H–1Bs for Physicians and the Healthcare Workforce Act
Introduced March 17, 2026 · Last action March 17, 2026
Plain English Summary
This bill exempts H-1B visa holders working in health care from a $100,000 fee imposed by a September 2025 Presidential Proclamation, allowing them to enter the U.S. and work at the standard H-1B petition fee instead. The bill applies to physicians, nurses, therapists, and other health care workers defined under the Affordable Care Act's health care workforce definition.
Who benefits
H-1B visa applicants in health care occupations (physicians, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, clinical social workers, respiratory therapists, and other credentialed health care professionals as defined under ACA section 5101); U.S. health care employers (hospitals, health systems, physician practices, nursing facilities, rehabilitation centers) who hire foreign-trained health care workers; staffing agencies specializing in health care recruitment; medical device and pharmaceutical companies with clinical staff needs
Who pays / loses
The U.S. Treasury loses the $100,000 fee revenue that would have been collected from each H-1B health care worker visa petition; domestic-trained health care workers in the same occupations face increased labor market competition from foreign-trained visa holders exempt from the fee barrier; employers in non-health-care sectors paying the $100,000 H-1B fee remain at a disadvantage relative to health care employers
Funding & Lobbying Interests
Health care industry groups lobby for expanded H-1B access to address workforce shortages: the American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, Association of American Medical Colleges, staffing agencies (e.g., Kforce, Trustaff, FlexMedStaff), and large health systems (Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, Kaiser Permanente) benefit from reduced barriers to hiring foreign-trained workers. No sponsor finance data was provided in the bill text.
Political Impact
Affected Groups
H-1B health care visa applicants (estimated 50,000+ annual H-1B petitions in health care occupations); U.S. hospitals and health systems (approximately 6,000 general acute care hospitals plus 30,000+ skilled nursing facilities); physicians and nurses in the U.S. workforce competing in labor markets with expanded foreign-trained visa workers; patients in health care facilities with increased reliance on visa-dependent staffing; U.S. Treasury losing an estimated $100,000 per exempted petitioner in annual fee revenue
Political Subtext
Proponents argue this bill addresses critical health care labor shortages in physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals, allowing hospitals and clinics to fill vacant positions and improve patient care access. Critics contend that exempting health care workers from the fee barrier undercuts the stated intent of the September 2025 Proclamation to reduce overall H-1B admissions, shifts costs to domestic-trained health care workers through wage pressure and reduced hiring, and privileges one industry over others facing the same fee restrictions. The bill's sponsors (Lawler, Bishop, Salazar, Clarke) represent districts with significant health care sector employment. Non-partisan evidence on H-1B wage effects in health care is limited; the National Academies of Sciences found H-1B immigration has modest negative wage effects for high school-educated workers but small effects overall, though health care labor markets may differ.
Real-World Stakes
If enacted, this removes a $100,000 financial barrier to hiring foreign-trained health care workers, likely increasing H-1B health care petitions and employment of visa-dependent physicians and nurses. The September 2025 Proclamation itself imposed the $100,000 fee explicitly to restrict H-1B admissions; this bill narrows that restriction to a single industry. When similar exemptions have been proposed or adopted (e.g., prior carve-outs for nursing and specialty care), they have increased health care H-1B hiring but created tension in the broader H-1B policy framework. States with aging populations and rural health care shortages (e.g., Maine, Vermont, rural Appalachia) may benefit from increased foreign-trained physician and nurse recruitment; urban areas with competitive labor markets may see less impact. The fiscal cost is loss of up to $100,000 per exempted visa petition; if 50,000 health care H-1B petitions are filed annually, potential revenue loss could reach $5 billion over ten years, though actual number of visa petitions under the exemption is uncertain.
Sponsor
Sponsor information not available.
Vote Record
No recorded votes.
Campaign Finance — Primary Sponsor
No campaign finance data available yet.
501(c)(4) disclosure: Contributions from 501(c)(4) "dark money" organizations are not required to be publicly disclosed and are not reflected in the figures above. Data sourced from FEC public disclosure filings.
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