As mentionned in the hearing a few months ago, Las Vegas is underserved in many specialties, in addition to primary care. Needy patients also need specialty care; and some specialties have are more hospital-based by nature. The committee needs to take that into account when approving J-1 waivers.

Also, another issue that was touched upon in Dec but not raised since is the issue of the "non-compete" clause in employment contracts for J-1 waiver. Under the current law, if physician works in North Las Vegas for 3 years on a J-1 waiver, he has to leave that area afterwards to avoid breaching the "non-compete" clause of his contract with his employer, and avoid paying several thousand dollars in fines. How do you retain doctors in the underserved area if you ask them to leave??