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.

These are not just any graduate students. These are individuals who have undergone extremely rigorous education and training at a high cost, both personally and financially, in order to bring the highest quality healthcare to our nation. Our country depends on these clinicians to be on the job and available in every specialty of medicine and in every part of the country, both rural and urban, to provide for the healthcare needs of all communities. To designate PAs as anything less than professional is absurd and an insult.

The very people who wrote this law have likely been treated by a PA. I have personally met an Air Force PA who provided healthcare for a President of the United States and his family. I cannot imagine that we would ever allow anyone other than a professional to provide healthcare to the Commander in Chief and President of our country.

Moreover, this misdesignation is in conflict with the most recent HR-1 Bill allocating 50 billion dollars to states for the development and support of rural healthcare. In this bill one of the metrics for receiving more money is the utilization of PAs and nurse practitioners to be able to practice to the highest limits of their license. Per this language, it seems to me that the federal government not only relies on us to provide this care but also strongly believes we are qualified to do so.

I want to assure all PAs in the state of California that we are doing everything possible to correct this designation. In doing so, we are encouraging all PAs to get involved in the following ways:

1. Join the PAEA Grassroots Action Network Campaign. The PA Education Association has created an electronic pre-templated letter that PAs can use to tell their own stories and urge their Congressional leaders to intervene and persuade the Department of Education to revise their proposal before the final rule is released. PAs who join the campaign will be asked to enter their name, email, and home address. The campaign tool will automatically send a letter to the correct Congressional leader based on the petitioner’s address. www.votervoice.net/PAEA/Campaigns/131419/Respond

2. AAPA also released a templated electronic petition for PAs to communicate directly with the Secretary of Education’s office. Similar to PAEA’s letter, the petition urges Linda McMahon (Secretary of Education) and the Department of Education to revise the negotiated proposal around PA student loans to prevent a worsening of the healthcare provider shortage and healthcare access. The petition requires the petitioner’s name, email, and home address.

I have personally placed a call to the Secretary of Education and left a message asking for a return call and conversation regarding this issue. As your current president, I stand firmly with you and will fight for your well-deserved recognition and the reinstatement of the appropriate allotment of student loans.