In comments to the Dept. of Education, the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) is asking the agency to reverse a proposed change to the definition of what counts as a professional degree, claiming the change would further challenge the long-term care (LTC) sector and its ability to fill nursing jobs.  

“If this rule is finalized, certain types of health practitioner degrees, such as those for being an advanced practice nurse or physical or occupational therapist, would be excluded from the professional degree determination, which would significantly and adversely impact loan amounts,” the association said in a blog post about the submission to the feds.

“AHCA/NCAL, along with almost 37,500 national organizations, providers and others, have provided comments to the Education Department with feedback and concerns thus far.”

Comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking are due on March 2.

Dana Ritchie, AHCA’s associate vice president of workforce and constituency services, in the letter to the Dept. of Education, said “at a time when our country desperately needs more nurses and other critical healthcare professionals, this is a missed opportunity. Nurses are the beating heart of LTC, and advanced practice nurses, like nurse practitioners, are helping to revolutionize our sector.”

She added that excluding advanced practice nurses from the professional degree determination for federal student loan purposes will directly exacerbate the national shortage of nursing faculty and, in turn, worsen workforce instability in LTC.

“Graduate-prepared nurses are the primary pipeline for nursing instructors; limiting their access to student loans increases financial barriers to advanced education, making academic careers less attainable than higher-paying clinical roles,” the letter said.

The proposal also undermines preparedness for the next decade, during which the population aged 65 and older is expected to grow rapidly, driving sustained increases in demand for long-term services and supports, Ritchie added.

“Fewer nursing instructors today translate into fewer licensed nurses tomorrow, creating predictable access gaps in assisted living, skilled nursing, and home- and community-based care, particularly in rural and underserved areas where recruitment is already constrained,” she said.

Read the AHCA/NCAL letter at https://tinyurl.com/5n8f5u9d.

Questions or comments? Contact Patrick Connole at pconnole@parkplacelive.com.