Rice
University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy has recently published a report on
current and future US health care labor shortages, as well as the role
immigration policy reform could play in meeting the challenges of a labor
shortage.
Health
Care Industry Labor Shortages
Research
from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that fewer people are working
in the health care sector, in part as a result of COVID-19 pandemic job losses.
While the industry showed progress in 2023, the sector’s overall employment rates
have not fully recovered to pre-pandemic rates.
Rice
University’s report gathers
data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Forbes, ADA
Health Policy Institute, and the National Association for Home Care and Hospice
that predict health care labor shortages in the coming 10-15 years across many
positions in the industry, including physicians, nurses, clinical laboratory
specialists, dental hygienists, pharmacists, and home care workers.
Proposed
Immigration Policy Reform Targeting Health Care Industry Needs
Rice
University cites the Migration Policy Institute’s research that immigrants made
up 18% of employees in a health care occupation in the US in 2021, including
26% of physicians and surgeons and almost 40% of home health aides. Immigrants
make up roughly 14% of the US population, meaning immigrants’ representation is
outsized in the health care sector.
To
alleviate the labor shortages in the health care workforce, Rice University’s
report recommends immigration policy reforms, including:
- Raising
the annual cap for H-1B visas for health care workers;
- Creating
new sector-specific visa categories with expedited processing;
- Leveraging
existing programs, such as the TN visa program, for RNs who are citizens of
Mexico or Canada to work temporarily in the US;
- Reforming
the public charge rule to exclude direct care health workers, such as frontline
workers, to reduce the chance of entry denial based on potential use of public
assistance;
- Increasing
funding and resources for immigration processing to shorten lengthy processing
periods, reduce delays, and ensure timely entry for health care workers.
Musillo
Unkenholt endorses the report’s
contention that implementing comprehensive reforms such as these would help to
meet the country’s growing health care needs, support economic growth by
improving access to efficient health care, maintain high-quality patient
services while promoting greater access to care, and create a more flexible and
responsive health care workforce.
