Advocacy

A federal judge has tossed out the Education Department’s rule that strictly limited graduate students’ access to higher federal student loan borrowing limits, a victory for universities, health-advocacy groups and others who argued the policy could stop students from earning advanced nursing degrees and pursuing other crucial professions.

A coalition of provider associations on Wednesday evening won a preliminary injunction blocking a cap on federal student loans that was set to go into effect on July 1. The case, filed in late May by six professional associations and joined over subsequent weeks by others, centered on a Department of Education final rule that would subject many advanced practice occupations to the lower of two federal borrowing caps.

NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe asks American Academy of Physician Associates President Todd Pickard about a lawsuit seeking more generous caps on student loans for PA and nursing programs.

The American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) and the PA Education Association filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging that the Department of Education’s impending rule change on the borrowing cap for physician associate students is unlawful.

The American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) and the Physician Associates Education Association (PAEA) filed a lawsuit aimed at reversing a Department of Education regulation that the plaintiffs claim violates the Administrative Procedure Act. They are separately requesting an emergency injunction that seeks to block the rule from taking effect for PA students on July 1.

In a recent legislative achievement for physician associates, Delaware has joined the growing list of states enacting reforms that drive practice modernization, with a bill newly signed to allow more PAs to serve rural communities and work under an updated title that communicates the profession to patients in alignment with the American Academy of Physician Associates.

The Delaware House unanimously passed House Bill 325 on Tuesday, a measure aimed at expanding access to care and strengthening the state’s health care workforce. Sponsored by Rep. Alonna Berry and Sen. Nicole Poore, the legislation seeks to modernize the physician associate profession and reflect the role these providers already play in Delaware’s health care system.

Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer signed a bill into law May 12 that allows experienced PAs to practice without a formal on-paper agreement with physicians and formally adopts the “physician associates” title.

Maine has become the first state to hit the “trifecta” of physician associate (PA) practice modernization after Governor Mills signed LD 2088 on April 6.