"The Trump administration announced last week that every new H-1B visa will now cost $100,000. Framed as a crackdown on Silicon Valley, the policy will devastate American hospitals. Its real casualties will be poor and rural Americans in need of medical care but who will be left with no one to provide it. One in four US physicians is foreign-trained. Many enter through the H-1B program, disproportionately staffing rural and underserved hospitals where American graduates rarely go."
"By raising visa costs from a few thousand dollars to $100,000, the administration is functionally cutting off their pipeline. The consequences will be immediate and severe. In this year's residency match, international graduates filled more than 6,600 positions, with the vast majority in internal medicine and family medicine the unglamorous workhorses of primary care. American graduates consistently avoid these specialties, preferring higher-paying and more prestigious fields."
The new $100,000 fee for every H-1B visa will sharply reduce the entry of foreign-trained physicians into the United States. One in four US physicians is foreign-trained, and many use H-1B visas to staff rural, underserved, and safety-net hospitals. International graduates filled more than 6,600 residency positions this year, largely in internal medicine and family medicine. American graduates frequently avoid these primary-care specialties. Dramatically increasing visa costs effectively severs the pipeline, producing unfilled residency slots, shuttered clinics, longer waits for basic care, and potential loss of life. Training more domestic physicians requires at least a decade and expanded medical capacity that has not been funded.
#h-1b-visa-policy #foreign-trained-physicians #rural-and-underserved-healthcare #medical-residency-shortages
Read at www.theguardian.com
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