December 3,
2025By Physicians for a Healthy California CalMedForce
Physicians for a Healthy California (PHC) today announced $85 million in CalMedForce and CalMedForce+ grants to expand graduate medical education (GME) opportunities across California. For the first time, all specialties were eligible for funding, compared to just five in previous cycles.
In this cycle, programs submitted record requests totaling more than $460 million, underscoring the need for additional training positions to keep pace with California’s growing patient population.
This is the first cycle to include CalMedForce+, which uses voter-approved Proposition 35 funds—passed in 2024 with 67.9% of the vote—to broaden eligibility and expand support for GME programs. Prop. 35 provides $75 million in GME investments. CalMedForce, now in its eighth year, continues to be funded through the Proposition 56 tobacco tax. Together, the programs will support 270 residency and fellowship positions across 231 GME programs in this cycle, directing resources to California’s most medically underserved regions.
“The demand we saw this year reflects what communities have been telling us for years—California must train more physicians to meet the health care needs of its growing population,” said PHC President and CEO Lupe Alonzo-Diaz, MPA. “CalMedForce and CalMedForce+ are essential to expanding access to care and building the workforce Californians will rely on for years to come.”
This year’s awards are nearly four times last year’s total, underscoring both the magnitude of need and the critical role these programs play in supporting access to care across California. As the state faces a projected shortfall of 4,100 primary care clinicians by 2030, sustained investment in GME will be essential to ensuring Californians can get the care they need.
“By supporting impactful programs that expand medical education, California can grow its physician workforce in high-need areas and specialties—making care more accessible for patients with Medi-Cal coverage and those without insurance,” said Deena McRae, M.D., associate vice president for Academic Health Sciences in the UC Office of the President. “I’m pleased that CalMedForce+ will offer additional impactful grants, helping to strengthen our health care workforce and advancing a healthier future for all Californians.”
Proposition 35 funding also enabled PHC to support fellowship programs for the first time, expanding subspecialty training opportunities critical to California’s future workforce. This approach balanced broad distribution with the need to provide adequate support where it is most critical.
About CalMedForce and CalMedForce+
PHC administers the CalMedForce and CalMedForce+ grant programs in partnership with the University of California (UC). As a state public institution, UC oversees the distribution of Proposition 56 and Proposition 35 funds to support GME programs statewide. Any accredited GME program is eligible for funding, with priority for programs serving under-resourced populations and communities with significant shortages. UC contracts with PHC to administer the award cycles.
Since its launch, CalMedForce has awarded over $275 million for 855 grants to 181 GME programs throughout California, supporting the retention and expansion of residency slots in primary care—including family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology—as well as emergency medicine. CalMedForce+ begins its inaugural year with $64 million to 162 GME programs, expanding both residency and fellowship positions across the state.
For more information, visit phcdocs.org/CalMedForce. (@PHCdocs / #CalMedForce)