AMA Voices Concerns about Immigrant Workforce
In reaction to President Donald Trump’s decision on Tuesday to reverse the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that protects about 800,000 immigrants, the American Medical Association has called on Congress to consider alternatives that will not hinder the healthcare workforce.
“President Trump’s recent announcement to end the DACA program in six months fails to recognize the enormous contributions of hundreds of thousands of individuals who are living, working and providing vital services in the United States, including healthcare,” AMA CEO James Madara, MD, wrote in a letter to lawmakers. “We particularly are concerned that this reversal in policy could have severe consequences for many in the healthcare workforce, impacting patients and our nation’s healthcare system.”
DACA Physicians Providing Primary Care in Rural Areas
According to the Health Resources and Services Administration statistics, America is amidst a primary care physician shortage of more than 8,200 doctors, a figure the Association of American Medical Colleges projects will rise to at least 61,700 possibly as high as 94,700 physicians by 2025.
DACA has the potential to make approximately 5,400 physicians eligible to practice medicine in the coming years.
