We need your voice now!

A federal policy change set to take effect in the next fiscal year will impose a $200,000 lifetime student loan limit for “professional degrees.” However, as currently defined, this category excludes nursing degrees and key interdisciplinary healthcare degrees—including DPT, DSW/MSW, OTD, and others.

This oversight could severely limit financial aid access for future nurses and allied health professionals who rely on federal funding to complete advanced training.

As a Nurse Practitioner organization, we are urging all members to take immediate action to ensure these essential degrees are formally recognized.

What This Means

If the rule moves forward unchanged:
    •    Many nursing and allied health students may no longer qualify for the funding needed to complete their degrees (only up to $100,000 in federal student loans— in their lifetime)
    •    The healthcare workforce—already facing critical shortages—will shrink even further
    •    Communities will see reduced access to primary care, maternal health, mental health, and rehabilitation services
    •    Students from disadvantaged backgrounds will be disproportionately impacted

 TAKE ACTION TODAY

Please contact your U.S. Senators and Representatives and ask them to ensure that nursing and other vital healthcare degrees are recognized as professional degrees under the new loan limit policy. Click here to find your U.S. Representative and Senator.

Tell them you support the inclusion of:
    •    Nursing (MSN, DNP, DNSc, Ph.D, Ed.D)
    •    Physical Therapy (DPT)
    •    Social Worker (MSW/DSW)
    •    Speech-Language Pathology (SLP)
    •    Occupational Therapy (OTD)
    •    Clinical Mental Health, Dietetics/Nutrition, and other essential health professions

 SAMPLE MESSAGE FOR YOUR REPRESENTATIVES

Subject: Please Recognize Nursing & Allied Health Degrees as Professional Degrees

Dear [Representative/Senator],

I am writing as a constituent and healthcare professional to express concern regarding the upcoming $200,000 lifetime student loan limit for professional degrees. As currently defined, the rule does not include nursing or many interdisciplinary healthcare degrees, despite their essential role in addressing workforce shortages and meeting community health needs.

Nurse Practitioners, nurses, and allied health professionals are critical to primary care, maternal and infant health, chronic disease management, rehabilitation, and mental and rural health services. Excluding these programs will make it significantly harder for students—especially women, students of color, and first-generation students—to enter these professions.

I strongly urge you to support an amendment or clarification that formally recognizes nursing and interdisciplinary healthcare degrees as professional degrees for the purposes of the lifetime loan limit.

Our communities cannot afford further barriers to training the healthcare workforce we desperately need.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Credentials]
[City/State]

 HELP SPREAD THE WORD

Please share this alert with colleagues, students, and across your professional networks. Collective advocacy is essential to ensure this issue is addressed before the policy takes effect.