Provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will impact the 78% of dental school graduates starting their careers with more than $312,000 in student loan debt, according to a letter from the American Dental Association to the U.S. Department of Education.
ADA leaders sent the letter Aug. 26 in response to a Federal Register notice announcing the Education Department’s intent to establish a negotiated rulemaking committee to implement the higher education provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. In the letter, President Brett Kessler, D.D.S., and Interim Executive Director Elizabeth Shapiro, D.D.S., J.D., outlined how those provisions would impact dental students who participate in federal student loan programs.
The act lowers the borrowing limits on Direct Unsubsidized Loans from the cost of attendance to $50,000 annually, or $200,000 in a lifetime. It also eliminates the Grad PLUS loan program altogether. Both of these provisions go into effect July 1, 2026.
Source: One Big Beautiful Bill’s impact on student loans . ADA News