From time to time my office distributes press releases and written statements on state and national issues, debate in the Senate, and legislation that I am working on. For your convenience, I post these documents on my site for your review.
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Senate Adopts Sessions’ Amendment to Limit Taxpayer Subsidies to Underperforming Foreign Medical Schools
The amendment, offered by U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), would require that 75 percent of graduates from a foreign medical school pass the Educational Commission for Medical Graduates examination in order for the school to be eligible for U.S. financial aid. Current law requires a passage rate of 60 percent.
Approximately 90 percent of graduates from U.S. medical schools pass the medical licensing examination on their first attempt.
“I am pleased that the Senate accepted my amendment to raise the standards for foreign medical schools receiving U.S. financial aid,” Sessions said. “Many foreign medical schools, particularly in the Caribbean, do not meet the high academic requirements that we expect in the U.S., and taxpayers should not continue to subsidize offshore schools that routinely produce sub par graduates.”
Of the 13,000 U.S. students attending foreign schools, 70 percent attend medical schools, accounting for about $170 million in subsidized federal loans each year. Six of the top 10 countries receiving U.S. financial aid are located in the Caribbean.
A report released by the Government Accountability Office found that three medical schools located in Dominica, Grenada, and St. Maarten received over $82 million in U.S. funding, while 182 schools in England received a total of $25.4 million.
“The Association of American Medical Colleges has recognized a demand for more doctors in our country,” Sessions said. “This amendment attempts to make a balanced but effective change to ensure that federal financial assistance is directed at those foreign medical schools that produce students who have received quality training.”
The Association of American Medical Colleges recently recommended a 30 percent increase in U.S. medical school graduates to meet the expected demand for doctors. Currently, 1 in 4 practicing doctors in the U.S. is a graduate from a foreign medical school.
Sessions’ amendment would also require the GAO to conduct a study to determine the amount of federal aid funding that is directed to offshore medical schools and the percentage of foreign medical students who pass licensing examinations on their first attempt. Additionally, the study would determine the percentage of foreign students who practice in the United States, and the number of lawsuits and licensing revocations involving students who were trained at foreign schools.
The amendment was offered to the Higher Education Reauthorization bill now pending before the Senate.
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