After this newspaper last year uncovered and documented abuses in a state-administered program that places foreign doctors in medically underserved areas, officials with the Nevada Health Division denied ever knowing of a problem.
Extensive reforms were undertaken after stories by Las Vegas Sun reporter Marshall Allen disclosed multiple instances of the foreign doctors’ being exploited by their employers, who were area doctors. Two managers of the program were removed following Allen’s stories, and a new supervisor was installed who is leading an apparently successful effort to end the exploitation.
State officials simply weren’t doing their jobs in overseeing the “J-1” program, which essentially led to foreign doctors’ becoming indentured servants.
Under the program, foreigners who come to America to study and do a medical residency on a J-1 visa can get a new visa if they go to work in remote or low-income areas for three to five years.
The visas are sponsored by established doctors who become the foreigners’ employers. Some employers have allegedly taken advantage of the nominal oversight and assigned foreign doctors not to underserved areas but to clinics and hospitals where the employers could make more money. In addition, many foreign doctors were allegedly underpaid and forced to work excessive hours.
In response to the Sun’s stories, the state established a committee to screen applications to weed out problems. The newly formed committee met Thursday and made a strong statement on the application of Dr. Rachakonda Prabhu, a prominent Las Vegas physician who wants to hire a foreign kidney specialist. Prabhu is Nevada’s largest employer of J-1 doctors, and he has been accused of exploiting foreign doctors, which he denies.
Instead of rapidly approving Prabhu’s application, as had been done in the past, the committee pored over it. After citing several problems that could violate the program’s rules, the committee tabled action on the application and told Prabhu’s representatives to rework it and come back.
Given the state’s poor oversight in the past, which essentially condoned the exploitation of foreign doctors, the committee’s actions are a welcome sign that things are changing for the better.
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