House education panel votes to advance bill phasing WWAMI seats toward new Idaho-focused partnerships

The Idaho House Education Committee voted 9-5 on Feb. 14 to send House Bill 176 to the floor with a —due pass— recommendation, endorsing a proposal from Rep. Dustin Manwaring to phase out future reserved student slots in the WWAMI regional medical-education program and move Idaho—s investment toward state-centered partnerships and clinical training.

Manwaring (State Representative, District 29), the bill—s sponsor, told the committee the measure aims to increase capacity, keep more state education dollars in Idaho and improve retention of Idaho-trained physicians. "I started when I introduced this legislation by talking to you about how Idaho does not have its own state run medical school," Manwaring said during his presentation.

The bill would: end the reservation of new WWAMI slots after the 2026-27 academic year while protecting currently enrolled students; require the State Board of Education to designate at least two medical-education programs in Idaho or adjacent states within the Mountain Time Zone as official partners; cap the Idaho program at not more than 60 slots; and require that a majority of clinical (years 3 and 4) placements be in Idaho by the 2029-30 academic year.

Dr. Rusty Baker, who identified himself as a University of Idaho physician involved with the program, described the existing WWAMI model and the university—s role. "We now have 160 students in the program. 80 are in the first 2 years at the University of Idaho and 80 are in the clinical phase that is administered by the University of Washington," Baker said, adding that the Idaho campus delivers the first two years of basic science and preclinical training in Moscow.

Representatives of the University of Utah also testified in support of a potential new partnership. Dr. Ben Chan, identified as the University of Utah associate dean for admissions and Idaho affairs (testifying remotely), told the committee his school currently accepts 10 Idaho students per year and described Utah—s clinical infrastructure and match rate: "We currently take 10 medical students a year in our class of 25 students ... Our match rate is currently 97 percent."

Officials from the University of Washington and many WWAMI alumni and Idaho clinicians urged caution. Dr. Suzanne Allen, vice dean for academic rural and regional affairs at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said the UW remains committed to training Idaho students and warned that Idaho currently lacks sufficient clinical capacity to expand without additional work: "We do not currently have that capacity without the additional expansion here in Idaho to help us with that." Several former and current WWAMI students and Idaho physicians said the program—s long-standing rural training network and clinical partnerships would be difficult to reproduce quickly.

Committee members heard conflicting views over whether the state would retain clinical sites and preceptors if the partnership changed; whether a Utah partnership could expand class size fast enough without degrading quality; and how to ensure more graduates ultimately practice in Idaho. Manwaring cited a cost distribution he said would shift funds into Idaho under a Utah partnership: "The University of Idaho gets $4,450,000; University of Washington gets $9,380,000 ... We believe that we would be able to keep 65, almost 66% of those dollars in Idaho and 34% out of state," he said.

During deliberations the committee considered motions to hold the bill for further study; an amended substitute motion to hold until Feb. 19 was proposed and failed to pass. A motion to send the bill to the full House with a due-pass recommendation passed 9-5. The committee record shows multiple substitute and procedural motions and a series of roll-call and voice tallies before the final vote.

Representative Manwaring closed by saying the bill provides a multiyear transition and that current students would complete their WWAMI education. The bill now proceeds to the House floor for consideration and possible amendment.