Would-be physician assistants deterred by strict caps on US student loans | US healthcare
Tight new limits on federal student loans are causing physician assistants to reconsider education, groups representing physician assistants said.
The overhaul of the federal student loan system, scheduled to go into effect July 1, strictly limits the annual federal loan amount physician assistants can borrow to $20,500; This is less than half the average annual cost of a PA program.
Even as Health and Human Services (HHS) invests in physician assistants to help with rural health care shortages, strict restrictions come from the Department of Education (DOE).
“My credit score was 400,” said Todd Pickard, president of the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA), a group that represents more than 200,000 physician assistants nationally. He graduated in 1997. “There was no one specifically to give me a penny. My parents aren’t rich people either, so they weren’t going to say, ‘Here’s $100,000, take it.'”
Beginning July 1, the Republican-led Big Beautiful Bill Act (Obbba) will end the Grad Plus federal loan program, capping federal graduate loans at $20,000 per year and job training loans at $50,000 per year.
At issue is the definition of “professional”: DoE considers most programs as “professional”.to graduate“Including healthcare providers such as physician assistants. The groups argue that they meet the criteria established by the OBBBA to be considered professionals and therefore should be subject to the higher credit cap.
The average cost of physician assistant training today 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.
In one such example, the State University of New York (Suny) Downstate charges more than $58,000 for tuition for in-state students and more than $113,000 for out-of-state students. Physician assistants also often rely on student loans for living expenses since training typically requires 60-80 hours of work per week.
A coalition of 24 Democratic attorneys general, a nonpartisan attorney general and two governors sued the administration in May, seeking permanent relief over the changes. In June, nursing associations, AAPA and PAEA, followed suit, seeking emergency relief.
“We’ve been dragged into this huge web without any real analysis and decision-making process,” Pickard told the Guardian a day after a federal judge in Washington heard arguments in the case. “I guess they decided they wanted to get out of the loan business.” The groups expect the emergency injunction to be issued soon.
Physician assistants may prescribe medications, perform physical exams, interpret diagnostic tests and perform some procedures. About quarter They work in rural settings, where they tend to fill gaps in family medicine, according to one study.
In fact, this is a fact recognized by the same law (Obbba) that overhauled federal student loans. Republicans made the cuts when they passed the bill in July last year. almost $1 billion From Medicaid, the public health insurance program for the poor, to pay for tax cuts.
To offset cuts to Medicaid that would heavily impact rural hospitals, Republicans also established the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program. The program is based in part on allowing physician assistants, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and dental hygienists to expand their scope of duties to support the rural healthcare workforce (especially by physician associations).major concerns” about this change).
Ten Republican-led states, from Alabama to South Dakota, now employ more physician assistants than physicians. Becker Hospital Review. Even Donald Trump’s government “doctor” is a physician’s assistant: Col. James Jones is the first PA to hold that role.
“On the one hand, the Trump administration is saying we need more PAs and we need them to do good work and do their best,” Pickard said. “But on the other hand, DOE says: ‘We don’t want to invest in the full cost of PAs.’ “Those two things don’t match.”
Changes made by the Ministry of National Education have been going on for a long time chicken and egg Debate in higher education: Are federal loans making tuition more expensive, or is the government creating a pathway for poor students by offering subsidized loans?
Department of Education secretary Linda McMahon discussed before Congress Limiting student loans will reduce tuition costs, but critics There is little evidence that prices will fall enough to comply with the strict new limits.
“Tuition fees are set by institutions,” Fletcher said. “This is a bigger systems issue than just one PA program.”
A tight cap on federal student loans for students means they will have to look for help elsewhere: at private lenders and banks. This marks an effective return to the system that Congress ended in 2006 due to affordability concerns. Inside Higher Education.
The average interest rate for federal graduate and professional loans is around 8%; private loans can range from 3 percent to 17.95 percent. Education Data Initiative. Unlike federal loans, private lenders require extensive underwriting, making it much more difficult and expensive for borrowers with poor credit scores like Pickard.
When asked if there was a chance Pickard would meet with anyone in management, he said no, but not for lack of trying. He pitches to Fox News and Newsmax for a segment on the changes: “I’d love to sit down and talk to Donald Trump.”
