Anyone who graduates from medical school with an MD / DO degree needs to complete several years of graduate medical education (residency) at a teaching hospital in order to become a physician legally authorized to practice medicine. Most residency slots are funded by Medicare, although some are funded by other sources. Teaching hospitals are usually run by non-profit corporations, or by state or local governments. While internal accounting is always a bit fuzzy and opaque they simply don't have the money to pay residents directly. Most residents generate less revenue than they cost to train. And hospitals don't have the freedom to raise prices to cover the cost of running residency programs. Thus the need for subsidies.
If we force prospective doctors to take on even more debt then we'll likely end up with an even worse shortage. Current levels of student debt are already unsustainable, at least for many specialties.
If we force prospective doctors to take on even more debt then we'll likely end up with an even worse shortage. Current levels of student debt are already unsustainable, at least for many specialties.