Advocacy in Action: Energized for the Work Ahead
June 1, 2026
By Chantell Taylor, Chief of Public Affairs & Advocacy
It’s been a little over a week since we returned from AAPA 2026, and the Advocacy Division is feeling more energized than ever about the progress made over the past year and the outlook for the future of the profession.
AAPA 2026 Was a Success!
Thank you to everyone who came by and visited us at the Advocacy in Action table at conference. Our staff enjoyed connecting with CO leaders, PA students and career PAs, hearing your stories about legislative challenges and accomplishments over the past year, and getting inspired by your passion for patients, healthy communities and your profession. I hope you gained some knowledge and connection from us as well.
If you didn’t get a chance to interact with our new PA Practice Environment map, you can check it out online. With this tool, you can explore how your state’s practice environment for PAs compares to other states and get a good sense of the barriers your AAPA advocacy team is working to eliminate.
We also want to thank all of those who supported AAPA’s PA PAC at conference. The PA PAC is the only federal PAC dedicated to advancing the PA profession and patient care. Its primary purpose is to pool resources among AAPA members to support PA-friendly congressional candidates and educate lawmakers on Capitol Hill about the critical role PAs play in communities nationwide. With your help, we exceeded our fundraising goal, raising nearly $65,000 over the course of conference.
At conference, the State Advocacy and Outreach team hosted a breakfast networking event with dozens of CO leaders from across the country. We heard from a panel of CO leaders about challenges and successes from this legislative year, as well as ways to continue mobilizing members and pushing for change at state capitols throughout the nation. And, for the first time, we celebrated states that have accomplished all three of our top legislative priorities – optimal practice environment, title change and compact. These “Triple Crown” winners were honored for advocacy accomplishment – Maine, Iowa and Delaware – and we look forward to adding more to this growing list!
This year, we’ve had 17 successful lobby days, 12 bills signed into law, and over 18 pieces of legislation still active in statehouses across the country.
That’s 47 coordinated advocacy efforts happening across the country in 2026 alone.
What makes this year different is that we’re not just seeing isolated wins—we’re seeing coordinated progress across multiple states, in very different political environments.
And that tells us something important: When we are aligned around shared priorities and when we collaborate, we are incredibly effective.
Looking Ahead
Despite these many accomplishments, the profession faces a looming threat that AAPA is fighting head on. As you may know, last summer Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R.1) that, among other things, eliminated the Grad Plus federal loan program and placed caps on the amount of federal loans students could borrow. In doing so, the Department of Education issued a ruling that allows for higher loan amounts for professional programs; such programs exclude PAs and other healthcare providers, despite them clearly meeting the definition of a professional program. Without sufficient federal loans to cover the full cost of PA education, students will be forced to take on private loan debt at higher interest rates or choose other career paths entirely. Stay tuned for more updates as to how AAPA is working with PAEA to challenge this ruling.
In the meantime, we urge you to express your support for a legislative fix. AAPA strongly supports H.R. 6718, the Professional Student Degree Act, introduced by Rep. Michael Lawler (R-NY) in December 2025. This bill seeks to ensure PAs and several other professions are included in the “professional” tier for federal student loans by codifying into law the definition of “professional degree” previously in regulation, which includes PAs
In closing, I want to thank you for your ongoing support as a member of AAPA. Without our members, we could not continue advocating for patients and the profession.
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