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.
Pakistani Doctor: A Muslim Woman ‘Can Make a Difference’
When Zartash Gul, Director of Myeloid Malignancies at University of Cincinnati Health, helps patients enter a potentially lifesaving drug trial, she tells herself: “I have come a long way. And the United States has allowed me to do this.” Gul had plans to set up a hospital in her… Read More
An Indian in Kansas Brings Hundreds of Jobs and Free Healthcare
Abdul Arif grew up in a middle-class family in Hyderabad, India, and came to Wichita, Kansas, at 17 to join his brother, who was a naturalized citizen. He’d hoped to get an education in America, but things didn’t go as planned: Arif dropped out of high school, got married, and… Read More
Syrian-Born Doctor a Lifeline in Rural Kentucky
When Dr. Firas Koura, a Syrian immigrant and president of the Kentucky Lung Clinic, looks at his fellow colleagues, one thought occurs: “Most of the patients depend on foreigners for specialized treatments, and many for primary care. Without immigrants, there would be no pulmonologist, no cardiologist, and no nephrologist in… Read More
‘Look Beyond the Surface,’ Says Columbian-American Surgeon
When the patients of Colombian native Dr. Julio Clavijo-Alvarez have a question about their treatment, they don’t have to worry about getting past a wall of staffers. They have his personal cell phone number, so they can just call or text. As his overwhelmingly positive online reviews… Read More
Doctor Restores Vision Globally but Needs Skilled Workers in U.S.
Since 1986, Dr. Jash Sharma has run CIMA Life Science, an international company that fulfills a personal mission: Inspired by his father, who went blind at age 62, Dr. Sharma is helping tens of thousands of vision-impaired people to see. The company manufactures intraocular lenses, which replace a patient’s natural… Read More
Cuban-American Eases Pain — and Doctor Shortage
On a recent Monday at the Vital Pain Center in Pittsburgh, a $700,000 business that serves some 1,500 patients, a patient asked Dr. Jorge Rivero-Becerra for clearance to start playing hockey again. Rivero-Becerra was happy to give him the OK to hit the ice. “It’s really rewarding to help people… Read More
Immigrant Professor Aims to Solve Dental Health Issues Costing Americans $60 Billion per Year
Shortly after the Chinese Cultural Revolution — a decade that saw the brutal persecution of intellectuals — China reversed course and started seeking foreign brainpower to help salvage its ravaged economy. As part of Deng Xiaping’s sweeping economic reforms, the state began sending its most promising students to overseas universities. Read More
Syrian Biotech Grad Ready to Aid U.S. Cancer Research
When Alnairouz “Nairouz” K. first arrived in America to study biotechnology and genetics at West Virginia State University, the transition was hard. Her family remained behind in Syria, and Nairouz struggled to adapt. “When I came here, everyone spoke English with a different accent, and they spoke very fast,” she… Read More
Mexican-American Creates Services for an Aging Population
Mary A. Gloria was inspired to found the Pan de la Vida Foundation by her Catholic faith and her Mexican heritage. As a devout Catholic, Gloria believes in Jesus’ teaching to help those in need. As the daughter of immigrants, she grew up around newcomers who spent their days working… Read More
Trump’s travel ban sows uncertainty for healthcare and medicine
Dr. Saif Muhsin started thinking about Canada after President Donald Trump issued an executive order Jan. 27 barring people from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Muhsin’s native Iraq, from entering the U.S. for 90 days. Muhsin, 34, is halfway through a four-year nephrology fellowship in Boston in a joint program of… 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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