Delaware Gets Med School
Delaware Partners with Jefferson for State's First Medical School to Combat Physician Shortage
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Key Points
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State officials said the Delaware Medical School Consortium would create the first institution in Delaware history authorized to grant M.D. degrees.
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Thomas Jefferson University leadership framed the effort as addressing Delaware’s physician shortage and “rooted in Delaware’s communities,” with Jefferson CEO Joseph G. Cacchione saying, “Jefferson is all in,” and TJU President Susan C. Aldridge saying the model is “designed to keep talent in the State.”
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Reporting noted an existing in-state education pipeline: Delaware’s Delaware Institute of Medical Education and Research reserves seats for Delaware students, and Sidney Kimmel Medical College “currently reserves up to 20 spots annually for Delaware residents.”
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The state’s Rural Health Transformation Program was described with specific funding figures—Delaware’s $157 million award is part of a larger $785 million federal investment spread over five years—and officials said roughly 40% of Delaware’s population lives in rural areas.
Delaware has chosen Thomas Jefferson University to build the state's first four-year medical school, Governor Matt Meyer announced on June 2, 2026. The school will be a regional campus of TJU's Sidney Kimmel Medical College and is expected to enroll its first class of about 40 students as early as fall 2028, according to State of Delaware.
Delaware is one of only three states without a school that grants M.D. or D.O. degrees. The state currently meets just 16.36% of its primary care needs — the lowest rate in the nation, according to Becker's Hospital Review. Meyer called the selection "a transformational moment," saying too many doctors trained outside Delaware "never come back."
How Delaware's Medical School Will Actually Work
The school follows a split model. Pre-clinical training — the classroom-heavy first two years — will take place at the University of Delaware's campus in Newark, in New Castle County. Clinical training, where students work with real patients, will be centered in Kent and Sussex counties, according to WDEL. Those southern counties are more rural and have the sharpest doctor shortages.
A consortium of partners will support the school. That includes the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, Delaware Technical Community College, and major health systems ChristianaCare, Bayhealth, and Beebe Healthcare, State of Delaware reported. TJU President Susan C. Aldridge said the model is "designed to keep talent in the State." Students who commit to practicing in rural Delaware could receive free tuition.
Federal Dollars Are Driving the Entire Initiative
The project is anchored by Delaware's Rural Health Transformation Program. In December 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services awarded Delaware $157.4 million for the first year of a multi-year federal grant, according to Milford LIVE. That grant is part of a broader $785 million federal investment spread across five states over five years.
About 40% of Delaware's population — roughly 400,000 people — lives in rural areas that the program targets. State officials see the medical school as central to fixing that gap. Jefferson CEO Joseph G. Cacchione said plainly: "Jefferson is all in." The final campus location and accreditation steps through the Liaison Committee on Medical Education are still being worked out, WGMD reported.
Four Groups Competed — And One Rival Bid Fell Short
The state issued a formal Request for Proposals in February 2026. Four organizations submitted bids by the March 27 deadline: Thomas Jefferson University, the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, PwC US Consulting, and Tiber Health Public Benefit Corp, according to Hoodline. Officials briefly delayed the award announcement on May 29 before confirming TJU on June 2.
Tiber Health CEO David Lenihan said he was disappointed but praised TJU as a "great university" that will "carry the ball forward." Delaware already has a pipeline program called DIMER — the Delaware Institute of Medical Education and Research — which reserves up to 20 seats annually for Delaware students at Sidney Kimmel Medical College. The new school would go far beyond that, Milford LIVE noted.
Not Everyone Is Convinced a Medical School Fixes the Problem
At least one local physician argued the real issue is pay, not training. Delaware commercial insurers pay inpatient rates 11% higher than neighboring states, yet primary care doctors still earn less there than across state lines. That gap pushes doctors to practice elsewhere — a problem a new school alone may not solve, according to reporting cited by WDEL.
State Senator Trey Paradee, who chairs the Joint Finance Committee, raised a sharper concern about money: "Once these rural health dollars go away in a few years, the question becomes, what is the state's commitment?" Analysts also flagged housing shortages in rural Delaware as a barrier to keeping new doctors in place — even graduates eager to stay, Milford LIVE reported.
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