California doesn't have enough doctors. To recruit them, the state is paying off medical school debt

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Bryan Ruiz's hands were still shaking an hour after he learned the $300,000 in medical school loans he took out to become a dentist were being wiped away by California taxpayers.

A year out of medical school, Ruiz thought it would take decades to pay off the debt, particularly since he had accepted a less lucrative position at a community health clinic that primarily serves low-income Medi-Cal patients.

"This really is life-changing," he said.

Ruiz was among the first physicians and dentists told this month that their medical school debt was being paid off by the state. In exchange, doctors must pledge that at