Congress reintroduces AHA-supported, bipartisan workforce bill supporting foreign nurses, physicians

Bipartisan, bicameral legislation supported by the AHA to address the ongoing nurse and physician shortage was reintroduced in Congress yesterday. The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act (H.R. 5283 /S. 2759) would recapture green cards that were previously authorized by Congress but were unused. The legislation would allot up to 25,000 unused immigrant visas for nurses and 15,000 unused immigrant visas for physicians. The bill also requires employers to attest that individuals who receive the visas will not displace American employees. Eligible foreign medical professionals must also meet licensing requirements, pay filing fees and clear national security and criminal history background checks before they can receive recaptured visas.