Healthcare
In the coming years, as our country’s 76.4 million baby boomers enter their elderly years, our country’s healthcare system will face unprecedented demand, adding jobs faster than any other segment of our economy. Yet, employers are already finding that there are not enough unemployed healthcare workers to fill vacant positions, and in some rural areas, shortages are particularly acute.
For several reasons, immigrants have been a particularly important stopgap filling some of our most glaring healthcare needs. Immigrants are twice as likely as native-born to fill lesser skilled home health aide positions, but also twice as likely to fill high-skilled positions as physicians and surgeons. And because immigrants tend to be more willing to move for a job than the native-born, and there are visa provisions to encourage this, immigrants also fill doctor vacancies in some of our rural communities with the greatest need. A smarter immigration system, however, could help fill far more gaps in our healthcare system, benefiting patients.
Yonathan Kebede
When Yonathan Kebede was 13, his father was assassinated while serving for the Ethiopian military. Kebede’s family tried to flee and eventually moved to Northern Virginia for a fresh start. Kebede moved in with his aunt’s family in Virginia. The language barrier made life difficult. In Ethiopia, Kebede used to… Read More
Iranian Student Turned Healthcare CEO Helps Hundreds Fight COVID-19 in Mercer County
Al MaghazehePresident & CEO, Capital Health Al Maghazehe came to the United States as an international student in 1977, but when the Iranian Revolution broke out a year later, he realized he couldn’t safely return home. Raised in a tight-knit family, Maghazehe struggled with loneliness at first, but finished… Read More
Undocumented Immigrants and the Covid-19 Crisis
The United States is facing the most dire healthcare crisis in recent memory. Last week, NAE took a look at the role immigrants are playing in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak as healthcare workers and in supporting industries. Today, we examine the most vulnerable group of immigrants, the… Read More
Help keep these immigrant-serving organizations operating during COVID-19
There is critical work being done around the country to ensure that immigrants, refugees, and other vulnerable groups have access to information and resources they need, from health care to economic stability. To support this work, we have compiled a list of organizations coordinating direct services that could use your… Read More
From Sao Paulo, Brazil to Toledo, OH: A Civil Engineer Dedicates His Career to His New Home
Fernando Camargo almost didn’t come to Toledo. He was a 16-year-old exchange student from Sao Paulo, Brazil, a bustling city of 12 million in Brazil, when his high school advisor pointed out a tiny town outside of Toledo and said a family there had chosen him. Read More
Nicaraguan Immigrant Helps Toledo, OH Become Safe and Accessible for All
Meyling Ruiz and her brother were babies when her parents fled their homeland during the Nicaraguan Revolution. It was 1988, and Sandinista soldiers had already taken her 15-year-old cousin to fight for the regime. Civil unrest, food shortages, violence, and murder reigned. “They didn’t know how long that… Read More
New Research shows immigrants were responsible for more than one-third of total population growth in America’s 100 largest metro areas
New York – Today New American Economy (NAE), a bipartisan research and immigration advocacy organization, released new data showing the significant contributions that immigrants make to America’s 100 largest metro areas. The data, which shows taxes paid, industries supported, and businesses started, is featured on Map the Impact,… Read More
New Report Shows Immigrants in Lowell Accounted for Nearly 90 Percent of Recent Population Growth
Lowell, MA – Immigrant households earned nearly $1.5 billion and contributed $402 million in taxes in 2017, according to new research by New American Economy (NAE) in partnership with the Lowell Refugee and Immigrant Support and Engagement (RISE) Coalition and the Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce. The report also finds… Read More
Cincinnati Enquirer Opinion: Bipartisan immigration bill could help solve health care crisis
I’m a physician who specializes in treating older patients for conditions and illnesses associated with aging. As a so-called “geriatrician,” I run a non-stop practice. I work full-time five days a week, in addition to overnight and weekend call coverage. Even so, new patients must wait three months to get an… Read More
Winston-Salem Journal: Immigrants can solve N.C.’s doctor shortage
President Trump says “our country is full,” but as a family medicine physician at Wake Forest Baptist Health and United Health Centers, I’ve seen first-hand that we don’t just have plenty of room — we actually have a pressing need for more workers. I’m an immigrant myself — I was… Read More
Help Wanted
In all 50 states, there are already far more healthcare jobs open than there are workers available to fill them. Many policymakers worry that extreme demands on the healthcare system are coming at a time when many parts of the country still lack enough physicians and healthcare providers to offer adequate—or even basic—levels of care.
