Speech #1100140194

President. today I am introducing the Conrad State 30 Improvement Act to extend and expand this programs success in bringing doctors to communities that would otherwise not have access to health care services. The Conrad State 30 program. which I helped create in 1994. has brought thousands of physicians to underserved communities in all 50 states. across our great country. These doctors are foreign born. but have all received training in the United States. Under the Conrad 30 program. foreign doctors already in the country for medical training are granted a waiver from a visa requirement to return to their home country for 2 years. In exchange for this waiver. the doctors must commit to providing health care to underserved populations in the United States for 3 years. By 2020. some projections show that the United States may have 200.000 fewer doctors than it needs. that is a staggering statistic. and one that cannot be taken lightly. If this shortfall is allowed to materialize. rural areas. like my State of North Dakota. will undoubtedly be among the hardest hit. Given the looming deficit of doctors and an increasingly competitive global marketplace. it is vital that we maintain the incentives for qualified foreign physicians to serve patients in this country. The immigration benefits historically provided by the Conrad program. and enhanced in this bill. provide crucial incentives to foreign doctors. And when they do come to our country. it is vital that we make sure that they end up in the places that need them most. This bill makes the Conrad 30 program permanent. something that I believe is long overdue. It also invites a new group of foreign doctors to take part in the program. a change that could dramatically expand the pool of doctors practicing in rural and underserved areas. Further. the bill creates a mechanism by which the current cap of 30 doctors per state can significantly expand. while protecting the interests of those states that have had difficulty recruiting doctors under the program. The bill also creates an important new incentive for doctors to participate in the program by granting them a green card cap exemption when they have completed their service. Finally. the bill gives increased flexibility to State health authorities to determine the needs of their State in utilizing Conrad waivers. I strongly believe the Conrad State 30 Improvement Act can be of great benefit to every state in the country and help combat the growing shortage of health care providers in the United States.