AUPHA Advocacy - Current Issues

Though it is rare, AUPHA engages in advocacy efforts that benefit healthcare management students, faculty, and the profession as a whole. These efforts often relate to issues that could affect the workforce pipeline and diminish the affordability and accessibility of higher education.

This page contains the current issues affecting healthcare management practice and healthcare management education. Another page dedicated to past issues is currently under construction.

CURRENT ISSUES

The issues currently listed on this page are as follows:

Accountability: Financial Transparency and Gainful Employment (US ED)
Student Loan Caps (US ED)

Coming Soon:

H-1B Visas (DHS)

ACCOUNTABILITY: FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY AND GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT

HR1: One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law on July 4, 2025, introduced new restrictions related to federal Pell grants and other types of federal student aid. The US Department of Education has formed the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-drive Workforce Pell (AHEAD) Committee to engage in rulemaking to determine a framework by which institutions could be evaluated for continued access to federal student aid funding.

The Issue

The AHEAD Committee published its initial draft consensus language on December 12, 2025 and provided an updated version on January 9, 2026. All documents related to the committee's work can be found on the US Department of Education's Negotiated Rulemaking webpage. The draft language, which would take effect on July 1, 2026, provides a framework through which institutions would be evaluated for federal student aid funding.

While it is anticipated that the language will be adopted as written, the public may provide comments on the notice of proposed rulemaking through April 8, 2026.

What You Can Do

Stay Informed

Remain up-to-date on the work of the AHEAD Committee, which has additional proposed rulemaking yet to be released related to OBBBA. AUPHA will make efforts to keep this page current but individuals can always review the Department of Education's Negoitated Rulemaking page for the latest updates.

AUPHA's Advocacy Efforts

AUPHA has carefully monitored the progress of the AHEAD Committee and consulted with the Federation of Associations of Schools of Health Professions (FASHP) regarding concerns the proposed rulemaking may pose for healthcare management.

Resources

For a summary of the proposed rulemaking and its implications, please review this article published by the American Council on Education.

The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators has several articles available on their website detailing the progress of the AHEAD Committee, as well as other committees currently working on rulemaking related to OBBBA.

STUDENT LOAN CAPS

HR1: One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law on July 4, 2025, introduces new federal loan limits for graduate and professional studies. Part of the bill required the Department of Education (ED) to engage in rulemaking to determine which graduate degrees are classified as "professional" and are thus eligible for the higher capped amount.

The Issue

The US Department of Education’s (ED) Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee advanced a proposed definition of “professional degree programs” under OBBBA that excludes health administration degrees like the MHA, MHSA, MBA, MPH, MPA, and others, as well as most other health professions programs. This change could restrict access to federal loan support for most health professions and weaken the pipeline of healthcare management practitioners to our communities.

The Association of University Programs in Health Administration is leading national advocacy to ensure that healthcare administration degrees remain recognized and supported as "professional".

What You Can Do

Stay Informed

The Advanced Professional Workforce Alliance (APWA) submitted written testimony to Congress requesting that the US Department of Education and the Department of Labor produce reports on the impact the student loan limits have on programs and professions not designated "professional". The testimony asks that these reports include impacts on institutional programs as well as workforce.

At least four bills have been drafted since October to address the limited scope of “professional” degrees as recommended by the RISE Committee. They are as follows:

Bills including healthcare management:

HR 6574: Loan Equity for Advanced Professionals (LEAP) Act, sponsored by Representative Tim Kennedy (D – NY): this bill would adjust student loan caps for advanced degree students by setting the same borrowing caps for all graduate and advanced professional students rather than using the current tiered structure.
HR 6677: Professional Degree Access Restoration Act, sponsored by Representative Ritchie Torres (D – NY): this bill would reverse the reduction in federal loan availability for graduate and professional students enacted under OBBBA.
HR 6862: Protecting Health Care Workforce Pipelines Act, sponsored by Representative Josh Harder (D - CA): this bill would delay implementation of caps for healthcare professions until July 1, 2030.

Bills that do not include healthcare management:

HR 6718: Professional Student Degree Act, sponsored by Representative Mike Lawler (R – NY): this bill is intended to clarify which programs count as “professional” degrees by establishing a statutory definition of professional degree programs in federal student loan law.
HR 6739: Clarity in Professional Degree Act, sponsored by Representative Debbie Dingell (D – MI): this bill would add more degrees to the definition of "professional" by expanding the explicit list of programs referenced in the definition.

All bills related to education introduced in the 2025-2026 Congress session can be found here.

Consider Adding Your Voice

As a member of the healthcare management academy, student or alumni of an AUPHA member program, a healthcare executive, or AUPHA partner/friend, you can support advocacy efforts as specified above by writing to your Congressional representatives or participating in public comment when the NPRM is released. You can also voice your support of the coalition’s efforts on social media. 

You can send this pre-drafted message to your members of Congress about the ED definition. You can also ask your members of Congress to support one of the bills listed above.

Explore Alternative Funding Options

Scholarships, institutional aid, private scholarships, work–study or employment-based funding, employer tuition support, or part-time enrollment might become more important if healthcare management is not included in the final list of “professional” degrees.

Frequently Asked Questions

These FAQs outline the proposal, its impact on student aid, and key advocacy timelines.

AUPHA's Advocacy Efforts

View this document to learn more about AUPHA's advocacy efforts on this issue, which include communication with members, an independent letter sent to the Department of Education, and joint letters sent to members of the ED as part of two different coalitions of organizations.