Nurses Are Professionals
Nursing is a demanding — and in-demand — profession. Nurses are highly trained professionals who rely on their education and clinical judgement to deliver quality patient care in a variety of healthcare settings, including hospitals, ambulatory care, birthing centers and long-term care facilities.
In November, nurses around the country felt a gut-punch when the U.S. Department of Education proposed new federal loan rules that would remove nursing from “professional degree” loan programs. Master of Science, nurse practitioner, certified registered nurse anesthetist, midwifery and other graduate degree programs would not be in the $200,000 cap “professional” category and would instead be capped at the generic graduate school level of $100,000.
Proposed Rule Would Limit Opportunity, Raise Costs
The proposed rule would make nursing students pursuing advanced practice degrees ineligible for maximum federal loan borrowing opportunities — putting advanced degrees for nurses further out of financial reach. Federal student loans are lower cost, more flexible and have more borrower protections than private loans to pay for education.
Dania Munoz, RN, NP, from Mount Sinai Hospital, spent over $200,000 on a graduate nursing degree at Columbia University — funded entirely by federal loans. Munoz grew up in Section 8 housing, raised by immigrant parents in The Bronx who stressed the importance of education. She initially dreamed of being a doctor before she discovered nursing and a more affordable pathway to becoming a clinician. If this rule goes through, Munoz worries that students with backgrounds like hers will be shut out of advanced degree programs, saying, “People like me who grew up low income and dream about going to an Ivy League probably won’t be able to afford that higher education.”
Nurses are not the only professionals who will be excluded from the professional designation. Physical therapists, dental hygienists, occupational therapists and social workers, as well as professions outside of healthcare such as architects, educators and accountants, will be left out.
Broader Attack on Worker Advancement and Patient Care
The proposed rule comes out of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA), which passed this summer. The OBBBA also eliminated the Grad Plus Program for new borrowers that allowed lower-cost federal loans to be used to cover expenses beyond tuition like housing and childcare.
Ashley Cota, RN, NP, from UVM-Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital, said: “My education cost over $100,000, and if it wasn’t for the support of my parents and now-husband, I don’t know how I could have done it. I moved to New York from Massachusetts and used loan forgiveness programs to work in the rural underserved North Country. This proposal won’t do anything to lower the costs of a nursing education; it will just put an advanced degree out of reach for more people and reduce access to care for the patients who need it most.”
New Limits on Loan Forgiveness
In March, Trump signed an executive order restricting public service loan forgiveness programs on political and ideological grounds under which public sector and nonprofit workers, including nurses, could be found “unpatriotic” and ineligible for loan forgiveness for advocating for or working in settings supporting immigrants, gender-affirming and reproductive healthcare, or diversity programs. The introduction of ideological tests for public loan forgiveness is in direct contradiction to the nursing code of ethics to do no harm and care for every patient, regardless of immigration status, gender identity or expression, or any protected category. Because the final rule enforcing this executive order was announced in October, a coalition of state attorney generals led by New York’s Letitia James filed several lawsuits against the Department of Education.
The Fight Is Not Over
At a time when New York and the nation need more nurses in the profession and for education to be more affordable and accessible, this rule would cause significant damage. It would lead to economic hardship for nurses, fewer nurses and advanced practice nurses in the workplace, and worse outcomes for patients.
The federal government should be enacting policies that get more nurses in the profession, advance their practice to meet the demands of our aging population, and help them serve in underserved communities. This rule is a step backward and deeply insulting to all of the nursing and other professionals who use their training and clinical judgement and work hard every day to care for patients.
NYSNA released a statement vehemently opposing the Department of Education’s proposed rule. The department still needs to post the proposed rule on the Federal Register and allow for public comment before formal adoption. NYSNA is monitoring this process closely and intends to advocate aggressively against these proposed rules. Stay tuned for ways you can raise your voice in opposition to this proposed rule!