March 9, 2023
The Honorable Jacky Rosen
U.S. Senate
713 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable John Boozman
U.S. Senate
555 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senators Rosen and Boozman:
On behalf of our organizations, we thank you for reintroducing the “Resident Education DeferredInterest (REDI) Act” (S 704) that, if passed, will allow borrowers to qualify for interest-freedeferment on their student loans while serving in a medical or dental internship or residency
program.
As you are aware, the cost of graduate-level medical and dental education is substantial for the vast
majority of students. Further, those who must undertake several years of residency with very low
pay are often unable to begin repaying student debt immediately. As a result, they qualify to havetheir payments halted during residency through deferment or forbearance processes, but they
continue to accrue interest that is added to their balance.
The REDI Act prevents physicians and dentists from being penalized during residency by precluding
the government from charging them interest on their loans during a time when they are unable toafford payments on the principal. The REDI Act does not provide any loan forgiveness or reduce aborrower’s original loan balance.
Providing student loan relief also is a workforce issue. According to HRSA’s latest report from 2022
nationally, across all physician specialties in the United States, there is a projected shortage of81,180 full-time equivalent (FTE) physicians in 2035. In fact, 26 out of the 36 physician specialties
reported in this brief are projected to have shortages in 2035. 1 HRSA has also projected that thedemand for general dentists is predicted to exceed supply by 2030. 2 In the case of the REDI Act, theability for medical and dental residents to save thousands of dollars in interest on their loans makes
the concepts of opening practices in underserved areas or entering faculty or research more
attractive and affordable to residents.
Passage of the “REDI Act” is an important part of student loan repayment reform. Thank you again
for your support on this important issue.
Sincerely,
Academy of General Dentistry
American Academy of Dermatology AssociationAmerican Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Neurology
Health Resources and Services Administration. Health Workforce. (2022, November). Physician Workforce: Projections, 2020-2035
Oral Health Workforce Projections, 2017-2030: Dentists and DentalHygienists.
12 Health Resources and Services Administration. Health Workforce. (2017).

American Academy of Ophthalmology
American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology
American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
American Academy of Periodontology
American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research
American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology & Strabismus
American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
American Association of Clinical Urologists
American Association of Endodontists
American Association of Neurological Surgeons
American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology
American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
American Association of Orthodontists
American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons
American College of Emergency Physicians
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American College of Prosthodontists
American College of Rheumatology
American College of Rheumatology
American College of Surgeons
American Dental Association
American Dental Education Association
American Gastroenterological Association
American Medical Association
American Osteopathic Association
American Psychiatric Association
American Society for Radiation Oncology
American Society of Anesthesiologists
American Society of Dentist Anesthesiologists
American Student Dental Association
American Urological Association
College of American Pathologists
Congress of Neurological Surgeons
National Association of Spine Specialists
National Dental Association
Renal Physicians Association
Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions
Society for Vascular Surgery
Society of Interventional Radiology
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons