DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An effort to get more doctors in rural Iowa through a state-run loan forgiveness program moved forward this year, though backers say they still need more funding. The first group of students was awarded funding through the Rural Iowa Primary Care Loan Repayment Program this year. The eight recipients will each get up to $200,000 in loan aid in exchange for working for five years in small town Iowa.

Dr. Brent Hoehns, a family physician in Knoxville who chairs the Iowa Academy of Family Physicians, says this kind of investment is needed. The ultimate goal is to use state and private dollars to provide the loan aid to 20 students each year who commit to rural jobs, which can often pay less than other physician positions