By Nada Hassanein

Stateline

In Kentucky, patients drive up to two hours to see Dr. Manikya Kuriti, one of the few endocrinologists who serve the rural communities surrounding Louisville.

Kuriti’s husband, a pulmonologist, drives from Louisville to small hospitals an hour south and north, in Indiana, to help small teams treat critically ill patients.

Rural communities have long struggled to recruit and retain doctors. Many rural hospitals are struggling financially, and have had to eliminate services or even shut down. The shortage of providers is critical in rural communities that tend to have higher rates of chronic illness and early death compared with their urban counterparts.

Many immigrant physicians help fill those gaps thanks in part to the H-1B visa , which allows skilled

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