Erasing Student Debt Would Make America Healthier

For borrowers, more student loans correlate with poorer mental health.

Source: Romolo Tavani/Shutterstock

John Brett is a chaplain who works in the Mission and Tenderloin—among San Francisco’s most impoverished neighborhoods. From 2016 until the onset of the pandemic, John worked as a site coordinator and program director for the Gubbio Project’s Sacred Sleep Program, which offered the empty pews of St. Boniface Catholic Church as a sanctuary for unhoused individuals during the day. The program is slated to reopen at Saint John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in the Mission.

Through the San Francisco Night Ministry, Brett continues to provide non-denominational spiritual accompaniment and crisis intervention to the homeless, many of whom struggle with substance addiction or mental health conditions.

While Brett’s calling centers on helping others, his student debt has made it particularly challenging to focus on his wellbeing. Though Brett received financial aid from his Ivy League college, to pursue his vocation, he earned a master’s degree in divinity. Brett’s training provided a background in academic theology, practical ministry, pastoral care, and counseling, but it also left him with additional student debt, currently totaling over $70,000.

Brett says, “Because I have a large student debt load, I can’t afford additional expenses like a gym membership or needed dental care. I worry about how my loans are affecting my health. Without federally and state-supported healthcare, I may not have health insurance at all.

"I understand that my situation reflects the choices that I have made," Brett adds. "People will say, ‘You didn’t have to become a minister.’

“Society says that it wants people to contribute their gifts constructively. But to get jobs in fields like public health and social work, you need additional education, and without those credentials, you don’t have the same opportunities. Those who want to help others must go deeper into debt.”

For Brett, a potential source of relief comes from student loan forgiveness. For months, borrowers, politicians, and activists have pushed President Biden to use his executive authority to waive student loans. In February, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer put forward a proposal to wipe out up to $50,000 in student loan debt.

The impact of the proposal, if realized, would be enormous. Currently, there are 45 million borrowers who owe nearly $1.7 trillion in student loan debt in the United States, with an average loan debt of about $37,000. Forgiving $50,000 would eliminate debt for 80% of federal student loan borrowers—36 million people.

Many of the proposal’s proponents have underscored the effect that loan forgiveness would have on the country’s economic well-being. Brett’s comments highlight the impact that student loan forgiveness could have on the physical and psychological health of millions around the country.

Katrina Walsemann, a professor of health policy at the University of Maryland, published a paper in 2015 linking the size of student loans with poorer psychological functioning. Her findings were consistent with a broader body of literature demonstrating the correlations between high financial debt and higher perceived stress and depression, worse self-reported general health, and higher diastolic blood pressure.

“We found that more student loans correlate with poorer mental health for borrowers. I can’t say that it’s a causal effect, but it’s likely mediated by stress. We know that it’s very hard to get student debt forgiven, and, for many, that leads to financial hardship. Discharging student loans will probably have a positive effect on the mental health of borrowers, which also includes parents of students.”

Walsemann also co-authored a 2016 study showing racial differences in the effect of student debt on sleep, stating: “For Black and Hispanic borrowers, student debt resulted in fewer hours slept. Sleep is an indicator of stress and also a predictor for future health issues. The study shows another layer in the relationship between student debt on the wellbeing of borrowers.”

Therefore, forgiving student debt should have a considerable impact on the nation’s health, particularly among minority borrowers. As millions find themselves suddenly unburdened by the specter of their loans, they will feel and sleep better and have greater financial control over their lives, leading to positive gains in long-term mental and physical health.

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Of course, one-time forgiveness cannot create a lasting impact. Without fundamental changes in making higher education more affordable, future generations will find themselves under the same yoke of debt as millions do today. “Society encourages us to assume debt to achieve educational credentials for vocational and class advancement, but the stress and—for some—the additional costs and therefore lack of health maintenance slowly injures and even kills us,” Brett says.

“When I think about debt relief, I think about how I will be able to afford more dental and health care. I’d be able to work and live longer. And maybe, somewhere other than the Bay Area, I might be able to afford a house.”