Healthcare Jobs Advertised for Each Unemployed Health Worker, 2013
Rural Provider Shortages
Rural communities, in many ways, feel healthcare worker shortages most acutely. Rural counties, on average, have far fewer doctors or home health aides per capita than more urban ones. But their healthcare needs are often greater—particularly given their older populations and higher rates of disability. Foreign-born physicians, who are often more willing to relocate than native-born colleagues, are a valuable resource for these medically underserved areas.
Indicators of Health Demand, Metro vs. Nonmetro Areas, 2014
Ratio of Providers to Population in Different County Types, 2014
The Role of Immigrants
In many health occupations, from surgeons to home health aides, immigrants already make up a large share of active workers. As the U.S. population continues to age and as healthcare demands increase, immigrants are expected to play an increasingly important role in the health of the nation.
Top Healthcare Jobs by Share of Foreign-Born Workers, 2018
Aging Baby Boomers
The 76.4 million baby boomers living in America represent a major challenge to our broader healthcare system. Baby boomers are expected to live longer than past generations, while also battling chronic, longstanding conditions. If caregivers remain scarce in some parts of the country, adult children could drop out of the labor force in large numbers to care for aging parents—a potential setback for the economy overall.
Sources:
2 Wan He et al., “65+ in the United States: 2005,” Current Population Reports: Special Studies (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Aging and U.S. Census Bureau, December 2005). Available online.; Carrie A. Werner, “The Older Population: 2010,” 2010 Census Briefs, November 2011. Available online.
3 Keehan, Sean P, Helen C. Lazenby, Mark A. Zezza, and Aaron S. Catlin, “Age Estimates in the National Health Accounts,” Health Care Financing Review 2, no. 2 (2003). Web Exclusive.
4MetLife, “Caregiving Costs to Working Caregivers: Double Jeopardy for Baby Boomers Caring for Their Parents,” June 2011. Available online.
Size of U.S. Population, Age 65+
Home Health Aides
As the share of the U.S. population over 65 continues to increase, demand for home health aides is expected to soar. But the U.S.-born workers who typically fill such jobs—working age women with less than a bachelor’s degree—is shrinking. Immigrants are already playing an outsized role as home health aides, and can help address our country’s growing needs for such workers in the future.
Psychiatrists
An estimated one in five Americans experiences a mental health issue each year, yet more than 40 percent never receive care.5 One reason why so many individuals go untreated and undiagnosed: The country’s large and growing shortage of mental health professionals, an issue that is particularly acute in America’s rural communities. While immigrants already play a large role in our psychiatry workforce, more could be done to leverage their training and skills.
Sources:
5 Pamela S. Hyde and Paolo Del Vecchio, “Five Point Plan to Improve the Nation’s Mental Health,” Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, n.d. Available online.; Patrick W. Corrigan, Benjamin G. Druss, and Deborah A. Perlick, “The Impact of Mental Illness Stigma on Seeking and Participating in Mental Health Care,” Association for Psychological Science, August 1, 2014. Available online.
States with the Most Days of Decreased or Compromised Worker Productivity Due to Inadequate Mental Healthcare
Visa Obstacles
Despite the critical role immigrants play in the healthcare workforce, the U.S. immigration system makes it difficult for employers to recruit immigrants, even when no U.S.-born workers are available. Many foreign medical residents who study in the United States come on the J-1 visa, a visa that requires them to return home for at least two years after completing their training. One program, The Conrad 30 Waiver, allows states to waive this return requirement for foreign medical residents willing to take jobs in underserved areas. The program, however, is far too limited to meet current needs. Expanding the Conrad 30 program and exploring other fixes—like offering a dedicated temporary work visa to health workers—would go a long way towards addressing our healthcare labor force challenges. So would streamlining the relicensing process for some foreign-trained doctors already here.
Sources:
6 José Ramón Fernández-Peña, Founder and Director of Welcome Back Initiative, August 2015.
7 Ibid.
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