H.R. 1, The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on July 4, 2025, created new federal loan limits for graduate students ($20,500 annually, $100,000 aggregate) and professional students ($50,000 annually, $200,000 aggregate).
On Jan. 30, the Department of Education released its proposed rule to implement these new limits. Despite the fact that nurse practitioner (NP) students meet the criteria developed by the Department for “professional students,” they were not included in the “professional student” definition, meaning NP students will only be able to borrow federal loans to the graduate student limit. These lower federal loan caps will have serious implications for the NP profession threatening the future of our health care workforce and ultimately patient access to care.
The American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) is working to secure nursing’s inclusion in the final rule, stressing the importance of ensuring that NP students are able to access the federal student loans they need to support their education. Your action is vital to turning up the volume on this issue.
Now that the proposed rule has been released, there is an open public comment period until March 2, 2026. Every message matters, and we need your voice today! It’s time to take steps to ensure your voice is heard.
