The American Nurses Association and a group of other organizations have jointly filed suit against the Department of Education over its final rule excluding nursing from the “professional degree” designation.
The American Nurses Association (ANA) and nine other nursing organizations filed the suit in response to a policy, starting July 1, excludes post-baccalaureate nursing degree programs from the advanced degree programs eligible for an exemption from student loan borrowing limits.
The Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) final rule restricts student loan access, narrowing the definition of “professional degree” to 11 fields. The rule also limits borrowing caps for graduate, medical and educational programs, with graduate students subject to a lifetime cap of $100,000 in federal loans and an annual limit of $20,500.
While the Dept. of Education has said that most nurses won’t be impacted by the borrowing cap, the organizations behind the lawsuit said that it would create “unnecessary financial barriers for current and future nurses at a time when communities nationwide continue to face healthcare workforce shortages and a growing demand for care.”
Dana Ritchie, associate vice president of workforce and constituency services at the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) said the group is disappointed that the final rule doesn’t recognize the professional degrees attained by advanced practice nurses or physical and occupational therapists.
“These care professionals are highly skilled, educated and valued team members of nursing homes and other long term care settings,” said Ritchie. “We hope to work with the administration and stakeholders to help our caregivers of tomorrow pursue their passion and ensure our nation’s seniors and individuals with disabilities have the trained professionals they need.”
Amy Stewart, Chief Nursing Officer for the American Association of Post-Acute Care Nursing (AAPACN), said the group strongly opposes the rule, adding that the change creates an unnecessary barrier to educating and preparing nurses who are essential to meeting nursing home resident care needs.
“Post-baccalaureate nursing graduates play a vital role in strengthening the nursing [home] workforce, improving patient safety, and advancing quality outcomes across the care continuum,” said Stewart. “The DoE’s decision appears inconsistent with ongoing federal efforts, including those led by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), to expand and support the nursing workforce.”
AAPACN supports legal efforts to prevent the implementation of this rule, Stewart said, and urges policymakers to pursue solutions that expand rather than restrict pathways into the nursing profession.
The policy comes as nurses are expected to work at the top of their license every day, and acuity continues to rise among nursing home residents. Nursing homes and hospitals have been in greater competition for nurses for years now, considering higher acuity in nursing homes and a shift toward nursing homes as “mini hospitals.”
The Trump administration’s policy is just one more factor creating a bottleneck in the pipeline from colleges to the nursing home setting – a shortage of nursing program educators, inadequate salaries compared to other care settings, higher acuity and increasing demand are all contributors.
“Increasing barriers to post-baccalaureate nursing education doesn’t just limit opportunities and access to education, it limits patients’ access to timely care from trusted, highly trained practitioners,” said Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, president of the American Nurses Association. “We are exercising our due process rights to ensure this is corrected.”
Legal action is being sought to secure relief for nurses and protect current and future nurses from such barriers to advanced education.
The nursing organization lawsuit is not the first over the rule. In April, a group of more than two-dozen states and Washington, D.C. sued the federal agency over the rule.
Companies featured in this article:
AAPACN, AHCA/NCAL, American Health Care Association, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
