(New York, NY)—Jonathan Teyan, President and CEO of the Associated Medical Schools of New York (AMSNY) and New York State Academic Dental Centers (NYSADC), testified today before the Standing Committee on Higher Education and Committee on Banks about the impacts recent changes in federal student lending will have on students’ access to careers in medicine, dentistry and other health professions.
The testimony included the following:
“H.R.1 limits federal Direct Unsubsidized loans to $200,000 for students in professional programs such as medicine and dentistry, allowing no more than the borrowing capacity of $50,000 per year for students.
“The changes to student borrowing will directly and negatively impact medical students, making medicine less accessible, even as the U.S. is facing a projected physician shortage of up to 86,000 by 2036.”
“These new limits on federal lending will disproportionately affect medical students from lower income backgrounds, forcing those students to either seek higher-interest private loans or discouraging them from pursuing careers in medicine altogether.”
“Additionally, the Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee of the U.S.
Department of Education, through its negotiated rulemaking, excluded many of the advanced degrees needed in the healthcare workforce from the “professional” degree list.”
Teyan outlined two potential New York State solutions:
- Offering loan repayment assurance options to medical students as they complete their education and commit to practicing in rural areas after their training, and
- A state-supported lending mechanism issuing loans at competitive rates to New York State residents enrolled in New York State medical schools. These loans could either be repaid by the borrower or be forgivable after a multiyear service commitment working in high need areas in the state, similar to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
Testimony of:
Jonathan Teyan, President & CEO
Associated Medical Schools of New York (AMSNY)
New York State Academic Dental Centers (NYSADC)
Assembly Standing Committee on Higher Education
Assembly Standing Committee on Banks
Hearing on Federal Lending Changes in Higher Education
October 20, 2026
10:00AM
Hearing Room B
Good afternoon, Chairs Hyndman and Vanel and other distinguished members of the New York State Legislature. Thank you for this opportunity to testify on the impacts recent changes in federal student lending will have on students’ access to careers in medicine, dentistry and other health professions and on our ability to produce a healthcare workforce that delivers the very best care to all New Yorkers.
My name is Jonathan Teyan, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Associated Medical Schools of New York (AMSNY) and the New York State Academic Dental Centers (NYSADC).
AMSNY is the consortium of the academic medical centers in New York and we strive to be the voice of medical education in the state. To that end, we advocate for policies that help advance the education and training of physicians, support biomedical research and provide New Yorkers with access to the very best clinical care.
NYSADC is the consortium of the dental schools in New York State and works to advance dental education and address disparities in oral health care, particularly as it pertains to access and treatment for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
AMSNY runs collaborative programs across the medical schools and has for decades invested in initiatives that create pathways to careers in medicine. AMSNY Scholars in Medicine and Science, which launched in 1991 and has been supported by New York State since 2001, consists of a portfolio of initiatives that offer opportunities to talented students who are committed to becoming physicians and who have demonstrated resilience in overcoming adversity on the path to medical school. Many of the students who come through our programs will practice medicine in communities of need after completion of their training.
I would first like to thank the Legislature for its unwavering support for these programs and the AMSNY Scholarship in Medicine. The recent expansion of AMSNY Scholars in Medicine and Science – which now encompasses 16 programs throughout the state – and the AMSNY Scholarship in Medicine – which this year supports 38 students – is due to the recognition by the Legislature and the Governor that investing in our physician workforce is a key component of ensuring access to very best healthcare for all New Yorkers.
I highlight this work because this has been a project New York State and our medical schools have been committed to in partnership for 25 years, but that is now being challenged by new limits on federal borrowing that will disproportionately affect students from lower income backgrounds.
Statement of Problem
H.R.1 (Public Law 119-21) included changes to student loan borrowing that directly impacted students beginning July 1, 2026. H.R.1 limits federal Direct Unsubsidized loans to $200,000 for students in professional programs such as medicine and dentistry, allowing no more than the borrowing capacity of $50,000 per year for students. Grad PLUS loans which have been essential in financing professional and other advanced degrees, have been eliminated. This loan allowed graduate students to borrow up to their institutions’ costs of attendance, which includes tuition, cost of living, materials and overall costs associated with completing their degrees. While Grad PLUS loans will continue to be available to current graduate students with fewer than three years remaining to degree completion, newly enrolled students will be unable to borrow through this program.”
Impact on New York State’s Physician Workforce
The changes to student borrowing will directly and negatively impact medical students, making medicine less accessible, even as the U.S. is facing a projected physician shortage of up to 86,000 by 2036.
Median education debt for 2025 medical school graduates was $215,000 (held by 70% of graduates). Median cost of attendance for the class of 2025 was $286,454 for public medical schools and $390,848 for private schools.
These new limits on federal lending will disproportionately affect medical students from lower income backgrounds, forcing those students to either seek higher-interest private loans or discouraging them from pursuing careers in medicine altogether. Students with a median self-reported parental income of $80,000 have the highest median education debt upon graduation compared to those from families making twice that income. While New York State has invested in initiatives to ensure its healthcare workforce meets the needs of the populations it serves, these federal policy changes will have the opposite effect, reducing the numbers of physicians who come from, and are committed to practicing medicine in, underserved communities.
Additionally, the Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee of the U.S. Department of Education, through its negotiated rulemaking, excluded many of the advanced degrees needed in the healthcare workforce from the “professional” degree list and are therefore capped lifetime student borrowing at $100,000. Many of the degrees excluded are for healthcare roles that are in critical shortages such as nurses and nurse practitioners, public health professionals, social workers, physician assistants, physical and occupational therapists, genetic counselors and others. It is vital to the health of New Yorkers that people from all socioeconomic backgrounds are able to enroll in these programs and join our healthcare workforce.
Proposed New York State Interventions to Address Medical School Borrowing
- New York Students to Service
In addition to programs like Doctors Across New York, New York could provide loan repayment assurance options to medical students as they complete their education and commit to practicing in rural areas after their training. This program could be modeled after the National Health Service Corps Students to Service Loan Repayment Program, which enrolls students in their final year of medical school and provides up to $120,000 in loan repayment in exchange for a three-year service commitment. This model could capitalize on students already interested in practicing in certain specialties and/or regions and ensure they return to New York’s areas of greatest need.
- Strategic Lending with Forgivable Loans
In order to provide student borrowing options for medical students above the federally designated cap of $200,000, New York State could establish its own lending mechanism or designate a preferred lender to issue loans at competitive rates to New York State residents enrolled in New York State medical schools. These loans could either be repaid by the borrower or be forgivable after a multiyear service commitment working in high need areas in the state, similar to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
Sustainability: Borrowers who opt out of service commitment will repay loans (again, at a reasonable interest rate), providing revenue to the program. Importantly, despite the high median debt, medical school graduates have among the lowest default rates of student borrowers.
Closing
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today and for your continued support of academic medicine and dentistry. I welcome any questions you may have.
Respectfully submitted,
Jonathan Teyan, MPA
President and Chief Executive Officer
AMSNY Member Institutions
Albany Medical College
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
CUNY School of Medicine
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, the University at Buffalo
NYU Langone Health
New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine
New York Medical College
Norton College of Medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Rochester Medical Center
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine
Weill Cornell Medicine
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
NYSADC Member Institutions
Columbia University College of Dental Medicine
New York University College of Dentistry
Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine
Touro College of Dental Medicine
University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine
University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry