GAO Report on Usage of J-1 Physician Waivers
According
to a November 2006 General Accounting Office (GAO) report, usage of
J-1 visa waivers is has continued to be a major source in providing physicians
for underserved areas of the United States. Between
fiscal years 2003 and 2005, over 1,000 waivers were requested through the Conrad
State 30 programs, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), the Delta Regional
Authority (DRA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Of
these waivers, 90 percent were requested by states, who have become the primary
source of J-1 visa waiver requests.
The
GAO compared this recent study to one it conducted in 1995.
Like the 1995 study, the number of J-1
waiver physicians practicing in underserved areas at the end of 2005 exceeded
the number of physicians practicing in these areas through HHS’s National
Health Service Corps (HHSC) programs. However,
unlike in the 1995 study, where the majority of waivers were requested by
federal agencies, the 2006 study found that states are now the main source of
waiver requests. In fiscal year
2005 alone, states requested 956 waivers, while federal agencies requested only
56 waivers. In 1995, states
requested only 89 waivers, while federal agencies requested 1285.
Both state and federal J-1 physician waiver programs requested waivers for physicians to work in a variety of practice specialties, settings and locations. The study showed that in fiscal year 2005, a little less than half of the waiver requests were for physicians to practice exclusively primary care. About half of the waiver requests were for physicians to be employed in rural areas.
The
full report can be found online at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0752.pdf.
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