Nevada State Medical Association Makes Recommendations to State Health Division To Improve J-1 Visa Program

The Nevada State Medical Association has released recommendations to overhaul the J-1 visa waiver program, which allows foreign physicians to practice in the state in medically underserved communities, after a Las Vegas Sun investigation found the program "in some cases has been abused by employers," the Las Vegas Sun reports.

The Sun investigation found that some foreign physicians were forced by their sponsors to work up to 100 hours per week, were being "cheated out of their salaries" and were "diverted from the patients" in underserved areas that they were supposed to help. According to the Sun investigation, "The abuses are possible because the foreign doctors are reluctant to complain about their employers, who sponsor the visas allowing them to stay in the U.S."

Larry Matheis, executive director of the medical association, in a letter to the Nevada State Health Division recommended that guidelines governing the J-1 visa program be adopted as regulations, which would make them similar to state laws. According to Matheis, adopting the regulations would not require legislative action and would allow for clear action and investigation when violations are reported.

In addition, Matheis wrote that an existing advisory group that makes recommendations about the program should be expanded to include anyone who is interested and that its meetings should be made public. Matheis also recommended eliminating noncompete clauses that restrict where J-1 doctors can work after leaving their employer's practice and bringing the contracts more in line with federal guidelines. In addition, he recommended that the state expand its current whistleblower protection laws to physicians, their families and others who might report program violations.

Matheis said, "There's a sense that things may have gotten out of hand because neither the public -- nor the regulators -- could monitor what was going on," adding, "It was a problem that had been developing for some time and it really was time to resolve it" (Allen, Las Vegas Sun, 1/16).