It has recently come to my attention that under the One Big Beautiful Bill, PAs, among others, are not included under the “professional degree” designation, thereby limiting student loans to $20,500 per year and $100,000 total in loans verses $50,000 per year and $200,000 total under the “professional degree” designation.

Whether by mistake or intention, this decision will be catastrophic for the healthcare system. PAs have played a critical role in the healthcare system since the late 1960s. That role has increased dramatically since those early days. At this time, there are approximately 160,000 practicing PAs across the US, with more than 16,000 in the state of California alone. That’s over 10% of the total PAs in this country. And currently, there are 300 PA schools in the US, graduating approximately 30,000 PAs per year.

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