The Ambulatory Surgery Center Association, along with 48 other healthcare organizations, has co-signed a letter to four members of the U.S. House commending the introduction of Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act.
The bill would extend the Conrad 30 waiver program, which has been in place for nearly three decades. It has helped Americans in rural and underserved areas receive medical care from more than 15,000 international medical graduate physicians.
The program's flexible design allows each state to customize the 30-waiver allocation to address unique needs. The bill would reauthorize the program for three years and permit the gradual expansion of the number of waivers granted to each state.
Without the Conrad 30 waiver, IMGs who come to the U.S. on a J-1 visa to complete their residencies would be forced to return to their home country for at least two years after completing their training before applying for another visa or a green card.
"The unfortunate byproduct of this restriction is an immediate prohibition on domestically trained IMGs practicing in our country that, in turn, jeopardizes their ability to ever practice in the United States. IMGs, however, play a vital role in providing greater access to health care for millions of patients, particularly in historically underserved communities who have also been hit hard by the recent global health care crisis," the Aug. 1 letter reads.