A little-noticed provision in the sweeping "One Big Beautiful" legislation enacted by the GOP over the summer sharply limits the amount of federal student loans that students earning professional degrees — including medical school — can borrow. The loan changes will hit next July when an open-ended federal loan program known as Grad PLUS will stop making new loans. From that point on, med students won't be able to borrow more than $50,000 a year — or more than $200,000 over the four years. Many private med schools already cost north of $300,000, including living expenses.

On top of those new restrictions, a federal regulation posted October 30 — already facing a court challenge — adds new conditions to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which enables health workers who work in high needs areas and make payments for 10 years to erase debt.

The new Trump administration policy said loan forgiveness won't be an option for people working for an entity engaging in, among other things, illegal activities involving immigration, gender-affirming care, or "terrorism" aimed at "obstructing or influencing" federal policy. It will be up to the Education Secretary to decide which organizations will be ineligible.

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