March 19, 2026
A bill has been introduced in Congress (HR 7961) that would remove the $100,000 application fee for foreign healthcare workers seeking H-1B visas to work in the U.S., according to The New York Times. The fee was put into place last fall by the Trump Administration.
The legislation, known as the Welcoming International Success Act (WISA Act), is being championed by Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-New Jersey).
The $100,000 fee could cripple the healthcare field, in which 30% of residents are international medical graduates. The AMA has been working to find exemptions for this fee, given the shortage in healthcare professionals already.
“I live in Flint, Michigan, a very medically underserved place that really depends on international medical graduates," AMA President Bobby Mukkamala, MD, told the Times. “If this doesn’t get fixed, it leaves places like my hometown and other rural communities without enough physicians to take care of that population.”
So far, no Minnesota representatives have signed on to the bill. Physicians are encouraged to contact their representative today to show their support.
September 17, 2026
Dozens of Allina Health physicians at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids and its Unity campus in Fridley, went on strike Monday, September 14, through Thursday, September 17.
September 17, 2026
At its September 14 meeting, the MMA Board of Trustees (BOT) approved the organization’s advocacy priorities for 2027.
September 17, 2026
The MMA joined the AMA and 49 other state medical associations in urging Congress to pass H.R. 9693, the "Patients First Act," which would reform the Medicare physician payment system.