The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA)—legislation aimed at overhauling the U.S. federal student loan system—has sparked debate due to not classifying nursing as a “professional degree.”
The bill, which was signed into law in July 2025, introduced a new structure for federal graduate loan limits. While it simplifies many aspects of borrowing, it introduces a tiered system that separates “professional” degrees from non-professional classifications. Those who aren’t seeking professional degrees, including nurses, have a lower cap on how much they can borrow.
Critics of the change warn that it could increase aspiring nurses’ financial burden and exacerbate an already critical shortage. In response, the U.S. Department of Education defended the choice, claiming that most nursing students borrow below annual loan limits and that this distinction will drive nursing programs to lower their tuition.
Here’s a closer look at how these changes will affect the pipeline of advanced practice nurses, and how excluding nursing from this category could affect public health.
The ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ and the new loan tiers
The legislation is designed to cap federal borrowing to prevent students from drowning in debt they can’t repay. The mechanism for doing so relies on a specific classification of degrees.
Under the proposal, students pursuing a “professional degree” are eligible for a federal loan cap of $50,000 annually. The Department of Education defines a professional degree as “a degree that signifies both completion of the academic requirements for beginning practice in a given profession and a level of professional skill beyond that normally required for a bachelor’s degree,” including but not limited to Medicine (MD), Osteopathic Medicine (DO), Dentistry (DDS/DMD), Veterinary Medicine (DVM), Pharmacy (PharmD) and Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P. or Pod.D.).
Other degrees fall into the “standard graduate” category. This category is capped at borrowing $20,500 annually. Nursing—regardless of whether it is a Master’s or Doctoral program—is currently excluded from the “professional” list. This means a student pursuing a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) or a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) certification is limited to the $20,500 federal cap.
This could create obstacles for those who seek out more expensive nursing programs, such as CRNA programs. Graduate nursing programs cost more than $30,000 per year on average, according to the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association (PSNA). Opponents to OBBBA’s classification of nurses are concerned that this will force students to seek high-interest private loans to make up the difference—or abandon their education entirely.
How classifying nursing as a non-professional degree affects clinical practice
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act student loans provision has the biggest impact on those seeking high-acuity roles. Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs), including Nurse Practitioners (NPs), CRNAs and Nurse Midwives, require intensive training.
If a CRNA program costs $33,000 a year, and federal loans only cover $20,500, the student is left with a nearly $12,500 gap per year. Over a three-year program, that is a $37,500 shortfall that must be covered by savings (which many young nurses don’t have after their undergraduate program) or private lending markets that offer fewer protections and higher interest rates than federal loans.
The loan cap changes could also have ripple effects for practicing nurses already in the workforce. If fewer RNs are able to pursue APRN roles due to financing barriers, existing bedside nurses may feel the strain of prolonged staffing shortages, particularly in high-acuity settings that rely on CRNAs, NPs, and nurse midwives. Slower growth of the advanced-practice pipeline could translate into heavier patient loads, reduced mentorship opportunities, and fewer clinical leaders available to support care teams. For nurses who had planned to return to school mid-career, the financial uncertainty may also delay or derail professional advancement, potentially contributing to burnout, stalled earning potential, and longer-term retention challenges across the profession.
Sermo asked its nurse community how they felt about nursing being excluded from the “professional degree” list for higher loan limits, and the majority felt “disappointed.” When asked, “Do you think the proposed loan caps will discourage nurses from pursuing advanced degrees?” half of the respondents said, “Yes, absolutely,” while the remaining respondents think it’s possible, and only a minority said “no”.
The effect of not classifying nursing as a professional degree on healthcare
The decision not to classify nursing as a professional degree could have a domino effect that extends beyond individual students’ bank accounts.
Increased financial burden on students
The most obvious consequence is the debt burden. If more nursing students seek private loans, they won’t receive the protections afforded by federal loans, such as income-driven repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Nurses who work in non-profit rural hospitals often rely on PSLF to make their education economically viable. Private loans rarely offer such forgiveness.
Worsened provider shortages
There is a looming threat to the educator pipeline. To teach nursing at the undergraduate level, you generally need a Master’s or Doctorate degree. Nursing schools are turning away thousands of qualified applicants every year because they don’t have enough professors to teach them.
