Nursing homes want guest worker program in immigration bill

The nursing-home industry said Wednesday that Congress should include a "viable" guest worker program in any immigration overhaul, and should also lift caps on employer-sponsored visas for healthcare workers.

The American Health Care Association (AHCA) said immigration reform should recognize the needs of employers — including nursing homes and long-term care providers, who rely heavily on immigrants for positions such as nurses.

"Members of the long term care community employ immigrants and boost the economy. Any visa program must give employers, not the government, the primary say in which workers they need to staff their businesses," the AHCA said. "In addition, the labor market should also have the primary say in how many workers enter the country annually in a legal program."

The group is scheduled to testify at a House hearing Thursday on immigration reform.

AHCA said the supply of skilled nurses in the U.S. will fall more than 30 percent short by 2020 if Congress does not act. The nursing-home group said immigration reform should allow employers to access "previously unused" temporary visas for healthcare workers.

Existing programs for permanent and temporary visas are inadequate to keep up with the demand for nurses, AHCA said.

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