For decades, getting an advanced degree to become a nurse practitioner, physical therapist, or physician assistant was a clear path to a vital, high-paying career. Yet, a specific rule change made by the Trump administration threatened to slam the door on this path for thousands of future healthcare providers.
In 2025, as part of a larger government plan called the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) quietly changed how it defined a “professional degree.” This change may seem small on paper, but its impact on healthcare funding and access nationwide is huge.
Programs such as advanced nursing, physical therapy, and physician assistant studies were no longer considered “professional.” This move immediately and severely limited the amount of money students in these crucial fields could borrow for their education. It created a massive financial wall just as America needed these workers the most.
This article will explain exactly what happened, look at the cold, hard numbers, and show why this rule is a major threat to your community’s access to care.
What Did the Government Change?
To understand the problem, you need to know how the government used to hand out student loans. Before the change, graduate students were divided into two main groups for federal loan purposes:
Professional Students: This group included those aiming for high-cost, high-wage careers, such as doctors (M.D.s), dentists (D.D.S.), and lawyers (J.D.s). These students could borrow much larger sums because their schooling was long and expensive, and their future earnings were expected to be high.
Other Graduate Students: This group included people pursuing master’s degrees in subjects such as teaching, business, or the arts. Their borrowing limits were lower.
The key change was the Department of Education’s new, narrower definition of what counted as a “professional program.” Under this new rule, nursing, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, physical therapy, and audiology programs were moved out of the “professional” group. This forced them into the “other graduate students” group.
The Trump administration said these changes were meant to “place commonsense limits and guardrails on future student loan borrowing and simplify the federal student loan repayment system.” While simplifying loans sounds good, the side effect was a financial disaster for future healthcare heroes.
The Cold, Hard Numbers: A Financial Hit
The difference in borrowing limits between the two groups is staggering. It is the core of the whole issue. Before the rule change, and still applying to professions like medicine and law, students could borrow:
- Up to $50,000 per year.
- A total of $200,000 over the course of their degree.
For the newly reclassified students—the aspiring nurse practitioners and physical therapists—the limits were cut by more than half:
- Up to $20,500 per year.
- A total of $100,000 over the course of their degree.
But the financial pain didn’t stop there. The plan also eliminated the Grad PLUS program. This program was crucial because it allowed graduate students to borrow the full remaining cost of their education, up to the school’s cost of attendance.
If a program costs $40,000 a year, and a student is limited to $20,500 in federal loans, they could use Grad PLUS to borrow the remaining $19,500. Without it, the student has a $19,500 hole in their budget every single year.
Most students pursuing an advanced healthcare degree are unable to work full-time while in school. This means they are entirely dependent on federal financial aid to pay for tuition, books, and living expenses.
Why Cutting Loans is a Threat to Healthcare
The consequences of this change reach far beyond the campus financial aid office; they directly affect patient care.
The nursing profession, in particular, has seen a massive shift toward advanced practice roles. Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs), such as Nurse Practitioners (NPs), are highly trained nurses who often serve as primary care providers. They can diagnose illnesses, prescribe medicine, and manage chronic conditions.
Here is why their graduate education is so important:
Filling the Gaps: The United States faces a growing shortage of primary care physicians, especially in rural and underserved areas. In many small towns, the NP or PA is the only easily accessible healthcare provider. By limiting funding for education, the government makes it harder to train the very people who fill these gaps.
Shortages are Real: States are already predicting massive shortages. For example, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development predicts the state will be short by 12,000 to 19,000 nurses by 2040. If students can’t afford to get the necessary advanced degree, these shortages will only get worse.
Leadership and Education: Advanced degrees are also required for nurses who want to move into leadership roles or, critically, become nurse educators. If there aren’t enough qualified nurse educators, nursing schools can’t train new nurses, creating a vicious cycle that worsens the shortage.
Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, president of the American Nurses Association, spoke strongly against the rule, saying that limiting access to funding for graduate education “threatens the foundation of patient care.” Simply put, if students cannot afford to train, they cannot care for patients.
The Big Confusion and the State Response
One area of confusion is why these fields were chosen. Supporters of the rule suggested that nursing and related fields were not terminal degrees, meaning they don’t always require a doctoral-level education (like an M.D. or J.D.). However, this view overlooks the reality that many essential healthcare roles—such as NPs and PAs—rely on master’s or doctoral programs to meet licensing requirements.
Many people, including deans of university health programs, felt that the exclusion was a simple oversight—that the administration did not truly understand the impact of excluding these core healthcare roles. But whether it was an accident or on purpose, the threat remains the same.
In response to the growing crisis, some states have tried to step in. For instance, the Wisconsin State Legislature added $5 million to its budget for a nurse educator loan forgiveness program. This program allows nurses who get a master’s or doctorate to have their loans forgiven if they agree to teach nursing for three years.
While helpful, state programs cannot replace the massive financial engine of federal student aid. When the federal financial aid is cut so deeply, even a state program faces huge trouble.
Conclusion: A Barrier to a Better Future
The Trump administration’s decision to reclassify advanced nursing and related healthcare degrees as non-professional created a deep financial barrier for students.
It is a barrier that has forced future physician assistants to rethink their career, made it nearly impossible for a single parent to become a nurse practitioner, and worsened the long-term outlook for healthcare access across America.
In a time when the country desperately needs more nurses, therapists, and physician assistants, this rule change does the opposite: it limits the supply of care providers as demand continues to grow.
Clearing up the confusion means recognizing the simple truth: advanced nursing is a professional, essential, and demanding field. Any rule that makes it harder for students to enter that field directly harms patients and communities everywhere.
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