Opportunity Overview
High-value physician recruitment pathway for Maryland healthcare employers. The Maryland Department of Health, Office of Health Care Access and Workforce Development, administers the State’s Conrad 30 J-1 Visa Waiver Program to help recruit primary-care and specialty physicians into underserved communities. Maryland may recommend up to 30 J-1 physician waivers per federal fiscal-year cycle, including up to 10 Flex slots for qualifying sites outside a federally designated shortage area that still serve underserved populations.
2026 Application Window
The 2026 cycle opens October 1, 2026. Maryland’s official program page, last updated September 18, 2026, states that applications open October 1, 2026 and close February 1, 2027. The current program page now presents one consistent application window. Atlas therefore uses February 1, 2027 as the current authoritative closing date; the public page does not state a closing clock time, so applicants should submit early and confirm portal instructions before filing. Applicants should confirm the live portal before final submission.
Who Benefits
This is not a cash grant. It is a workforce-recruitment benefit that allows qualifying healthcare employers to sponsor foreign-national physicians who otherwise would be subject to the J-1 two-year home-country residence requirement. Maryland gives preference to primary-care physicians, practices in underserved communities, practices with a demonstrated commitment to underserved populations, employers with documented recruitment difficulty, and rural counties. Specialty physicians may also be considered.
Core Physician Requirements
Qualifying physicians must meet federal and Maryland eligibility requirements, hold or be pursuing appropriate Maryland medical licensure, have a qualifying employment agreement, and commit to practice in Maryland for three consecutive years. The employment agreement must generally provide for at least 40 hours per week, including at least 32 hours of direct patient care, and the physician must begin work within the required federal timeframe after waiver approval.
Core Employer and Site Requirements
For a standard non-Flex application, the medical practice site generally must be in a federally designated Health Professional Shortage Area or Medically Underserved Area/Population. Employers must document community need, accept Medicaid and Medicare on assignment, maintain an appropriate sliding-fee policy, and submit a separate site application for every location where the physician will work. The electronic packet also requires the employer cover letter, physician documentation, site materials, signed employer attestation by the employer President/CEO, signed policy acknowledgments and the other items listed in the official application checklist.
2026 recruitment-readiness control: Maryland’s current policy requires employers to document prior physician recruitment efforts, including the applicable 3RNET posting requirement. Preserve the recruitment record before the application window opens.
Telehealth Rule
Maryland permits a proposed telehealth component only when it is addressed in the employment agreement. The State expects the majority of direct patient-care hours to remain in person, and telehealth must comply with Maryland requirements. This is a workforce program, not a technology reimbursement program.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 93/100. This is a strategically important physician-recruitment pathway for Maryland hospitals, rural providers, FQHCs, health centers and medical practices facing persistent physician shortages. Its value is the ability to recruit and retain an otherwise difficult-to-access physician workforce for a three-year service term rather than a direct cash award.
Deadline control: Maryland’s authoritative program page, last updated September 18, 2026, now consistently states that the 2026 cycle opens October 1, 2026 and closes February 1, 2027. The public page does not state a closing clock time, so applicants should confirm any portal-specific submission instructions and file early.
N9+ Direct Vendor Fit: 0/100. The program does not fund equipment, telehealth platforms or clinical technology. Although a J-1 physician may provide a limited telehealth component under the employment-contract rules, that does not create an N9+ funding pathway.
Next Action
Before October 1, verify the physician’s J-1 eligibility and case number, Maryland licensure status, employer and site eligibility, shortage-area or Flex strategy, three-year employment agreement, 40-hour and direct-patient-care requirements, sliding-fee and payer-access policies, recruitment documentation, and all site-specific application materials. Build the complete electronic packet early and use February 1, 2027 as the current authoritative closing date, while confirming any portal-specific clock-time instructions before submission.
Official sources: Maryland Conrad 30 Program and Maryland J-1 Visa Waiver Application.