Aug 2, 2024
The Conrad 30 Waiver Program
The Conrad 30 Waiver Program
The Conrad 30 Program provides a strategic solution by offering J-1 visa waivers to IMGs who commit to serving in high-need areas for three years, thus facilitating their pathway immigrant visas such as the H-1B.
Zhen Chan
Co-Founder
Have you heard of the Conrad 30 Program?
Let me break down key points from this 25-page analysis by the National Bureau of Economic Research published in December 2023 (Source in comments).
Rural America faces a pronounced physician shortage. Even before the pandemic, data indicated that 1 in 4 rural residents said they could not access the healthcare they needed. Despite this need, only 1% of final-year medical students expressed a desire to work in towns with populations under 10,000, and just 2% in towns with populations under 25,000.
International Medical Graduates (IMGs) are a crucial component of our healthcare system, often filling the healthcare access gaps in medically underserved areas such as Health Profession Shortage Areas (HPSAs). As of 2019, they comprised approximately 24.7% of all active physicians in the US, with even higher proportions of certain specialties, e.g) 41.2% of practitioners in critical care medicine and over 50% in nephrology and geriatrics.
To practice in the United States, IMGs must complete a US medical residency, usually with a J-1 visa sponsorship, which allows them to stay during their graduate medical education (GME), but requires returning to their home countries for two years after residency. The Conrad 30 Program provides a strategic solution by offering J-1 visa waivers to IMGs who commit to serving in high-need areas for three years, thus facilitating their pathway immigrant visas such as the H-1B.
In 2002, the yearly federal cap increased from 20 to 30 waivers per state, adding about 5000 doctors over the next decade, with a higher concentration in rural and underserved areas. Since its inception in 1994, it's estimated that Conrad 30 doctors have treated 44 million patients.
Relaxing the cap on J-1 visa waivers has led to a sustained increase in IMG physicians, particularly in states with fewer employment restrictions for waiver recipients. And the increase in the supply of foreign physicians has no detectable effect on the employment of US-trained doctors, likely due to supply constraints in our physician market. By expanding the availability of physicians, the program addresses both immediate and long-term healthcare needs, stabilizing service provision in underserved communities.
Have you heard of the Conrad 30 Program?
Let me break down key points from this 25-page analysis by the National Bureau of Economic Research published in December 2023 (Source in comments).
Rural America faces a pronounced physician shortage. Even before the pandemic, data indicated that 1 in 4 rural residents said they could not access the healthcare they needed. Despite this need, only 1% of final-year medical students expressed a desire to work in towns with populations under 10,000, and just 2% in towns with populations under 25,000.
International Medical Graduates (IMGs) are a crucial component of our healthcare system, often filling the healthcare access gaps in medically underserved areas such as Health Profession Shortage Areas (HPSAs). As of 2019, they comprised approximately 24.7% of all active physicians in the US, with even higher proportions of certain specialties, e.g) 41.2% of practitioners in critical care medicine and over 50% in nephrology and geriatrics.
To practice in the United States, IMGs must complete a US medical residency, usually with a J-1 visa sponsorship, which allows them to stay during their graduate medical education (GME), but requires returning to their home countries for two years after residency. The Conrad 30 Program provides a strategic solution by offering J-1 visa waivers to IMGs who commit to serving in high-need areas for three years, thus facilitating their pathway immigrant visas such as the H-1B.
In 2002, the yearly federal cap increased from 20 to 30 waivers per state, adding about 5000 doctors over the next decade, with a higher concentration in rural and underserved areas. Since its inception in 1994, it's estimated that Conrad 30 doctors have treated 44 million patients.
Relaxing the cap on J-1 visa waivers has led to a sustained increase in IMG physicians, particularly in states with fewer employment restrictions for waiver recipients. And the increase in the supply of foreign physicians has no detectable effect on the employment of US-trained doctors, likely due to supply constraints in our physician market. By expanding the availability of physicians, the program addresses both immediate and long-term healthcare needs, stabilizing service provision in underserved communities.
Have you heard of the Conrad 30 Program?
Let me break down key points from this 25-page analysis by the National Bureau of Economic Research published in December 2023 (Source in comments).
Rural America faces a pronounced physician shortage. Even before the pandemic, data indicated that 1 in 4 rural residents said they could not access the healthcare they needed. Despite this need, only 1% of final-year medical students expressed a desire to work in towns with populations under 10,000, and just 2% in towns with populations under 25,000.
International Medical Graduates (IMGs) are a crucial component of our healthcare system, often filling the healthcare access gaps in medically underserved areas such as Health Profession Shortage Areas (HPSAs). As of 2019, they comprised approximately 24.7% of all active physicians in the US, with even higher proportions of certain specialties, e.g) 41.2% of practitioners in critical care medicine and over 50% in nephrology and geriatrics.
To practice in the United States, IMGs must complete a US medical residency, usually with a J-1 visa sponsorship, which allows them to stay during their graduate medical education (GME), but requires returning to their home countries for two years after residency. The Conrad 30 Program provides a strategic solution by offering J-1 visa waivers to IMGs who commit to serving in high-need areas for three years, thus facilitating their pathway immigrant visas such as the H-1B.
In 2002, the yearly federal cap increased from 20 to 30 waivers per state, adding about 5000 doctors over the next decade, with a higher concentration in rural and underserved areas. Since its inception in 1994, it's estimated that Conrad 30 doctors have treated 44 million patients.
Relaxing the cap on J-1 visa waivers has led to a sustained increase in IMG physicians, particularly in states with fewer employment restrictions for waiver recipients. And the increase in the supply of foreign physicians has no detectable effect on the employment of US-trained doctors, likely due to supply constraints in our physician market. By expanding the availability of physicians, the program addresses both immediate and long-term healthcare needs, stabilizing service provision in underserved communities.
