ASA Urges U.S. Department of Education to Maintain Access to Affordable Student Loans

The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) has joined a coalition of leading medical specialty organizations in urging the U.S. Department of Education to preserve access to affordable federal student loans for medical students. In a formal communication to Secretary Linda McMahon, the organizations emphasized the critical need to maintain the Department’s authority under the Higher Education Act to allow borrowing beyond statutory limits—especially in light of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which imposes new lifetime borrowing caps and eliminates the Graduate PLUS loan program. The coalition warns that without this exception, aspiring physicians may be forced into high-interest private loans, threatening the sustainability of the future medical workforce. The groups also call for interest-free loan deferment during residency, consistent with bipartisan proposals like the REDI Act.