Student loan rule change could cut pipeline of healthcare providers, PAs warn [View all]
Source: Scripps News
Posted 9:50 AM, May 23, 2026
Changes by the Trump administration involving student loans could contribute to a shortage of doctors and nurses in the coming years, Todd Pickard, president and chair of the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Physician Associates, warned.
The Department of Education is updating its definition of professional degrees. Under the new rule, students studying to become physician associates (PAs) would no longer be eligible for higher levels of federal student loans. PA programs require a master’s degree, thousands of hours of clinical training and a license in every state.
Physical therapy, occupational therapy, advanced nursing and several other medical fields have also been reclassified from professional degrees to general graduate degrees. Under the change, students in these programs would be limited to $20,500 annually and $100,000 total in federal loans, compared with up to $50,000 a year and higher lifetime limits previously.
Pickard said the move could make these degrees inaccessible for many prospective students. “I’m most concerned about decreasing the pipeline of health care providers in the United States,” he said. “At a time when we should be investing in health care, divesting is not the right answer. Patients should expect that if there are fewer providers, it will take them longer to be seen, and their health conditions may worsen.”
Read more: https://www.scrippsnews.com/us-news/education/student-loan-rule-change-could-cut-pipeline-of-healthcare-providers-pas-warn
Pickard recently appeared on The Hill's broadcast affiliate "NewsNation" with those remarks - https://www.newsnationnow.com/video/%E2%80%98not-the-time-to-divest%E2%80%99-in-healthcare-physician-associates-president-morning-in-america/11812870/
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