Foreign Doctors are not the Solution for Underserved Americans

But, there is a solution. . .

1. Currently, there is a shortage of primary-care physicians, also known as family doctors, who are the first medical professionals people go to see.

2. By 2036, there is a projected shortage of 68,000 primary-care physicians.

3. Some lawmakers claim they are addressing the current doctor shortage by pushing, the Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act.

4. This legislation extends the thirty-year-old Conrad 30 waiver program, allowing U.S.-trained foreign-born physicians to stay in the United States if they practice medicine in an “underserved” area for at least three years.

Problem One: The Conrad 30 Waiver Program

1. Bringing in foreign doctors via the Conrad 30 waiver program is not the healthcare solution for underserved communities.

2. Because foreign doctors are not originally from the communities they plan to serve, they lack the cultural understanding and specific needs of those communities.

3. Take, for example, African Americans, a community historically underserved by doctors.

4. For good reason, a majority of Black Americans lack trust in the medical establishment, both from past and present poor treatment.

5. While doctors have their specific expertise, primary-care physicians are, at the end of the day, customer service jobs, requiring them to listen, understand, and communicate with their patients.

6. Building trust between doctors and patients is no easy task.

7. Having more Black American doctors who validate and understand the life experiences of Black American patients is what is needed, instead of foreign-born physicians, whose blind spots do not become apparent until they actually serve patients.

Problem Two: Self-Created Doctor Shortage

1. Another problem is that while there is a doctor shortage, it is a shortage of our own making because the United States has artificially limited medical school slots and residencies over the past few decades.

2. Even the Heritage Foundation, in its recent report, understands that medical professional and education institutions self-created the current doctor shortage.

3. In 1980, the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) believed there was a surplus of doctors in the United States.

4. As a result, between 1980 and 2005, these organizations stopped medical school expansions and stagnated the number of classrooms.

5. During the 21st century, American medical schools have increasingly prioritized foreign medical students by giving them limited medical school slots.

6. After all, foreign students pay the full sticker price at American medical colleges.

7. For the American medical students who do graduate from medical school, thousands fail each year to match with a residency program, which is supervised on-the-job experience at a healthcare institution.

8. In February of 2022, I testified before the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship in a hearing titled, “Is There a Doctor in the House? The Role of Immigrant Physicians in the U.S. Healthcare System.”

   1. "In recent years, thousands of American medical doctors—U.S. physicians—have been denied the right to practice medicine."

   2. According to the National Resident Matching Program, between 2011 and 2021, more than 40,000 non-U.S. citizens/foreign-trained physicians were given U.S. taxpayer-funded residencies.

   3. A residency costs American taxpayers $150,000.

   4. “Each year, over 7,000 U.S. citizens and lawful permanent resident medical graduate physicians, which includes seniors and prior-year graduates, do not match for a medical residency.”

   5. "In closing, we have thousands of physicians in the line waiting for residency training. We need more residency positions, and we must prioritize U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents."

Policy Solution

1. The Conrad 30 waiver program should not be reauthorized and should be revoked.

2. The solution, instead, should be to train more American doctors by expanding residency and medical school slots. That way, more Americans, from all backgrounds but particularly from underserved communities, can become doctors.

Civic Engagement

1. If you have an opinion about the Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act, call or email your member of Congress during the August recess. 

2. If your concerned Congress may attempt to vote on the Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act, reach out to the bill’s sponsor, Representative Bradley Scott Schneider (D-IL) or anyone of the bill’s co-sponsors.

3. Call the following number to reach the House of Representatives switchboard: 202-224-3121.