U.S. will face a shortage of 87,150 primary care physicians by 2037, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration.
How it works
After being admitted, students may apply to the program by committing to a primary care specialty: pediatrics, family medicine, general internal medicine or geriatrics.
The program offers:
- A 50% tuition scholarship during the three-year MD track
- A $7,500 relocation stipend
- A monthly payment of $2,500 for living expenses
Edison, N.J.-based Hackensack Meridian Health will forgive all tuition, award funds and accrued interest to program participants who complete residency within the system and work there full time for the same number of years their medical school was funded.
The program started with five students in the 2024-25 school year, and doubled to 10 for 2025-26. The medical school plans to expand it to 15 spots next year, Dr. Boscamp said.
“It’s a perfect synergy and a win-win for the school in terms of us always trying to figure out ways that the students’ debt burden could be diminished, and for the [hospital] network to get a really finite result out of it that helps them in their strategy,” he said.
Inspired by Geisinger
Hackensack’s initiative was inspired by Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program, launched in 2019. That program covers tuition and living assistance for students who commit to primary care at the Danville, Pa.-based health system for at least four years after graduation.
What’s next
The program is designed to be flexible. Hackensack can expand it to other high-need specialties such as obstetrics or psychiatry, depending on community needs.
Hackensack frames the program as a cost-effective way to grow primary care capacity.
“It costs a fair amount when you start thinking about medical school cost, plus the stipend,” Dr. Boscamp said. “But in the end, if you do the economic analysis, it makes sense, as opposed to buying practices — which can be very expensive and come with physicians who already have full panels. So these are physicians that then come out, [they] have the ability to take on a significant patient load.”
Dr. Boscamp said success will take years to measure, but he is optimistic.
“They went to school with us, they lived in our hospital as a resident for three years, and then they’re working for us for three years,” he said. “So they’re nine years into Hackensack already, in one way or another. We think it’s going to be pretty sticky.”
