This legislation ensures physician associates/assistants (PAs) and several other professions are included in the “professional” tier for federal student loans by codifying into law the definition of “professional degree” previously in regulation. It also lists programs considered “professional” under this definition to include PAs, as well as nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy and other professions, consistent with the language and intent of the provision Congress enacted as part of The Working Families Tax Cut Act (H.R. 1, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”). 

H.R. 1 eliminated the Grad PLUS loan program, which previously allowed students to borrow up to the full cost of attendance and established two federal borrowing tiers: graduate programs ($20,500 per year/$100,000 aggregate) and professional programs ($50,000 per year/$200,000 aggregate). To implement the law, the Department of Education’s (ED) negotiated rulemaking process produced a definition of “professional program” that excludes PAs and many other healthcare professionals from the appropriately higher “professional” loan limits, and instead relegates them to lower “graduate” limits. The Department's final rule will cause PA schools to become unaffordable for many prospective students, lead to major disruptions in the healthcare workforce pipeline, and contradicts Congressional intent. 

It is critical that you urge your Member of Congress to cosponsor HR 6718, and ensure that PAs have access to the loans they need to afford their professional studies and take care of patients.  

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