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The World Socialist Web Site reports
Under the previous policy, Cubans who made it to dry land in US territory were permitted to enter the country and take advantage of the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, which allowed Cubans to claim permanent US residency after one year in the country. Cubans who were interdicted at sea by the US Coast Guard, on the other hand, were returned to Cuba.
[...] On January 12, President Barack Obama announced that, effective immediately, the US government would end the so-called "Wet Foot, Dry Foot" policy, as well as the Cuban Medical Professional Parole Program. In a joint statement detailing the changes in migration policy, the Cuban government agreed to accept Cuban nationals deported or returned by the US.
Through these programs, Cubans were extended preferential immigration status and a continued incentive to leave the country, which contributed to a "brain drain" of trained professionals and provided Washington and right-wing Cuban exiles the fodder for propaganda about state repression in Cuba fueling a constant stream of refugees.
Cuba has an abundance of well-trained medical personnel. Economist Dean Baker has pointed out that allowing the American Medical Association to construct artificial barriers to expanding USA's medical labor force is dumb and makes healthcare more expensive.
Also at The New York Times and Fox News.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by VLM on Wednesday January 25 2017, @10:26PM
Even in general medicine, consider different care techniques in the USA vs Cuba, we have MRIs falling out of our ears so naturally a dude gets a bump on the head you MRI him and consult with a radiologist. In the 3rd world where the Cuban docs are trained to operate there are no MRI where there is no electricity, for example.
I'm sure some generic ER tasks like suturing up lacerations is the same all over the world, but there's going to be exotic stuff in the USA where even if we imported them they're not going to know how to use.
Ironically what we probably need in the USA are more cheap laceration stitchers and fewer MRI refer-ers. The Cubans wouldn't fit in but we do need them anyway.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Thursday January 26 2017, @01:29AM
We need them in general, but the medical business machine doesn't want them. It is so much more profitable to have doctors that can't diagnose the flu without $1000 in blood tests and a chest x-ray. We need to bring back the art of the clinical diagnosis and we need doctors accustomed to understanding that the patient doesn't have unlimited money to spend on a sprain.
(Score: 2) by Dunbal on Thursday January 26 2017, @03:12AM
It is so much more profitable to have doctors that can't diagnose the flu without $1000 in blood tests and a chest x-ray.
That has nothing to do with the quality of physicians and everything to do with "defensive medicine". Thank the lawyers for that or better yet, thank yourselves and your sense of entitlement and jackpot justice.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Thursday January 26 2017, @04:55AM
Actually, not to the extent you think. It really is becoming a lost art [nih.gov].