Biblioteca Central EsSalud

The United States has a student-loan–debt problem: Americans owe roughly $1.65 trillion in educational loans. Amid increases in tuition that outpaced inflation, default rates for student loans had been increasing before payments were frozen during the Covid-19 pandemic. More recently, a sharp rise in defaults has been observed since late 2025. Currently, graduate students can receive a grad PLUS loan from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) for up to the full cost of attendance in their program, including nontuition costs. In response to concerns about high levels of student-loan debt in the United States, however, Congress eliminated this program, effective July 1, 2026, in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Federal loan limits for graduate and professional students will be restructured to establish specific annual and aggregate caps. Loans for graduate students — including social work and public health students — will be capped at $20,500 per year and $100,000 in total, and loans for professional students — such as medical and dental students — will be capped at $50,000 per year and $200,000 in total. The goal of these changes is to reduce student-loan borrowing and encourage universities to reduce tuition.