Trump administration exempts doctors from work visa freeze
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security quietly resumed visa processing so that foreign-born physicians can work in the United States. Numerous medical societies, including the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), have celebrated the update.
The belief among medical societies is that this move will help relieve major cardiology staffing issues in rural and underserved areas that are hit the hardest by the growing shortage of cardiologists. However, the policy move only breaks the freeze on processing existing visas and does not eliminate the new $100,000 fee for processing new H-1B visas. Both groups said this only addresses part of the staffing barriers facing health systems.
There has been a consistent push for the Trump administration to change its policy from January that imposed a travel ban and froze decisions on visa extensions and work permits for citizens of 39 countries that were considered security risks. The visa freeze caused alarm among many international doctors who were already working at, or about to start, jobs with health systems in the U.S.
The exemption comes after the ACC joined the American Academy of Family Physicians and several other medical associations in a letter citing concerns over the unintended consequences of prolonged visa processing delays for medical students, resident physicians, fellows and practicing physicians from outside the U.S.
"Physicians and medical trainees are indispensable to the nation's healthcare infrastructure," the letter states. "Preventing them from entering the country or forcing them to abandon their training due to administrative delay harms American patients, weakens the workforce, and undermines long-standing federal health policy goals."
This sentiment was echoed by SCAI President Dawn Abbott, MD. In a statement this week, she noted nearly one in four physicians in the United States is foreign-born and the supply of these physicians in the pipeline has become essential to meet growing demand for doctors as the number of patients continues to increase.
“The resumption of visa processing helps reduce uncertainty for highly trained physicians and healthcare systems already operating under significant workforce strain. Ensuring a stable and predictable pathway for international medical graduates is important for maintaining patient access to specialized cardiovascular care across the country," Abbott explained.
She added international medical graduates are an indispensable part of the U.S. physician workforce. They have become a critical component of how the U.S. healthcare system fills positions in less desirable positions in rural and underserved areas where it is more difficult to find U.S.-born physicians who want to fill these positions. The growing national shortage of all types of physicians comes at a time when the number U.S. medical school graduates and residency programs slots is not able to keep up with demand.
"The United States is facing a significant and growing physician shortage, one that is acutely felt in interventional cardiology, where timely access to trained specialists is directly tied to patient survival. Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in America, and interventional cardiologists are essential to ensuring patients receive lifesaving cardiovascular care when they need it most," Abbott explained.
The ACC, American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) and other medical societies said they continue to advocate for U.S. House bill H-1Bs for Physicians and the Healthcare Workforce Act (HR 7961), which was introduced in Congress in March. The bill would exempt physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals from a new H-1B visa $100,000 petition fee established by a in a presidential proclamation last September
These restrictions on physician immigration are already having an impact one the U.S. healthcare system. ASNC President Jamieson Bourque, MD, told Cardiovascular Business that he serves as medical director for one of the satellite hospitals in the University of Virginia system and they had to turn away doctors due to the policy.
"We had a couple of contracts that were well along and unfortunately fell through because of that financial requirement. So it had a very direct impact that I was able to visualize unfortunately."
Dave Fornell has covered healthcare for more than 17 years, with a focus in cardiology and radiology. Fornell is a 5-time winner of a Jesse H. Neal Award, the most prestigious editorial honors in the field of specialized journalism. The wins included best technical content, best use of social media and best COVID-19 coverage. Fornell was also a three-time Neal finalist for best range of work by a single author. He produces more than 100 editorial videos each year, most of them interviews with key opinion leaders in medicine. He also writes technical articles, covers key trends, conducts video hospital site visits, and is very involved with social media. E-mail: [email protected]