Advocacy in Action: Momentum Continues
February 18, 2026
By Chantell Taylor, Chief of Public Affairs & Advocacy
We are well into the 2026 legislative season at the federal and state levels, and momentum continues to build for PA practice modernization across the country. Your AAPA Advocacy & External Affairs team is working around the clock to support these efforts. Here are a few recent highlights and ways you can add your voice.
Access to federal student loans for PAs is under threat – only two more weeks to take action!
We are in the final weeks of public comment on the proposed federal student loan caps that could significantly impact the future PA workforce. This is a critical moment to ensure PA voices are heard and reflected in federal policy.
Read more about the Department of Education’s consideration of new rules that would exclude PAs from relatively higher loan caps for professional programs.
By submitting personalized comments, engaging your Members of Congress, and sharing real-world stories about how creating financial barriers to enter the healthcare workforce could affect patient access to care, you can help shape an outcome that supports PAs and your patients.
So far, more than 1,200 PAs, PA students, and pre-PAs have submitted comments to the Department of Education through AAPA’s Action Center – if you haven’t already, we encourage you to submit comments before the comment period ends on March 2.
Multiple PA modernization bills are progressing through state legislatures!
Earlier this month, North Dakota became the first state to pass legislation motivated by the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP)!
With practice modernization bills pending in 15 states and 12 states focused on passing the PA Compact, we are poised to have one of our most successful years ever. This level of action on PA policy priorities is driven by the thousands of PAs advocates who have spent countless hours raising awareness of our issues – and this year we have the wind at our back thanks in large part to the RHTP. I encourage you to contact your state chapters to get involved in efforts to push bills across the finish line, including opportunities to take part in grassroots pushes via AAPA’s Action Center.
PAs showing up in force at state capitols across the country!
So far this year, 10 states have hosted lobby days at their state capitols, and the momentum we’re witnessing is inspiring.
Across the country, hundreds of PAs and PA students have taken to their statehouses to meet directly with lawmakers, share stories, and press for policies that strengthen access to care. Legislators are not only listening — they’re showing up. In multiple states, legislative champions have stood alongside PAs at press conferences, spoken in support of modernization efforts, and joined advocacy day programming. Lawmakers are also formally recognizing PAs during official floor sessions and acknowledging the essential role PAs play in their communities.
AAPA’s Advocacy & External Affairs team has worked hand in hand with state chapters to elevate these efforts — helping secure earned media coverage, coordinate legislative champions and third-party validators, support press conferences and legislative breakfasts, develop signage and leave-behind materials, amplify social media engagement, and ensure each event drives measurable impact.
This is what a movement looks like!
From left to right, the Colorado Academy of Physician Associates, Alabama Society of Physician Assistants, Ohio Association of Physician Assistants, Kentucky Academy of Physician Assistants, and South Dakota Academy of PAs.
Keep those photos coming — we want to showcase the energy happening in statehouses across the country. Share your state advocacy day pictures with AAPA here.
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Advocacy in Action: 2026 is a year for MOMENTUM!
