A new immigration bill passed by the US Senate can only mean one thing: an increase in the number of Filipino nurses that are deployed in American hospitals.

The scarcity of nurses in America prompted US Senator Sam Brownback to propose a bill that lifts restrictions on the number of foreign nurses who can immigrate to the United States of America. A report from The New York Times said that USA has a shortage of 118,000 registered nurses last April. The statistic is expected to rise up to 800,000 by year 2020.

The bill seems like a desperate measure for a country that follows strict and discriminatory immigration policy. The fact that it was suggested further strengthens the reality that the US is in the midst of a nursing shortage. The situation is expected to intensify with the rise of the aging population that will demand health care.

As expected, the bill stirs criticisms, raised eyebrows, and mix reactions from the US House of Representatives and other sectors. The American Hospital Association approves of the bill while the American Nurses Association opposes it.

Some US officials are saying that continuous hiring of foreign workers to fill the vacancies is not the best solution. They recommend improving the local nursing system and offering benefits to encourage US citizens to pursue a field in nursing rather than rely on foreign workers.

The proposed bill is yet to be made into law. But its impact threatens to drain the Philippines and other labor-sending countries of nurse practitioners. Majority of foreign nurses in America came from the Philippines. Every year, thousands of nurses leave the country for a job in America.

The promise of an impressive salary, good working conditions, and lots of other benefits that goes with the nursing profession explains the reason behind the exodus of Filipino nurses. The salary of a registered nurse in USA can be as high as USD 36,000 per annum as compared to their local counterparts who only earn about Php 9,000 a month.

This development may be beneficial because it opens countless opportunities for Filipino nurses. But its long term effects may pose problems to the local health system. The time may come when we will be the one to be deprived of quality health care and assistance.

“The Filipino people will suffer because the US will get all our trained nurses,” George Cordero, president of the Philippine Nursing Association, told The New York Times. The government must act and prepare to minimize the consequences of this bill should it be implemented.