Efforts to bring more foreign physicians to rural America are hampered by "restrictions from the war on terror and the immigration debate," reports The Associated Press. "Many believe the process will become more difficult after the attempted terrorist bombings in Britain that have been linked to foreign doctors."
Foreign physicians already make up a considerable share of the doctors in poor rural areas that are classified as medically underserved. Physicians who immigrate to such areas can get J-1 visa waivers to work there for three to five years, "with a shot at eventually obtaining permanent residency," AP's Chris Talbott writes. But since the 2001 attacks, a Department of Agriculture J-1 program has ended and the Department of Health and Human Services has changed rules so that fewer counties are designated as underserved. "The number of physicians in training with J-1 visa waivers has fallen by almost half over the past decade."
"The government estimates that more than 35 million Americans live in underserved areas, and it would take 16,000 doctors to immediately fill that need, according to the American Medical Association," Talbott writes. "And the gap is expected to widen dramatically over the next several years, reaching 24,000 in 2020 by one government estimate. A 2005 study in the journal Health Affairs said it could hit an astonishing 200,000 by then, based on a rising population and an aging work force." "And that will mostly be felt in rural America," U.S. Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., told Talbott: "We're facing a real crisis." Conrad sponsored a program that authorized 30 J-1 visas per state per year. The program is up for reauthorization next year. (Read more)
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