Would-be physician assistants deterred by strict caps on US student loans
Summary
New limits on federal student loans set to start July 1 will cap how much physician assistant (PA) students can borrow each year. These limits are less than half the cost of typical PA training programs, raising concerns about making the education unaffordable and affecting healthcare in rural areas.Key Facts
- The federal government will cap annual student loans for PAs at $20,500 starting July 1.
- Median PA training costs about $103,000 for 27 months of study.
- The new caps come from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Obbba), which also ends the Grad Plus loan program.
- Physician assistants can perform medical tasks such as prescribing drugs and conducting exams.
- Many PAs work in rural areas where doctors can be scarce.
- A group of 24 Democratic attorneys general, other officials, and PA organizations have sued the government to block the loan caps.
- The federal government created a $50 billion program to support rural healthcare that includes expanding PA roles.
- Some states now have more PAs than doctors, showing the growing role of PAs in healthcare.
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