The Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth, said the Trump administration’s decision to snub the nursing profession will deepen the national health care crisis.
Following direction from the Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill, the Department of Education determined that nursing was among the programs that would now be excluded from the “professional degree” list. This would affect how those seeking a nursing degree would be reimbursed for student loan payments.
Mary Havlicek Cornacchia, a nurse at Tufts Medical Center and a member of the MNA Board, called the change "unconscionable" and told Newsweek in an interview that this will prevent several people working towards an education from becoming care providers amid an ongoing health care access crisis and nursing shortage across the country.
"To eliminate that possibility of gaining an education is only going to be harmful for so many people in need," she said. "Oftentimes, the people who are seeking their education in these roles are trying to serve their own community that is lacking the care that they need. So you're cutting off an entire segment of population that wants to get into the healthcare profession and provide for more people."
Why It Matters
As the cost of higher education continues to rise, many students rely on federal loans to pay for tuition. Without that support, many students may have to drop out or switch careers, impacting the already dwindling health care workforce.
Nursing is one of the largest and most trusted professions. According to the American Nurses Association, there are over 260,000 students currently enrolled in entry-level Bachelor of Science Nursing programs, with another 42,000 enrolled in Associate Degree Nursing programs.
A Gallup poll from January 2025 found that nursing was the most trusted of 23 professions in the U.S., with three-quarters of Americans considering nurses to be highly honest and ethical.
“To arbitrarily strip professional status from nursing and healthcare professional degrees is an insult to every person who delivers lifesaving care and a blow to the healthcare system that depends on us,” the MNA statement said.
The MNA Board of Directors said this policy will slow and shrink the ability to educate the next generation of nurses and health care professionals, reduce the pipeline of “desperately needed” nurse educators and deepen the shortage of advanced practice clinicians across Massachusetts.
What To Know
The Trump administration is replacing the Grad PLUS program, which was designed to help graduate and professional students cover educational costs, with the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), which caps the annual loan amount for new borrowers for both graduate and professional students.
The Department of Education has adjusted the definition of a professional program that is eligible for federal loan funds, excluding physician assistants, nurse practitioners, physical therapists and audiologists from the list.
Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent said in a statement at the time that the change in regulatory language will help "drive a sea of change" in higher education by holding universities accountable for outcomes and putting significant pressure on the cost of tuition.
Earlier this month, the American Nurses Association said this action from DOE would “severely restrict access to critical funding for graduate nursing education, undermining efforts to grow and sustain the nursing workforce.”
In a statement on Monday, the MNA Board of Directors called this adjustment a direct attack on the health care workforce and the future of patient care.
“By capping federal loan access for graduate nursing and healthcare professional students and eliminating programs like Grad PLUS, the administration is telling tens of thousands of current and aspiring students that their education and expertise are worth less than other professions,” the MNA said. “These caps make it dramatically harder or impossible to afford the education required to meet the needs of our communities. This change also restricts reimbursement pathways for [Advanced Practice Registered Nurses] APRN, placing additional strain on nurses already working under crisis-level conditions.”
As a result, the MNA said this policy is punishing nurses by burdening them with greater loan debt and jeopardizing access to high-quality care, especially in rural and underserved areas that rely on APRNs.
Havlicek Cornacchia told Newsweek that she hears about staffing issues from colleagues at various health systems and departments.
"The nurses that are down there are genuinely, genuinely committed to what they want to do and to eliminate funding for education is just despicable," she said. "If you've tried to make an appointment just to get to see a general practitioner, sometimes it takes months. And that's only going to get worse because people cannot get funding for the professional degrees that open up more qualified professionals to provide the care that is needed."
According to the 2025 Massachusetts Nursing Survey, hospital conditions have been deteriorating, with 75 percent of nurses saying the quality of patient care has gotten worse over the past two years and nearly half worrying weekly that unsafe staffing could jeopardize their nursing license.
These poor conditions are leading to recruitment and retention issues across the industry. According to the survey, 36 percent of nurses plan to leave the profession earlier than expected, including half of nurses with under five years of experience. The top reasons for leaving include unsafe staffing, poor working conditions and burnout.
What Happens Next
MNA is calling on its labor, health care and legislative allies to join them in opposing this policy.
“Stand with nurses and healthcare professionals to protect educational access and ensure that future generations can enter and advance within this essential profession without unjust barriers," the union said. "The health of our patients and the future of our workforce depend on our collective action.”
Havlicek Cornacchia told Newsweek that the next step for MNA is to educate people to understand the impact of this decision and speak to local, state and federal politicians who can help support nurses and others affected by this policy change.
What People Are Saying
American Nurses Association President Jennifer Mensik Kennedy said in a statement: “Nurses make up the largest segment of the healthcare workforce and the backbone of our nation’s health system. At a time when healthcare in our country faces a historic nurse shortage and rising demands, limiting nurses’ access to funding for graduate education threatens the very foundation of patient care. In many communities across the country, particularly in rural and underserved areas, advanced practice registered nurses ensure access to essential, high-quality care that would otherwise be unavailable. We urge the Department of Education to recognize nursing as the essential profession it is and ensure access to loan programs that make advanced nursing education possible.”
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Education for comment.
Have an announcement or news to share? Contact the Newsweek Health Care team at [email protected].
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