May 2026 Policy Update
Summary: May 2026 PMH nursing policy updates include a graduate nursing finance rule, a new dementia agitation treatment and PTSD treatment approval, two federal funding opportunities with workforce and access implications, and ANA’s call for nurse-led guardrails on clinical AI use.
Key developments
- The Department of Education finalized the RISE rule, and the related final regulations keep post-baccalaureate nursing outside the higher-borrowing professional-degree category.
- The FDA approved Auvelity for agitation associated with dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease in adults and a new neuromodulation device to treat PTSD.
- HRSA opened the Pediatric Specialty Loan Repayment Program and the Star Loan Repayment Program.
- ANA released AI in Nursing Practice consensus findings, calling for nurse-led guardrails in healthcare AI implementation.
Practice Policy Update
ANA calls for nurse-led AI guardrails
- ANA’s consensus findings from its AI in Nursing Practice Think Tank identify risks, including overreliance on AI outputs, unclear accountability, algorithmic bias, added cognitive burden, and weak nursing-specific governance.
Treatment Policy Update
FDA approvals
- The FDA approved an expanded use for Auvelity extended-release tablets to treat agitation associated with dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease in adults and described it as the first FDA-approved treatment for this condition that is not an antipsychotic.
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The FDA grants the world’s first neuromodulation device to treat symptoms of PTSD, a wearable health tech device from Neurovalens that targets the brain with low-level electrical stimulation to address PTSD symptoms.
Funding
Education rule tightens federal borrowing access for many graduate nursing students
- Effective July 1, 2026, the Department of Education’s RISE final rule establishes new graduate and professional student loan limits that may affect access to advanced psychiatric-mental health nursing education and longer-term workforce supply, while ANA applauds the coalition of 24 attorneys general and 2 governors’ lawsuit against the Department of Education and announces its intent to file a lawsuit challenging the exclusion.
HRSA opens STAR Loan Repayment Program for substance use disorder treatment workforce
- Applications open! Deadline June 23, 2026: HRSA’s 2026 Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Loan Repayment Program offers up to $250,000 in loan repayment for PMH RNs, PMH-APRNs, and eligible clinicians working in a full-time SUD job at an approved facility, with funding priority tied to overdose-mortality criteria or service in a mental health professional shortage area, who commit to six years of full-time service at a STAR-approved facility.
HRSA opens Pediatric Specialty Loan Repayment Program with child and adolescent behavioral health eligibility
- Applications open! Deadline June 30, 2026: HRSA’s 2026 Pediatric Specialty Loan Repayment Program offers up to $100,000 in loan repayment for PMH-APRNs and eligible clinicians working or training at approved sites located in or serving a health professional shortage area, medically underserved area, or medically underserved population, who commit to three years of full-time service at a Pediatric Specialty LRP-approved facility.
APNA Advocacy
Mental Health Liaison Group (MHLG) statement on mental health and access to evidence-based care following the release of HHS action plan
- APNA is a member of MHLG, which issued a statement recognizing that mental health care should be appropriate, individualized, and guided by clinical expertise and informed patient decision-making, with a range of effective, individualized treatments, including psychotherapy and, when clinically appropriate, medications such as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), following the HHS action stating that psychiatric treatment should not rely only on pharmacological approaches, but a range of evidence-based treatment approaches.
Nursing Community Coalition advocacy in support of nursing education, workforce, and research
- As a member of the Nursing Community Coalition, APNA:
- Submitted written testimony to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, including funding requests of at least $610 million for the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs and at least $215 million for the National Institute of Nursing Research in Fiscal Year 2027.
- Sent a letter to Congress urging them to take action on top appropriations and legislative priorities that impact nursing education, workforce, and research. This letter comes as we celebrate National Nurses Week 2026.
- Released a statement on the Department of Education’s Final Rule on Student Loan Limits
Published May 2026.
This summary was informed by human-guided AI tools. Readers are encouraged to review the supporting links for full information.
