Bill aims to mobilize skilled practitioners trained abroad
to help meet Mass. healthcare needs
More than 20% of foreign-trained doctors, pharmacists,
nurses and other health professionals living in the Commonwealth are unemployed
or working outside their fields.
Massachusetts has a lot of doctors, but when it comes to
meeting basic needs, it falls short. More than 7 percent of state residents
lack adequate access to primary care, dental care, or mental health services.
This includes more than 500,000 low-income people in 25 cities and towns in
Berkshire, Bristol, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Middlesex, Suffolk and Worcester
Counties.
A new bill before the Massachusetts Legislature aims to
narrow the gap by tapping into a major source of underused talent: the 8,000
foreign-trained health professionals living in the Commonwealth, including
doctors, nurses, pharmacists, physical therapists and mental health
professionals, among others. More than 20 percent of those practitioners are
currently unemployed or working in lower-skilled jobs. They have been unable to
reenter their professions due to complex and costly licensing requirements,
lack of information, and lack of targeted career services.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jack Lewis (D-Ashland) in the
House and Sen. Jason M. Lewis (D-Winchester) in the Senate, and cosponsored by
dozens of their colleagues, would create a commission to explore ways to reduce
licensing and other barriers to professional integration, enabling these
providers to provide health services to state residents in areas of greatest
need. The commission’s findings would also benefit U.S. citizens who study
medicine abroad.
“We are excited about this opportunity to address an ongoing
lack of adequate healthcare access for our residents, particularly in more
rural areas – with a common-sense and cost-effective solution,” said Rep.
Lewis. “This bill would allow us to leverage the incredible skill and knowledge
base of the Commonwealth’s biggest asset: our immigrant population. I am
thrilled to be working on such an important bill as I start my State House
career.”
Research shows that foreign-trained clinicians are more
likely to work in underserved areas, and when they do, they can significantly
improve health outcomes. Minority physicians and physicians of color also serve
a disproportionate share of underserved populations, including patients with
limited English skills. Diversity in healthcare providers is strongly
associated with improved access to care for racial and ethnic minority patients.
“Communities do best when they make the most of the talent
available to them,” said Eva A. Millona, Executive Director of the
Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition. “This bill is an
important first step toward integrating immigrant health care professionals
into our workforce and directing their skills to where they are most needed.
Many of these practitioners came to our Commonwealth as refugees, and are eager
to serve their communities – they want nothing more than to give back to the society
that welcomed them.”
Jeff Thielman, President and CEO of the International
Institute of New England, echoed that perspective. “This bill improves access
to healthcare for underserved communities in Massachusetts, and it leverages
the talent of highly skilled, multilingual medical professionals who are eager
to use their training to help people in the Commonwealth,” he said. “It’s a win
for communities in Massachusetts and a win for new Americans.”
The inter-agency commission created by the legislation would
include senior executive branch officials, House and Senate leadership, both
Chairs of the Joint Committee on Public Health, and representatives of all
boards of registration in health professions. Together, they would identify
barriers to practice for foreign-trained medical professionals, with the goal
of directing their services to rural and underserved areas with the greatest
need.
“This Commission will allow the legislature to look
carefully at this issue and to determine what the Commonwealth’s next steps
should be,” said Sen. Lewis. “We feel strongly that there are many positive
steps that we could take to ensure that talent is not being wasted, and that
populations are able to access the quality healthcare that they deserve.”
The commission would explore strategies to integrate
foreign-trained medical professionals into rural and underserved areas needing
health services; identify state or national licensing regulations that pose
unnecessary barriers to practice; recommend possible changes to state licensing
requirements; and develop guidelines for full or conditional licensing of
foreign-trained health professionals. The commission would file a report
containing its recommendations including any legislation and necessary
regulations with the Joint Committee on Public Health no later than July 1,
2018.
Note to editors: The bill, titled “An Act to increase access
to healthcare in underserved areas of Massachusetts,” was filed as S.1216 and
H.3248. Rep. Lewis, Sen. Lewis, Eva Millona of MIRA, and medical professionals
who can speak from experience on this issue are available for interviews;
please contact Marion Davis (see details at top).
