1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Professional’s Access to Health Workforce Integration Act of 2018 . 2. Findings The Congress finds the following: (1) According to the Association of Schools of Public Health, projections indicate a nationwide shortage of up to 250,000 public health workers by 2020. (2) According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the registered nurse workforce is projected to have 1,088,400 job openings by 2024 due to growth and replacement needs. (3) Similar trends are projected for other health professions indicating shortages across disciplines, including within the fields of neurology physicians (about 1,000 by 2025), geriatric physicians (nearly 27,000 by 2025), mental and behavioral health, primary care (up to 43,100 by 2030), and community and allied health. (4) A nationwide health workforce shortage will result in serious health threats and more severe and costly health care needs, due to, in part, a delayed response to food-borne outbreaks, emerging infectious diseases, natural disasters, fewer cancer screenings, and delayed treatment. (5) Vulnerable and underserved populations and health professional shortage areas will be most severely impacted by the health workforce shortage. (6) According to the New American Economy, World Education Services (WES), and Migration Policy Institute (MPI), nearly 2,000,000 college-educated immigrants in the United States are unemployed or underemployed in low-skilled or semiskilled jobs that fail to draw on their education and expertise. (7) According to the New American Economy, WES, and MPI report using data from 2009 to 2013, 27 percent of highly skilled and internationally educated naturalized citizens, 33 percent of highly skilled and internationally educated legal permanent residents, and 10 percent of highly skilled and internationally educated temporary visa holders were unemployed or underemployed. (8) According to the New American Economy, WES, and MPI report using data from 2009 to 2013, 15 percent of immigrants with undergraduate