MSP Urges the Missouri Congressional Delegation to Support S.1024

posted: May 10, 2021

On Friday, May 7, the Missouri Society of Pathologists (MSP) sent a letter to the Missouri Congressional Delegation urging their support for S.1024 – the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act. In addition to our delegation, the letter was sent to Senators Dick Durbin, Illinois, and Chuck Grassley, Iowa, who serve as Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively, of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, to which the legislation has been referred.

The bill allows the recapture of 15,000 immigrant visas for physicians as well as 25,000 visas for nurses. The bill authorizes these recaptured visas to be issued for the immediate families of these physicians and nurses.

The United States has been experiencing a shortage of physicians for years. Like other states, Missouri’s health care system depends heavily on International Medical Graduates (IMGs) to help fill a critical workforce need, especially in rural and other underserved areas.

The ability to recapture 15,000 unused employment-based physician immigrant visas from prior fiscal years will prove invaluable in promoting healthcare in Missouri, as patients return to see their physicians for preventive care and delayed elective procedures.

An increase would help enable hospitals, clinics and physician practices hire qualified medical personnel, and support patient care needs in our communities, now and beyond COVID-19.

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Letters were sent to the following members of Congress:

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