Healthcare Workforce Crisis: Federal and State Policy Responses to Shortages and H-1B Visa Restrictions

Lexology November 24, 2025
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Healthcare workforce shortages are critically impacting multiple healthcare professions and geographies, threatening access to care and straining existing providers. Pipeline challenges are being increasingly affected by changes to the immigration landscape, including H-1B visa restrictions and increased fees that limit international medical graduate (IMG) recruitment through Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs. Policymakers at the federal and state levels are pursuing varied strategies including expanded training capacity, scope of practice reforms, loan repayment programs and immigration pathway improvements.

Key Takeaways

• The United States faces projected shortages of 86,000 physicians and 200,000+ nurses by 2036.
• Emergency medicine, primary care, psychiatry and rural practice areas face particularly acute shortages.
• H-1B visa restrictions and fee increases have reduced IMG physician recruitment, exacerbating shortages.
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