2026 Primary Care Residency Expansion Grant Program

The FY2026 Primary Care Residency Expansion Grant Program is administered by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and is designed to address the growing shortage of primary care physicians in Minnesota. Established under Minnesota Statutes Section 144.1506, this grant initiative supports the development and expansion of primary care residency programs across the state. The primary objective is to increase the number of medical residents training and ultimately practicing in underserved and rural areas of Minnesota. The program encourages the training of residents in family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, psychiatry (including child psychiatry fellowships), geriatrics, and general surgery. The grant provides funding to establish new residency programs or to create new residency slots within existing programs. Eligible applicants can receive up to $75,000 for planning grants. For implementing new primary care residency slots, the funding is distributed over a three-year period with a maximum of $150,000 in year one, $100,000 in year two, and $50,000 in year three. Programs offering residencies longer than three years may receive funding not exceeding an average of $100,000 per residency slot annually. The total funding available for FY2026 is $1.9 million, and the estimated number of awards is between five and six. Applicants must be based in Minnesota and either currently train or plan to train medical residents in eligible primary care specialties. They must demonstrate current accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or submit a credible plan to obtain such accreditation. Existing programs must maintain the current number of residents in the eligible specialty and agree to verify the number of residents annually to remain eligible for continued funding. Collaboration is welcome but not required, and applicants must notify MDH of any organizational changes that may affect eligibility or operations. The grant prioritizes programs that serve rural and underserved communities. This includes residency programs with rotations in areas designated by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as health professional shortage areas or medically underserved populations. Additional priority is given to programs that show a strong record of placing graduates in these communities, emphasize health equity and cross-cultural training, or support immigrant international medical graduates (IIMGs) who meet specific immigration criteria. Programs may be eligible for additional funds if they support IIMGs who are either permanent residents or have been granted Humanitarian or Significant Public Benefit Parole. Applications must be submitted through MDH’s online grants portal by 4:30 p.m. Central Time on September 5, 2025. The application opened on July 21, 2025, and awards are expected to be announced in mid-October 2025. Grant agreements are anticipated to begin on March 1, 2026, and may run through June 30, 2029, depending on the duration of the residency program. Required components of the application include organization and project information, a project narrative, budget and budget narrative, and several attachments such as audited financial statements, proof of accreditation, and a conflict of interest disclosure. Evaluation will be conducted by a review committee using a 100-point scoring system. Criteria include the applicant’s organizational capacity, training site locations, curriculum focus on health disparities, recruitment strategies, and program sustainability. Applicants must also comply with MDH’s grant monitoring and reporting requirements, including quarterly progress and financial reports. All questions about the RFP must be emailed to Roble Aden at Health.ORHPC.WorkforceGrants@state.mn.us no later than 4:30 p.m. Central Time on August 22, 2025.

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