ANA-Ohio Position Statement on the Proposed Changes to DOE Federal Loan Policy
Position Statement from the American Nurses Association-Ohio on the DOE Proposed Changes to Federal Loan Policy
December 13, 2025
The American Nurses Association-Ohio (ANA-Ohio) supports the statement issued by the American Nurses Association (ANA) on November 10, 2025, in which the impact of the Department of Education’s (DOE) decision to exclude nursing from the definition of “professional degree” programs was examined, and the implications of that decision for millions of Americans were set forth.
The DOE’s proposal would exclude multiple occupations from the definition of “professional degree” programs under the guise of addressing crippling student loan debt. However, the short-sighted decision to include nurses fails to consider how the decision would impact another national and Ohio critical problem, an unaffordable and inaccessible health care system. Making it more difficult for individuals to afford an advanced degree in nursing means fewer will be able to become advanced practice registered nurses who provide essential high quality health care to underserved individuals. Nurses earning these advanced degrees are a critical resource in efforts to address the unmet health care needs of an aging population as well as women and children whose ready access to vital services is becoming more uncertain as closures of rural health care facilities create more health care deserts. Adopting a policy that would discourage qualified individuals from filling significant gaps in the provision of health care is extremely short-sighted at a time when more holistic approaches are needed to effectively address the nation’s failing health care system in its entirety.
ANA-Ohio encourages DOE to reconsider its definition of what constitutes a “professional degree” to include graduate education pathways that prepare nurses to fill gaps in an essential component of the United States’ health care workforce.
Nurses and others can go to rnaction.org to access and sign the petition that urges DOE to expressly include “nursing” in the definition of “professional degree”.
ANA-Ohio is the professional organization for registered nurses in Ohio, and as such it represents the voices of thousands of nurses in the state.
