{"id":4635,"date":"2026-06-25T12:21:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T12:21:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/06\/25\/would-be-physician-assistants-deterred-by-strict-caps-on-us-student-loans\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T12:21:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T12:21:30","slug":"would-be-physician-assistants-deterred-by-strict-caps-on-us-student-loans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=4635","title":{"rendered":"Would-be physician assistants deterred by strict caps on US student loans"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"8eb18ae5-1c64-451a-b736-25be7923e74a\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"pieces of paper \" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/2317dabafee9650b21b314d29686ae6b2a376c5e\/0_0_3000_2000\/master\/3000.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"310\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">For students, a strict cap on federal student loans means they will have to seek aid elsewhere.<\/span> Photograph: Boston Globe\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"8eb18ae5-1c64-451a-b736-25be7923e74a\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">For students, a strict cap on federal student loans means they will have to seek aid elsewhere.<\/span> Photograph: Boston Globe\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">Would-be physician assistants deterred by strict caps on US student loans<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>Advocates condemn change that caps loans at $20,500 per year \u2013 less than half median annual cost of PA program<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Strict new caps on federal student loans are causing would-be physician assistants to reconsider training, groups representing physician assistants said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">An overhaul of the federal student loan system scheduled to go into effect 1 July strictly caps the annual amount of federal loans physician assistants can borrow to $20,500 per year \u2013 less than half the median annual cost of a PA program.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Strict caps imposed by the Department of Education (DOE) come even as Health and Human Services (HHS) has bet on physician assistants to help with the rural healthcare shortages.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cMy credit score was a 400,\u201d said Todd Pickard, president of the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA), a group representing more than 200,000 physician assistants nationally. He graduated in 1997. \u201cThere was nobody privately that was going to give me a dime. And my parents are not rich people, so they weren\u2019t going to say, \u2018Here\u2019s $100,000 \u2013 take it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Beginning 1 July, the Republican-led One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Obbba) will end the Grad Plus federal loan program, cap federal graduate loans at $20,000 per year, and cap loans for professional education at $50,000 per year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">At issue is the definition of \u201cprofessional\u201d: the DoE deemed most programs \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidehighered.com\/news\/quick-takes\/2025\/11\/06\/ed-reaches-consensus-loan-caps\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">graduate<\/a>,\u201d including healthcare providers such as physician assistants. The groups argue they meet criteria set by the OBBBA to be considered professional and thus should be subject to the higher loan cap.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Today, the median cost of physician assistant training is $103,000 for up to 27 months of training, according to Sara Fletcher, executive director of the PA Education Association, which represents institutions that train physician assistants.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">In just one such example, the State University of New York (Suny) Downstate charges more than $58,000 for training for in-state students, and $113,000 for out-of-state. Physician assistants typically also rely on student loans for living expenses, since training typically requires 60-80 hours work per week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">A coalition of 24 Democratic attorneys general, one non-partisan attorney general and two governors sued the administration in May over the changes, seeking a permanent injunction. In June, nursing associations, the AAPA and PAEA followed suit \u2013 seeking an immediate injunction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cWe got swept up in this big net without any real analysis and decision-making,\u201d said Pickard, speaking to the Guardian a day after a federal judge in Washington heard arguments in their case. \u201cI think they decided they wanted to get out of the loan business.\u201d The groups expect a decision on the emergency injunction imminently.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Physician assistants can prescribe medication, conduct physical exams, interpret diagnostic tests and perform some procedures. About <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/39061046\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">a quarter<\/a> work in rural settings, according to one study, where they tend to fill shortages in family medicine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">This is, in fact, a reality recognized by the same law that overhauled federal student loans \u2013 Obbba. When Republicans passed the bill in July last year, they cut <a href=\"https:\/\/www.urban.org\/urban-wire\/medicaid-cuts-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-leave-3-10-young-adults-vulnerable-losing\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">nearly $1n<\/a> from Medicaid, the public health insurance program for the poor, to pay for tax cuts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">To offset cuts to Medicaid, which were set to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/jul\/04\/rural-americans-medicaid-cuts-trump-bill\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">heavily affect rural hospitals<\/a>, Republicans also established the $50bn Rural Health Transformation Program. The program relies, in part, on allowing physician assistants, nurse practitioners, pharmacists and dental hygienists to expand their scope of duties to bolster the rural healthcare workforce (notably, physicians associations had \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ama-assn.org\/system\/files\/rural-health-transformation-program-summary.pdf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">significant concerns<\/a>\u201d about this change).<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Ten Republican-led states, from Alabama to South Dakota, now employ more physician assistants than doctors, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beckershospitalreview.com\/workforce\/10-states-where-apps-outnumber-physicians-6-notes\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Becker\u2019s Hospital Review<\/a>. Even Donald Trump\u2019s government \u201cdoctor\u201d is a physician assistant: Col James Jones, the first PA to fill the role.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cOn the one hand, you have the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/trump-administration\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Trump administration<\/a> saying we need more PAs and we need them to be doing good work and the work that they can,\u201d said Pickard. \u201cBut then on the other hand, the DOE says, \u2018Well, we don\u2019t want to invest in the full cost of PAs.\u2019 Those two things don\u2019t jibe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Changes instituted by the Department of Education implicate a long-time <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/07\/17\/us\/politics\/hillary-clinton-college-plan-public-universities.html\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">chicken and egg<\/a> debate in higher education: do federal loans make tuition more expensive, or does the government forge a path for poor students by offering subsidized loans?<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Department of Education secretary Linda McMahon has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=MQE7XHV8qZg\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">argued before Congress<\/a> that capping student loans will bring down tuition costs, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidehighered.com\/news\/government\/student-aid-policy\/2026\/06\/24\/will-private-lenders-fill-loan-limit-gap\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">critics<\/a> see little evidence prices will come down enough to match the strict new caps.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cTuition costs are set by institutions,\u201d said Fletcher. \u201cIt\u2019s a bigger system issue than just a PA program.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">For students, a strict cap on federal student loans means they will have to seek aid elsewhere, namely in private lenders and banks. This is effectively a return to a system Congress ended in 2006 over affordability concerns, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidehighered.com\/news\/government\/student-aid-policy\/2026\/06\/24\/will-private-lenders-fill-loan-limit-gap\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Inside Higher Ed<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Federal graduate and professional loans have an average interest rate of around 8%; private loans can range from about 3% up to 17.95%, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/educationdata.org\/average-student-loan-interest-rate\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Education Data Initiative<\/a>. In contrast to federal loans, private lenders require extensive underwriting, making it much more difficult and expensive for borrowers with low credit ratings \u2013 people like Pickard.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Asked whether Pickard had a chance to sit down with anyone from the administration, he said no, but not for lack of trying. He\u2019s pitching Fox News and Newsmax for a segment on the changes: \u201cI\u2019d love to sit down and talk to Donald Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/healthcare\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US healthcare<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-politics\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/trump-administration\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Trump administration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Would-be%20physician%20assistants%20deterred%20by%20strict%20caps%20on%20US%20student%20loans&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jun\/25\/physician-assistants-us-federal-student-loans?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fjun%2F25%2Fphysician-assistants-us-federal-student-loans&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/jun\/25\/physician-assistants-us-federal-student-loans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-axwinp\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For students, a strict cap on federal student loans means they will have to seek aid elsewhere. 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