House committee backs bill to add medical school seats and direct state medical education plan

The House Education Committee on Wednesday voted 8‑5, with one member absent, to send House Bill 368 to the House floor with a do‑pass recommendation. The measure, sponsored by State Rep. Dustin Manwaring of Pocatello, would add 30 non‑WWAMI medical school seats and direct the State Board of Education to develop a medical education plan intended to expand clerkships, residency pathways and Idaho‑centered admissions and training.

Manwaring opened the hearing by stressing Idaho’s physician shortage and the state’s low per‑capita physician ranking. “Idaho faces a critical need for more physicians, particularly in rural and underserved areas,” Representative Dustin Manwaring, state representative, District 29, said. He described the bill’s combination of continuing WWAMI participation while investing in in‑state and regional alternatives to grow training capacity.

The sponsor and several witnesses laid out the bill’s mechanics and the financial rationale. Manwaring told the committee Idaho currently…