June 22, 2026
Transcript
Nancy Johnson
Welcome to Path News Network Daily Edition from the College of American Pathologists. I'm Nancy Johnson. It's Monday, June 22nd. Here are a few of the stories we're working on this week. A look at chronic kidney disease testing and why it's not as straightforward as it sounds. How race and population differences can shape kidney function results, and what pathologists need to watch for. Big changes to the No Surprises Act could reshape how pathology practices handle payment disputes. We break down what CMS just changed and why it may reduce the hassle of getting unpaid claims resolved. And a pathologist is taking her experience from the lab to the campaign trail. But first, in today's story, a growing physician shortage in the United States is putting increasing pressure on hospitals and patients, and pathology is no exception. The College of American Pathologists is pushing Congress to support bipartisan legislation that would help international medical graduates stay and practice in the U.S. Dr. Hansini Laharwani grew up in the city of Nagpur in central India, the daughter of a physician and a homemaker. Today, Dr. Laharwani is a board-certified pathologist in Missouri specializing in breast and gynecologic pathology. And she received the AMA Foundation's Outstanding International Medical Graduate Award.
Dr. Hansini Laharwani
It was a recognition for advocacy, mentoring, leadership. It was for everything. And it is it is something that probably I wouldn't have imagined if it was a little Hansini, you know, back in India when I was growing up. I would have never dreamt of this and I would have never imagined. And my uh I'm so happy because, you know, when I see those uh tears in my parents' eyes, I just feel so proud as a daughter.
Nancy Johnson
But she says the path here wasn't easy. Like many international medical graduates, Dr. Laharwani navigated visa renewals, long separations from family, and uncertainty about whether she could continue training in the United States.
Dr. Hansini Laharwani
You know, there are various challenges, but one of the rate limiting steps is the visa that, you know, you have to navigate uh the visa challenge, and then there is a lot of emotional burden also because you are away from your family, you have homesickness, and I was also missing my mom's home cooked food.
Nancy Johnson
International medical graduates play a major role in the U.S. physician pipeline. They make up roughly 22.5% of active residents and fellows in accredited specialty training programs, and nearly 35% of the active pathology workforce in the United States.
Dr. Hansini Laharwani
Every time we go to our home country, we have to go for a renewal. And then we have limited time off during residency. So in that duration, we also have to renew our visa. We are going um, we are traveling a long distance to see our family. So I think it is a lot of um extra work, especially when your contract or the duration of residency is for four years.
Nancy Johnson
Dr. Joe Saad chairs the CAP's Council on Government and Professional Affairs and is sounding the alarm about a physician shortage.
Dr. Joe Saad
It's predicted that we'll need 86,000 more physicians in this country. Pathology is not immune to those workforce issues.
Nancy Johnson
The CAP is urging Congress to pass three bills to strengthen the physician workforce and ensure patients have access to care. One of the programs the CAP wants expanded is the Conrad 30 that could help keep more internationally trained physicians practicing in the U.S., particularly in rural and underserved communities.
Dr. Joe Saad
This would allow our international medical graduates that want to stay in this country to get a waiver from the two-year home requirement and stay here and practice. The pathway to that is usually through an intermediate visa called the H-1B visa. Now, you may have heard in the news uh last summer that the administration imposed a $100,000 application fee on the H-1B visa. This is very detrimental to our workforce.
Nancy Johnson
For Dr. Laharwani, the work the CAP is doing goes far beyond policy.
Dr. Hansini Laharwani
I know colleges like aggressively lobbying for international medical graduates, and I'm really grateful for the college.
Nancy Johnson
And she says the sacrifices international medical graduates make are driven by opportunity, perseverance, and hope.
Dr. Hansini Laharwani
When we leave our country, we leave behind our safety net, our family, the comfort of everything you've ever known. We arrive with a suitcase of books and big dreams and a lot of uncertainties, and that's where it starts. It's lots of downs, little bit of ups, but I have to tell you, you know, all those closed doors, failures, rejections, they are the best experiences of life and they are the best teachers.
Nancy Johnson
The CAP is urging Congress to pass the three bills to strengthen the physician workforce and ensure patients have access to care. You can read more about each of them and find out how to ask Congress to take action. It's all in the show notes. That does it for the daily edition. Be sure to share this newscast with your social media network. And if you're watching this video on YouTube, be sure to hit the like button and leave a comment. And if you've got a story we should be covering, write to us at stories at CAP.org. We're back tomorrow at 5 a.m. Eastern for another episode of the Daily Edition. I'm Nancy Johnson. Have a great day.