As physicians continue to navigate a host of challenges in medicine — from growing AI use to financial uncertainties — several recent developments could provide some relief among the workforce.
Here are three recent developments that support the growth of the physician workforce and the stability of their practices in 2026:
1. A federal court has blocked the $100,000 H-1B visa fee that would have applied to physicians seeking to practice in the U.S., drawing praise from the American Medical Association in a June 8 news release.
The fee, imposed by the Trump administration in September 2025, raised the cost of a new H-1B visa application to $100,000 from roughly $3,500. The AMA and other national healthcare organizations had spent months advocating for a healthcare-specific exemption, arguing the fee would deepen physician shortages — particularly in rural and underserved communities where international medical graduates often serve as the primary source of care.
2. The gap between what employed and independent physicians take home is narrowing in some places, inverting in others, and obscured by overhead, ancillary revenue and the compounding cost of running an independent practice.
The headline numbers favor independence. Self-employed physicians reported average annual compensation of $374,000, compared with $344,000 for employed physicians, according to Medscape’s 2023 Physician Compensation Report. But independent physicians’ take-home salaries still vary depending on ancillary income and practice expenses.
3. While the presence and impact of private equity in healthcare continues to grow, several states have recently taken action to more strictly regulate PE activity in healthcare:
- Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed SB 196 into law May 27, establishing the first statewide ban in the country on hospital sale-leaseback transactions — arrangements in which a hospital sells its real estate to an investment trust and then pays rent on property it formerly owned.
- Illinois recently advanced two separate bills — HB5000 and HB4828 — both aimed at increasing oversight of PE in healthcare and disability services. Both bills are awaiting a final signature from Governor J.B. Pritzker.
- The Vermont state legislature advanced House Bill 583 in May, which was originally aimed at prohibiting PE groups or hedge funds from owning or controlling medical practices altogether. That provision was removed from the most recent version of the bill.
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