Unfair Educational Loan Caps May Restrict Advanced Practice Nurse Workforce
Contact your Legislators: Help Fix Unfair Loan Caps. For decades, nursing has not been included in the Department of Education’s list of ‘professional degree’ programs. With new federal loan caps under H.R. 1, this outdated exclusion now has serious consequences. The Department of Education is considering recommendations that make post-baccalaureate nursing students eligible for only half the amount of federal loan support as post-baccalaureate medical students. Contact your legislators to take action on this vital issue.
Professional Nursing coalition partners—both within and beyond the nursing community—are working to ensure a strong, unified response. With your support, we can demonstrate to Congress the need to reverse this decision. Sign the petition here if you have not done so and PLEASE Contact your legislators on this vital issue.
Background on Unfair Loan Caps: As a reminder, the Department of Education is putting in place parts of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that set new limits on federal graduate student loans. Under the current proposal, only physicians, lawyers, psychologists, and theologians would qualify for the higher “professional” loan caps of $50,000 per year and $200,000 total. All other graduate students, including registered nurses and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), would be limited to $20,500 per year and $100,000 total. The Department of Education is expected to release a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) soon or early in 2026, likely following the recommendations from the negotiated rulemaking process, which excludes nurses from the professional category and the higher loan cap.
When the NPRM is released, there will be a public comment period, giving us a chance to share our views as part of ANA’s advocacy efforts. Two major coalitions, PARCA (Partnership for Access to Responsible Credit and Aid) and the nurses and APRNs. ANA has also issued a press release to express concerns about the negotiated rulemaking outcome. We will keep monitoring this issue and share updates as we work to make sure nurses are included in the higher loan cap.