Capping graduate loans at $20,500 could make it financially irrational for a nurse to pursue the advanced degree required to teach. If fewer nurses get Master’s degrees, this may further strain the nursing faculty pipeline. And it follows that if there are fewer faculty members, nursing schools must accept fewer undergraduate students.
This could exacerbate the overall nursing shortage, creating a cycle of scarcity. “This will lead to a further shortage of advanced practice Nurses which are already in short supply,” writes one nurse on Sermo. The Sermo nursing community at large generally feels similarly; In a poll, when asked what the biggest impacts of this proposal would be, the most popular answer from nurses was “fewer advanced practice nurses.”
Delayed access to care
CRNAs play a critical role, particularly in rural hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers. If a rural hospital cannot hire a CRNA because the federal graduate loan limits choked off the supply of new graduates, surgeries get canceled. “I think this will, unfortunately, negatively impact nursing and further affect the shortage affecting patient care best practices,” predicts one nurse on Sermo.
When there aren’t enough providers, wait times increase. Patients in need of routine screenings or management for chronic conditions face delays, leading to worse health outcomes and higher costs down the road. “Unfortunately, I believe the decrease in nurses pursuing an advanced degree such as PhD or Nurse anesthetist, will have drastic affects on Quality of Care where are already having difficulty with this because of higher patient-to-nurse ratios,” writes a nurse in the Sermo community.
Advocacy and the ANA response
The nursing community has responded to the new legislation. The American Nurses Association (ANA) has campaigned for the Department of Education and lawmakers to amend the list of professional degrees, urging the public to comment publicly on the ruling.
“The updated rationale goes further by openly asserting that advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) are not part of a distinct profession and that graduate nursing degrees do not qualify as entry into a profession,” the association states on its site. “ANA rejects this denigration of the nursing profession entirely. Nursing is a licensed profession, and APRNs are educated, trained, certified, and regulated to deliver essential care.”
Many Sermo members feel similarly. In a poll asking nurses if advanced nursing degrees be classified as ‘professional degrees’ for higher loan limits, the majority answered with a resounding, “Yes, of course.”
Another Sermo member called for action. “That’s the most arcane and retrogressive decision coming from USA,” they write. “No one can change the global standard which stipulates ‘Nursing is a profession sui generis – ICN. Now is the time to test the worth of ANA and American leading nursing bodies in addressing this ill-informed decision to relegate the honorable profession of nursing.”
Another member detailed how they believe the law should be changed: “I [believe] the ‘Law’ should [be] amended to remove the wording detailing (limiting) to those mentioned, this would focus on the level of education (post-graduate degrees). For example, a PhD degree should be included in the higher level as the number of years will increase lifetime limits regardless of the field of study.”
What this means for nurses in 2026
Many nurses on Sermo believe the One Big Beautiful Bill Act student loans provisions could change the landscape of nursing education. Many members view the cap as a significant financial barrier; in a poll asking whether the $20,500 annual loan cap would’ve affected their ability to pursue an advanced nursing degree, most answered yes. “Calling it a technicality doesn’t change the fact that it creates a massive financial barrier for those pursuing Master’s or Doctoral degrees,” one ICU nurse writes.
The financial barriers could theoretically lead to increased clinical burden and patient access delays. If fewer nurses can afford to become NPs or CRNAs, the workload falls back on the existing workforce. This could mean higher patient-to-provider ratios, which is a driver of burnout.
A constricted pipeline means that specialty clinics will have reduced capacity. Wait times to see a specialist or get a procedure done could increase because the workforce wasn’t given the financial tools to grow.
The future of the nursing pipeline
The Department of Education frames these loan caps as a necessary measure to control tuition inflation and manage the federal debt portfolio. However, opponents argue that excluding nursing from the “professional” category could prevent many people from seeking out the profession, particularly specialties that are more expensive to pursue.
Now that OBBBA has been passed, groups like ANA are calling on the public to comment publicly on the ruling. “Public comments matter, and the Department has stated it may make changes in response to comments received,” the organization notes on its site.
Nurses on Sermo continue to discuss the legislation and its potential implications. Join the community to connect with more than 1.5 million verified healthcare professionals to discuss important issues, debate outcomes, and connect with peers who get it.
