Washington, March 19 (IANS) A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has introduced legislation to exempt doctors and healthcare workers from a proposed $100,000 H-1B visa fee, warning that the cost could deepen workforce shortages and restrict access to care across the country.
The “H-1Bs for Physicians and the Healthcare Workforce Act” aims to remove financial barriers for hospitals and health systems that rely on foreign-trained medical professionals to fill critical roles, particularly in underserved and rural areas.
“Healthcare access starts with having enough doctors and medical professionals to serve our communities,” said Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar. “As our nation faces a growing physician shortage, we must ensure that steep fees do not stand in the way of hospitals bringing in the medical talent American patients depend on.”
Lawmakers said the proposed $100,000 fee, introduced under a presidential proclamation, could effectively shut out healthcare employers from the H-1B programme.
“As detailed in President Trump’s proclamation putting this fee in place, it is certainly in the national interest to exempt healthcare workers,” said Congressman Mike Lawler. “Hospitals, community health centres, and other critical facilities are facing serious workforce shortages that threaten access to care. And they can’t pay a $100,000 price tag on new immigrant workers.”
He warned that without the exemption, “the physicians and the wider healthcare workforce would effectively be shut out of the H-1B program, furthering workforce shortages and limiting care options.”
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke said immigrant professionals remain central to the functioning of the US healthcare system.
“Immigrant Americans remain indispensable assets to keeping our hospitals and health systems running steadily, efficiently, and effectively,” she said. “The bipartisan willingness to ensure migrant health care workers are exempted from the $100,000 fee for H-1B petitions stands as a testament to the widely accepted value and necessity of these workers.”
Congressman Sanford Bishop said the fee would hit rural providers the hardest. “The $100,000 H1-B filing fee adds insult to injury to hospitals, especially in rural areas,” he said. “The fee will have a detrimental impact on their ability to recruit qualified health care professionals to some of the nation’s most underserved areas.”
According to federal data cited by lawmakers, nearly 87 million Americans live in regions facing a shortage of healthcare providers, underscoring the urgency of the issue.
Medical and hospital groups have rallied behind the bill, warning that international medical graduates are critical to maintaining patient access.
“Patients across the country are feeling the effects of the growing physician shortage,” said Bobby Mukkamala, President of the American Medical Association. “In many such communities, international medical graduates play an important role in providing care and ensuring patients can see a doctor when they need one.”
Dr Ram Alur of Physicians for American Healthcare Access said the fee risks weakening the supply of doctors where they are needed most. “The $100,000 H-1B fee could undermine the physician pipeline to the places that need it most, including rural communities, underserved areas, and safety-net hospitals,” he said.
Carey Goryl of the Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment said the fee “poses a serious challenge to provider recruitment at a time when demand for physicians and other health care professionals continues to grow.”
Hospital groups echoed similar concerns, saying the legislation would help maintain staffing levels and sustain access to care nationwide.
–IANS
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