The legislation would establish a grant program within the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Eligible organizations could apply for grants to help internationally educated health care professionals navigate the transition into the U.S. health care workforce. Grant-funded activities could include assistance obtaining overseas academic and training records, support with licensing and credentialing requirements, work-readiness training, mentoring, English-language instruction, continuing education, prerequisite coursework, and other workforce integration services. The bill also directs priority to partnerships serving rural communities and areas experiencing significant workforce shortages.

Importantly, the Welcome Back to the Health Care Workforce Act is an authorizing bill, not an appropriations bill. It would create the grant program and authorize HRSA to administer it, but funding would depend on future congressional appropriations.

The legislation draws on the model of the longstanding Welcome Back Initiative, a national network that helps internationally trained health professionals re-enter health care careers in the United States. Since its launch in 2001, the initiative has assisted thousands of participants through regional Welcome Back Centers operating across multiple states. These centers provide case management, career counseling, licensing guidance, educational referrals, and related services for internationally trained nurses, physicians, therapists, social workers, and other health care professionals. The proposed legislation would build on this existing infrastructure and expand support for organizations already engaged in this work.

For LeadingAge members, the bill is notable because it focuses on unlocking talent that is already present in the United States. Rather than creating new visa categories or increasing immigration caps, the legislation seeks to help internationally educated professionals who are already legally authorized to live and work in the country enter or advance within the health care workforce. This policy approach recognizes that many highly trained professionals remain unemployed or underemployed because of licensing, credentialing, language, and workforce-integration barriers, despite having valuable skills and experience.

LeadingAge supports the Welcome Back to the Health Care Workforce Act as an important component of its broader workforce agenda. Alongside efforts to strengthen domestic workforce pipelines, modernize training and credentialing systems, and improve legal immigration pathways, the legislation represents another strategy to expand the pool of qualified health care professionals and address the workforce challenges facing aging services providers nationwide.