Fresh limits on graduate student debt will exacerbate shortages in mental and behavioral health fields, stakeholders warn.
Republicans’ tax-and-spending bill signed into law last summer capped federal graduate loans at $100,000 and for a “professional degree” at $200,000, starting July 1.
Psychiatrists, social workers, payers, and others in the behavioral health field are sounding the alarm that these limits fall short of what students need financially. Private loans are an option, but stakeholders warn these can be expensive, have less favorable borrowing terms, and may not be accessible to all students.
Students looking into psychiatry, for instance, still …