Liaison and Juno Partner to Counter Declining Federal Student Aid

The partnership integrates Juno’s collective bargaining model directly into Liaison’s Centralized Application Service (CAS) network. By aggregating demand across a massive pool of prospective clinicians—including medical, dental, and pharmacy students—Juno negotiates discounted rates, cash-back incentives, and flexible loan features that are typically unavailable to individual borrowers. Applicants can access these offers without impacting their credit scores and remain under no obligation to accept any terms provided.

Liaison CEO George Haddad emphasized that the initiative is intended to provide a safety net rather than steer students away from federal aid or scholarships. The company will continue to feature federal and institutional funding resources prominently alongside the new private loan options on its platforms, including the Explore Health Careers website. Chris Abkarians, co-founder of Juno, noted that because federal loans no longer cover the full cost of attendance for many health programs, the platform’s goal is to ensure students enter the private market with the leverage of a large community rather than navigating opaque, high-cost debt alone.