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Navient Reaches $1.85 Billion Settlement With State AGs, Agrees to Cancel Loans for Thousands

39 state Attorneys General announced on January 13^th 2022 that Navient, known as one of the nation’s largest student loan servicers, will provide relief totaling $1.85 billion to resolve allegations of widespread unfair and deceptive student loan servicing practices and abuses in originating predatory student loans.

This settlement resolves claims that since 2009, despite representing that it would help borrowers find the best repayment options for them, Navient steered struggling student loan borrowers into costly long-term forbearances instead of counseling them about the benefits of more affordable income-driven repayment plans.

According to the attorneys general, the interest that accrued because of Navient’s forbearance steering practices was added to the borrowers’ loan balances, pushing borrowers further in debt. Had the company instead provided borrowers with the help it promised, income-driven repayment plans could have potentially reduced payments to as low as $0 per month, provided interest subsidies, and/or helped attain forgiveness of any remaining balance after 20-25 years of qualifying payments (or 10 years for borrowers qualified under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program).

As a result of today’s settlement, borrowers receiving private loan debt cancellation will receive a notice from Navient by July 2022, along with refunds of any payments made on the cancelled private loans after June 30, 2021. Federal loan borrowers who are eligible for a restitution payment of approximately $260 will receive a postcard in the mail from the settlement administrator later this spring.

Federal loan borrowers who qualify for relief under this settlement do not need to take any action except update or create their studentaid.gov account to ensure that the U.S. Department of Education has their current address.

The settlement was led by Pennsylvania, Washington, Illinois, Massachusetts, and California, and was joined by attorneys general in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

For more information, please visit the website below which has been created to inform affected borrowers of the settlement and terms.

https://navientagsettlement.com/Home/portalid/0

Tips for Advancing Your Medical Assisting Career

The healthcare industry remains one of the fields where career growth is unlimited, and medical assistants are among those professionals who have a high potential for career improvement. They can opt to specialize in almost any area of medicine they wish. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical assisting careers have a job growth projection of 18% within the next ten years and are among the most in-demand allied healthcare careers of today.

5 Potential Career Paths for EMTs

If you’re considering entering the healthcare industry, becoming an EMT is a great place to start because it opens doors after only four months of training. Demand for emergency medical services has grown exponentially in recent years. According to one report, the need for EMTs in the country is projected to reach 15% within the next five years. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says a job growth rate of 11% from 2020 to 2030 is expected.

7 In-Demand Allied Health Careers

In 2022, the healthcare industry will undergo a rapid shift, wherein non-traditional healthcare practices will intertwine with traditional measures to ensure patients have more focused, and better, healthcare. It’s no longer surprising to see supermarket chains partnering with life sciences companies and technology giants to offer a different brand of healthcare. This means that the patient care landscape will change. Along with this transition comes the growing demand for allied healthcare professionals beyond the hospital setting.

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As the healthcare industry evolves, there continues to be challenges in making sure patients have access to healthcare, and to the providers that support them. In rural areas, for example, residents continue to have limited access to basic healthcare, due in large part to a shortage of healthcare providers such as nurses.

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Nurses do everything they can to ensure they provide the best care for their patients. However, sometimes they do face accusations of malpractice. Mistakes can happen, especially during busy times, like the height of the pandemic when there was a demand for nurses to take care of an overwhelming number of patients, and when people are working long hours. Burnout can lead to nurses making errors in patient care. For instance, a nurse taking care of several patients at a time may dispense medications later than the prescribed hour, which may cause serious side effects on the patient’s health.

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Shifting careers is a big deal—but these days, it’s pretty common.

When you choose your major in college, that effectively dictates your career trajectory. This is a decision you likely make in your teens, and it will have lifelong consequences. We tend to model our dedication to our professions on previous generations, and if you think about your parents or grandparents, you’ll discover that they often stuck to one job or profession from the day they entered the workforce until they retired.

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Animals are a huge part of life for many people. In 2020, Americans spent $99 billion on their pets, putting veterinary care among today’s fastest-growing industries. In AVMA’s annual Economic State of the Veterinary Profession report, from 2018 to 2019 salaries increased for veterinarians, with the average increasing from $65,983 to $70,045. With low unemployment and plentiful job offers, more than 94% of 2019 veterinary school graduates found full-time work or were able to continue their education.

Click to learn about how to become a paramedic

How Paramedics Can Stay Healthy at Work

Being a paramedic is a physically taxing job. They are often required to lug around heavy equipment, rush to patients needing immediate help, and run up and down stairs. They must maintain a certain level of physical fitness to be able to do the job.

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