In December 1997, the government
of Ontario deregulated tuition fees for specific undergraduate professional
programs, including medicine. In the wake of the announcement, the OMA
established the Tuition Deregulation Task Force, which I had the opportunity
to chair.
Two meetings were held with former minister of education and training Dave Johnson, to outline the dire implications of tuition deregulation and inadequate government aid. Additional meetings were held with university representatives to determine how tuition increases were improving medical programs, and how the percentage of tuition increases designated by government to go toward financial aid was being allocated.
OMA appeals to modify Ontario Student Assistance Program rules for medical students met with less than positive results, as responsibility for financial aid was being shuffled between the province, the national student funding program, and institutions.
Two years and two months have passed since the government’s original pronouncement. Today, the impact of deregulated tuition on medical education is plainly evident.
In 1999, the cost of tuition for first-year medical students peaked at a maximum of $13,092, a figure that will increase in the years ahead. Further analysis shows that since 1979, annual medical school tuition has risen by an incredible 880 per cent.
The average debt incurred by Ontario medical students affected by tuition deregulation is expected, in many cases, to exceed $100,000. Compounding this financial burden, Ontario medical schools are seriously considering charging tuition fees to postgraduate resident trainees, an action which the OMA firmly opposes.
In May 1999, Executive members of the Student Section of the OMA (SSOMA) delivered an excellent presentation to OMA Council, detailing the ramifications of spiralling tuition on students’ access to a medical education, as well as the long-term implications for the physician human resource base in the province.
Council delegates formally denounced government deregulation of medical school tuition, and directed the OMA to "commit the appropriate resources to resolve this crisis."
During the past nine months, the OMA Student Bursary Fund Committee, headed by Chair Dr. Albert Schumacher and Vice-Chair Dr. Garnet Maley, has worked tirelessly in tandem with the OMA’s registered charity, the Ontario Medical Foundation, to research the feasibility and develop a framework to support a major campaign to assist our future physicians.
This month marks the formal launch of the Ontario Medical Student Bursary Fund, a monumental undertaking directed at providing financial assistance to Ontario medical students to offset the severe impact of deregulated tuition fees (see feature article).
The SSOMA cites a recent study which suggests a correlation between the socio-economic status of medical students (measured by parental income, education and occupation) and tuition fees paid.
Access to medical education should be based on academic performance and desire, not financial clout. It is essential that Ontarians have access to an adequate supply of physicians, and that the medical community appropriately reflect the demographics of our general population.
Specialties, such as obstetrics, general surgery, anesthesia and neurology, which are experiencing profound shortages, are not likely to be replenished if debt-load considerations force graduates to bypass additional training.
Substantial debt may also force some students to leave the province for the United States, to pursue a perceived opportunity for higher remuneration and/or reduced taxes in order to relieve financial pressures in a shorter period of time.
The Ontario Medical Student Bursary Fund is designed to support needy students and simultaneously address important long-term issues that will affect the patients and physicians of Ontario.
I encourage all members to take the time to carefully consider the new Bursary Fund in the weeks and months ahead.
H. Ronald Wexler, MD, FRCPC
OMA President