The Trump administration is decreasing loan programs for nursing degrees next year — a decision Maryland professionals warn could worsen statewide nursing shortages and limit access to the profession.
As part of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, nursing degrees will be reclassified as nonprofessional, bumping down federal loan caps to $20,500 a year, with a lifetime maximum of $100,000. This is a downgrade from professional degrees, which offer students access to $50,000 in loans a year, with a maximum total of $200,000.
Nurse professionals who spoke with News4 said they’re not happy with the decision.
“So many people who are nurses and non-nurses are reaching out and have communicated with me how upset they are,” said Dr. Lou Bartolo, president of the Maryland Nursing Association.
A Department of Education press release addressing the changes claims decreasing loan caps will “push the remaining graduate programs to reduce their costs.” They did not include data to support those claims.
The loan caps apply to graduate-level nursing degrees, including those needed to become nurse practitioners, certified nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives and Ph.D. programs.
The estimated cost of tuition for a Master of Science in Nursing degree at the University of Maryland School of Nursing is roughly $74,000 a year for in-state students and nearly $100,000 for out-of-state-students. Costs include estimated transportation and living expenses.
Bartolo said he predicts the loan caps won’t have an immediate effect. Since many bachelor’s-level nurses require years of experience before pursuing advanced practice degrees, such as to become nurse anesthetists, Bartolo believes many nurses will be discouraged to continue their education or will fully drop out of the profession if loans can’t cover tuition.
“Anything for advanced-practice nursing, you have to have those graduate degrees for. And so that’s the part that really upsets the nurses, to be considered that they’re not professional when they do have to have such high-level degrees in order to move through the pipeline of the nursing profession and health care,” Bartolo said.
He added how such limiters could lead to less enrollment, worsening the national and statewide nursing shortage.
The shortage of full-time registered nurses in Maryland is expected to grow to 13,800 by 2035, a 2021 report by GlobalData shows. Nationally, the Occupational Outlook Handbook predicts roughly 32,700 advanced practiced nurses, or nurses with graduate-level degrees, will be needed each year through 2032.
Burnout and retirement are common causes attributed to ongoing shortages, but tightening loans could bar even more communities from careers in health care.
A 2017 report published by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing found students of color, including African Americans, Indigenous peoples, and Hispanic or Latino students, tend to take out loans of larger value compared to their white counterparts. Over half of African American students, for example, borrowed over $55,000 in student loans.
To remedy Maryland’s nursing shortage and increase minority access to careers in health care, Dwyer Workforce Development was founded.
Established in 2021, the Maryland-based health care training program provides underserved communities free training for certified nursing assistant (CNA) and geriatric nursing assistant (GNA) certificates. The program has since expanded to six other states, serving mostly women and people of color.
Along with flexible training hours, the program ensures student success through their “health care villages,” or areas in which the program provides subsidized, multi-income housing, child care services and a resource hub for scholars. Upon graduation, Dwyer maintains student support — encouraging them to continue their education in healthcare.
“Once they know that they have this opportunity, you can’t stop them. And it’s essential because the health care staff crisis is catastrophic. So we have to fill that pipeline with nurses or we have a big problem here in our country,” said Barb Clapp, founder and CEO of Dwyer Workforce Development.
However, filling this pipeline would become much harder under Trump’s new loan changes, with Clapp calling the move “catastrophic.”
“It’s a big word, but it’s a big problem, because it will impact loans that our scholars or just people can get that lack opportunity … It also really demeans one of the careers that is the backbone of our country, which is taking care of people,” Clapp said.
With dreams of becoming a nurse since she was a child, Unwana Udoakang moved from Nigeria to the United States in 2023. After discovering Dwyer, Udoakang earned her GNA license and became a certified GNA working in Baltimore with plans of going back to school for her licensed practical nurse certificate.
“Yes, [it’s] professional work because it’s all about skill. You have to perform different types of [skills] in nursing. So that skill is professional work,” Udoakang said.
As loan access dwindles and shortages expand, Bartolo warned about the impact Trump’s decision could have on rural and underserved communities
“So, it’s a trickle-down effect over time, basically, where you’re gonna see even health care become more difficult for certain communities to even have access to,” Bartolo said, referencing rural communities’ reliance on nurse practitioners.
The degree reclassification takes effect in July. Until then, Bartolo urges citizens to contact their local politicians and nurses to petition and speak about the importance of their work.
“Because voices need to be heard, and the more voices there are, there’s power in voices just like there’s the power of nurses as well,” Bartolo said.
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