COLUMBIA--South Carolina has a shortage of doctors who specialize in treating the state's aging population, but a new bill encourages medical students to practice geriatrics.

A bill awaiting the governor's signature would create a program to reimburse school loans for four doctors a year who complete graduate training fellowships in geriatrics or geriatric psychiatry.

With the number of people who are 65 and older growing in South Carolina, medical officials say many people could benefit from a doctor with specialized training because symptoms can appear differently in older patients.

The bill would create the State Loan Repayment Program in the Office of Aging, which is headed by Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer.

"This is so important," Bauer said, "because South Carolina is the fifth-biggest state in terms of in-migration of seniors, and we have got to have more doctors."

If Gov. Mark Sanford signs the bill, which his office says he's inclined to, loans could be reimbursed up to $35,000 for each of the four doctors.

"When you survey fellows in the field, loan forgiveness is high on the list" of possible incentives, said Victor A. Hirth, medical director of geriatrics at Palmetto Health and associate geriatrics professor at the University of South Carolina's School of Medicine.

Practicing geriatrics requires an extra year of study -- beyond the eight years of medical school and residency. Becoming a geriatric psychiatrist requires two extra years of study.

Doctors in the program would have to agree to practice geriatrics in South Carolina for at least five consecutive years and accept Medicare and Medicaid patients. That's been a problem in the state and throughout the country because of low government payments.

Currently, there are 30 geriatricians in South Carolina, which has 500,000 residents 65 or older. That number of residents will grow by 10,000 this year, according to the Office of Aging.