Multiple medical groups are suing the U.S. Department of Education over its new student loan cap despite such loans’ apparent role in raising tuition to nearly six-figures.
The PA Education Association (PAEA) and the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education to stop its new Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) rule last Wednesday, according to a PAEA press release.
PAEA did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
RISE caps annual graduate federal student loan borrowing to $20,500 effective July 1. It does this by keeping the current limit for Direct Unsubsidized Loans and eliminating Graduate PLUS Loans, which can cover the full cost of attendance left behind from Direct Unsubsidized Loans. (RELATED: Student Loan Borrowers Bailed Out By Biden Now Piling Up Mounds Of Other Debt)
RISE also sets the borrowing limit for designated “professional degree” programs such as medicine, law, and theology to $50,000. It includes neither physician assistants nor nurses under that designation, according to the Department of Education.
RISE was the subject of a similar lawsuit by the department by the American Nursing Association (ANA) and multiple other nursing groups on May 29, according to an ANA press release.
“PA students are preparing to serve patients in every community across this country. Together, we are standing up for educational opportunity, for the integrity of the law, and for the future healthcare workforce that millions of patients will rely upon in the years ahead,” PAEA CEO Sara Fletcher stated in PAEA’s press release.
“PAs are responsible borrowers with a default rate of virtually zero, as referenced in our complaint. PA school is also a rigorous, full-time commitment that requires access to appropriate borrowing levels,” a spokesperson for AAPA told the DCNF.
“PAs are a critical part of the healthcare workforce and PA programs directly meet the three-part test adopted by Congress in H.R.1: they require education and training beyond a bachelor’s degree, prepare graduates to enter professional practice, and lead to professional licensure in all 50 states,” the spokesperson said. “One aspect we find to be particularly surprising is that, at a time when the Trump Administration is making investments in rural health through the Rural Health Transformation Program, this ruling flies in the face of such efforts by creating barriers that will deter future PA students from entering the workforce.”
“The next key milestone is action on our request for a preliminary injunction. This is the most important near-term milestone because it determines whether we can protect the incoming class of PA students while the broader case proceeds,” the AAPA spokesperson said.
Over three-quarters of physician assistant student borrowers required federal loans above the $20,500 limit in academic year 2023-2024, according to the PAEA press release.
PAEA previously reported that the average cost of a 27-month physician assistant program was approximately $98,075 for residents and $107,288 for non-residents in 2026, according to International Medical Aid.
College tuition increased over 900% since the 1980s, according to J.P. Morgan. The U.S. Department of Education began operations in 1980.
“[RISE] will help ensure students can access higher education without racking up excessive loan debt, offer repayment options that better serve borrowers, and force institutions to reduce costs,” U.S. Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent said in a statement, the DCNF reported last April.
“When there is more money in the system, institutions of higher education are going to raise their prices,” he said.
“For two decades, colleges and universities have been able to charge virtually unlimited tuition, even as many student loan borrowers see little to no return on their investment. During this time, tuition has risen faster than any other household expense, and 71 percent of graduates with debt report delaying major life milestones, while institutions have taken in billions at the expense of young Americans’ financial stability,” U.S. Department of Education press secretary Ellen Keast told the DCNF.
“The Trump Administration is working to correct this longstanding imbalance by ending a system that pushed students into debt they often could not repay and by promoting access to high quality education that serves students, not institutional bottom lines,” she said.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified an AAPA spokesperson as a PAEA spokesperson.
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