Student loan cap policy favors chiropractic over critical health professions, warns surgeon

David S. Shapiro, a board-certified surgeon and physician executive, argues that the Education Department's new student-loan limits miss the realities of modern health care.

The rule caps annual federal borrowing for most graduate students at $20,500, while allowing up to $50,000 for a select list of eleven "professional" degrees, a group that currently includes fields such as chiropractic.

After a court order, the department added registered nurses and physician assistants to the professional list, saying it will treat those programs as eligible for the higher limit while the legal challenge proceeds.

Shapiro contends that privileging certain professions over critical health-care roles could have life-or-death consequences for patients and reflects a dangerous misunderstanding of contemporary medicine.