America’s growing shortage of doctors could worsen under new immigration restrictions that are making it more expensive for hospitals to recruit foreign medical professionals, according to a new interview published by Analyst News.
The article features Eram Alam, a Harvard historian of medicine and author of the book “The Care of Foreigners: How Immigrant Physicians Changed US Healthcare”.
Alam argues that immigrant doctors – particularly from India and Pakistan – have become essential to the American healthcare system, especially in rural and underserved communities where physician shortages are most severe.
“A quarter or more of the U.S. physician labor force for the last 60 years has been immigrant physicians,” Alam told Analyst News. “South Asia, particularly India and Pakistan, was the largest contributor.”
The issue is becoming increasingly urgent as the United States faces rising healthcare demand tied to an aging population, chronic illness and physician burnout.
The American Medical Association has projected a shortage of roughly 87,000 doctors within the next decade.
At the same time, new immigration policies introduced under the Trump administration are creating additional barriers for hospitals seeking to recruit foreign physicians.
According to the article, H1-B visa sponsorship fees for employers have reportedly increased dramatically, potentially rising from a few thousand dollars to as much as $100,000 per physician.
Alam warned that the new costs could place heavy strain on smaller hospitals that already operate with limited financial resources.
“Before, in order to sponsor an entire year of labor, it would cost them anywhere from $20,000–$50,000,” Alam said. “Now it’s going to cost them a million dollars to sponsor those physicians to come and do that work. That is just cost-prohibitive.”
The article says many rural hospitals rely heavily on immigrant physicians, with foreign-trained doctors accounting for between 40 percent and 100 percent of physicians in some underserved communities.
“These are the providers that are embedded within communities, and often they’re the only providers that are embedded in communities,” Alam said.
She argued that the United States does not simply face an overall physician shortage, but also a major distribution problem, with some large cities having surpluses of doctors while rural and lower-income areas struggle to attract medical professionals.
“What we have in the United States is, in fact, a distribution problem,” Alam said.
The article also examines the social pressures and skepticism immigrant physicians often face despite their importance to the healthcare system.
“Since immigrant physicians came, there’s always been this discourse around competence that has followed them,” Alam said.
According to the interview, immigrant physicians are frequently required to restart medical training in the United States regardless of years of experience abroad.
Alam argues that immigrant labor has become fundamental to the American economy and healthcare infrastructure.
“My big message is that immigrant labor, whether we categorize it as skilled or unskilled, is absolutely fundamental and foundational to this country,” she said. “Immigrant labor is the backbone of the United States.”
The article warns that rising visa costs and tighter immigration restrictions could ultimately increase wait times, reduce healthcare access and worsen outcomes in communities already facing limited medical care.
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