In a recent Twitter exchange, billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban shared a thought-provoking idea about making medical school free. His comment came in response to a tweet from Dr. Anish Koka, who posted a video of Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and politician, discussing how the best and brightest are no longer choosing careers in medicine.
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Cuban proposed that the government offer free medical school for all students for less than $2.5 billion a year. According to him, there are fewer than 25,000 medical students in the United States, and despite the high costs of medical education, the total expenses per student are less than $100,000 a year, except for the most expensive schools. He also suggested that the cost of medical education should be limited to less than the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increases, and eventually, the investment in making medical school free would quickly pay for itself.
Removing Financial Barriers
He goes on to say that making medical school free would eliminate a significant financial barrier, increasing the number of applicants. The added benefit would be that the quality of applicants would also go up, as not only the wealthy or those willing to take out loans would pursue medical school. Naturally, this could improve diversity as well.
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The Role Of Venture Capital In Medicine
Cuban also mentioned that a lot of venture capital (VC) money is available to use artificial intelligence (AI) to change medicine and health care. He argued that future doctors don’t need to depend on the NIH for support. Instead, smart venture capitalists and companies could pay for these students’ medical school costs in exchange for them working for the company for five years after graduation. This would be cheaper than hiring them after they finish their residency.
Benefits For The American People
Moreover, having more medical professionals would mean better access to health care services for everyone. This could shorten wait times, improve the number of doctors available for patients, and ensure more people get the medical attention they need when needed. Easier access to care would also help catch and treat illnesses earlier, leading to better overall health and a higher quality of life for many Americans.
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