Combating Physician Shortages With Immigration Legislation

For years, the United States has faced a physician shortage. Population growth, aging, the COVID-19 pandemic, and recent medical legislative changes have highlighted that these shortages are not evenly distributed across all areas of the country. Rather, rural communities, minorities, children, and the elderly are disproportionally afflicted by the shortages. The president of the American Medical Association, Jesse M. Ehrenfeld, MD, highlighted in a recent address to the National Press Club the urgency of the crisis of physician shortages throughout the United States. Among some of the staggering statistics cited were 83 million Americans do not have access to a primary care physician, 90% percent of US counties do not have a pediatric ophthalmologist, and 80% percent are without an infectious disease specialist. It is projected that by 2034, there will be a shortage of up to 124,000 physicians. This leaves medical associations and legislatures alike turning