As a result of the passage of the ‘One Beautiful Bill’ through federal congress in July of 2025, new limits to graduate program student loans and reclassification of many health care professions has spurred national outrage and a 25 state lawsuit against the US Education Department.
“This unlawful rule doesn’t just limit loans for graduate students: it limits students’ futures. By capping loan amounts, the Trump Administration will force Marylanders who want to be nurses, physician assistants, or physical therapists to decide between taking on more expensive private loans, or walking away from their chosen career,” said the Attorney General of Maryland, one of the suing states, Anthony Brown. The ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ reclassifies what graduate programs qualify as ‘professional degrees’, the excluded and not affected programs include law, medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, and seven others. Borrowers enrolled in these programs will still be able to borrow up to $50,000 per year or, up to $200,000 total.
“Make no mistake, this is not a technicality or a footnote. This rule will be felt in real communities, for example, in rural areas where nurse practitioners, midwives, and nurse anesthesiologists are often the only providers of core care services,” said President of the American Nurses Association, Jennifer Mensik Kennedy. Graduate physical therapy and occupational therapy programs, as well as graduate level nursing degrees aren’t included in the exempted categories, and are subject to the new loan restrictions of borrowing only $20,500 a year, and $100,000 total. Though drawing concern from many around the country, some don’t share these concerns.
“The rhetoric around new loan limits for nursing programs does not match the reality. The new caps will affect only a small number of programs charging exorbitant prices,” said member of the American Enterprise Institute think tank, Preston Cooper. The true impact of this policy shift will have to be determined in court.
“Higher education is expensive, and our health care system is already under immense strain. This rule will shut talented people out of critical professions and leave communities with fewer health care providers they desperately need,” said New York State Attorney General, Letitia James.
