The American Health Care Association (AHCA) outlinedits core principles for immigration reform in a March 12, 2013 PressRelease.
The AHCA recommends that these principles shape immigrationreform:
1. Let business and industry play a leading role. Thelong term and post-acute care profession is one of the largest job creators inthe country and is willing and able to help drive solutions with Congress.Members of the long term care community employ immigrants and boost theeconomy. Any visa program must give employers, not the government, the primarysay in which workers they need to staff their businesses. In addition, thelabor market should also have the primary say in how many workers enter thecountry annually in a legal program.
2. Create a viable guest worker program that wouldaccommodate the needs of U.S. healthcare providers. The Health Resourcesand Services Administration (HRSA) projects that, absent aggressiveintervention, the supply of nurses in America will fall 36 percent (more than 1million nurses) below requirements by the year 2020. AHCA urges the inclusion of allowing employersaccess to previously unused H-1B temporary work visas for nurses and physicaltherapists.
3. Waive the cap on employment-based visas fornurses and physical therapists, speech therapists and those providing othertherapies. The current temporary and permanent visa programs are insufficientand inadequate to accommodate the needs of U.S. health care providers. Thepermanent residence program provides approximately 5,000 annual visas foressential workers. Clearly, current programs cannot handle our continuing needfor foreign-born, essential caregivers.