Purpose of the Bill

The purpose of this bill is to improve cancer care in rural areas of Minnesota by expanding the clinical workforce focused on oncology.

Main Provisions

• The bill allocates $300,000 for fiscal year 2026 and another $300,000 for fiscal year 2027 from Minnesota’s workforce development fund.
• This funding is specifically for a grant to the Rural Cancer Institute.
• The grant is to support a pilot program aimed at expanding the number of cancer care clinicians in rural regions.
• The program also intends to provide education and skills training for health care students through a community-based model.
• The program's goal is to address the shortage of oncology care workforce in rural areas by increasing the number of trained professionals.

Significant Changes

• Introduces a focused initiative to counteract the shortage of cancer care providers in rural Minnesota.
• Emphasizes a community-based approach to train and deploy oncology clinicians, addressing both education and practical deployment in underserved areas.
• Represents new, one-time funding specifically directed towards workforce expansion in rural oncology care.

Relevant Terms

rural cancer care, oncology workforce, pilot program, workforce development fund, cancer care clinicians, community-based model, workforce shortage.