Washington, Oct 3
Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has introduced legislation aimed at helping qualified immigrant doctors, nurses and other health professionals enter the US healthcare workforce as the country confronts growing shortages of medical providers.
Krishnamoorthi, along with Congressman Adam Smith, introduced two bills, the Immigrants in Nursing and Allied Health Act and the Internationally Trained Physicians Assistance Act.
The measures seek to remove licensing, training and financial barriers that prevent immigrants already living in the United States from using their professional qualifications in healthcare.
“Skilled doctors, nurses, and other health professionals should have the opportunity to put their training and expertise to work caring for patients,” Krishnamoorthi said.
“Our legislation would help qualified immigrants overcome unnecessary barriers to entering the health care workforce while helping communities address critical provider shortages. When we make better use of the talent already in our communities, we strengthen our health care system and expand access to care.”
A 2022 Migration Policy Institute study cited by the lawmakers found that 2.1 million college-educated immigrants are unemployed or underemployed.
At the same time, the US healthcare system faces mounting workforce shortages. The Association of American Medical Colleges has projected a shortage of up to 48,000 primary care physicians by 2034.
An estimated 200,000 nurses will also need to be hired each year to meet growing demand and replace retiring nurses, according to information released with the legislation.
The Immigrants in Nursing and Allied Health Act would create grants for programmes providing training, licensing, certification and case management to immigrants seeking to enter healthcare professions.
It would also open eligibility for the National Health Service Corps to non-US-citizen immigrants.
The legislation covers nursing as well as allied health professions, including dental hygienists, dietitians, medical technologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, respiratory therapists and speech language pathologists.
The Internationally Trained Physicians Assistance Act focuses on immigrants who already hold medical degrees from outside the United States.
It would incentivise states to establish temporary licensing programmes under which internationally educated immigrant doctors could practise under supervision while completing training and certification requirements for a US medical licence.
The measure would also establish guaranteed medical residency slots for internationally trained physicians to work in predominantly medically underserved communities.
Grants would be made available to help cover expenses including examination preparation, testing, certification, English-language classes and case management for physicians needing financial assistance.
“We have thousands of skilled nurses, doctors, and health professionals in this country whose training and expertise are going to waste because their professional expertise is not recognised and they face numerous barriers to achieve the needed licensure,” Smith said.
“At the same time, our health care system is stretched thin and patients are waiting longer for care,” he said. “This bill package helps immigrants put their skills to work and serve their communities and will rebuild the health care system.”
The legislation has been endorsed by organisations including the International Medical Graduates Academy, Nashi Immigrants Health Board, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Sea Mar Community Health Center, Seattle Indian Health Board, Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning, Talent Beyond Boundaries, Upwardly Global and World Education Services.
