Medical Student loans and Tax Forgiveness

The new tax law provides an added benefit for doctors with medical student loans. If your loan is forgiven and you work in an "underserved" area, you may be entitled to tax free treatment on the forgiveness of the tax free loan. This was not always the case.
In the past, often the trade off of practicing medicine in an underserved areas, albeit rewarding emotionally and intangibly, typically did not create the income to offset the benefit of the forgiven loan. In other words, it was more cost effective to keep the loan and practice where you could make money that far exceeded the amount of the loan. However, in today's changing health care landscape, that is not always the case anymore. So, when weighing your options, the intangible benefits plus the tangible cost benefit of a forgiven loan plus tax free treatment of that forgiven loan, may be enough for some people to actually take advantage of this offer and practice in underserved areas.