Legislative panel reviews expansion of medical residencies; residents cited as immediate care capacity

The Joint Finance Appropriations Committee on Monday reviewed requests to continue and expand medical residency slots across Idaho, including psychiatry at Eastern Idaho, internal medicine in Boise and multiple family medicine programs statewide.

Kevin Campbell, budget analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the committee residencies are typically funded through three‑party partnerships that cover resident salaries, training costs and supervising‑physician payments. He said the estimated state share per resident is about $210,000 per year and that residency programs have consistently spent their appropriations to pay sponsoring hospitals for resident positions.

Doctors leading the programs told the committee residents provide significant clinical capacity while they train and increase the likelihood that physicians remain in Idaho after completion. “It takes 3 and a half months to get into me,” Dr. Matthew Larson, psychiatry program director at Eastern Idaho Medical Residency, said when…