ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A University of Minnesota program that helps immigrant doctors qualify to practice in Minnesota has fallen victim to last month’s state budget agreement.

Minnesota Public Radio reported Monday that lawmakers eliminated funding for the $150,000 program.

The program has allowed three doctors from Somalia to begin their residency training after years of professional limbo. Most U.S. hospitals require physicians to complete a residency before they will hire them. Those programs typically accept only doctors who have graduated within the last five years, which shuts out immigrants who completed medical school earlier.

Dr. Will Nicholson, who helped teach the inaugural class, says Minnesota needs doctors who are willing to treat underserved and immigrant communities. And he says re-training foreign doctors is much more cost-effective than sending new students through medical school.