House committee advances bill to add medical school seats, direct State Board to plan expansion

BOISE — The Idaho House Committee on Education voted to send House Bill 368 to the floor with a do-pass recommendation after an hour of testimony and questions on expanding the state’s medical education capacity.

Representative Dustin Manwaring, state representative for District 29 from Pocatello and the bill’s sponsor, told the committee Idaho “faces a critical need for more physicians, particularly in rural and underserved areas” and urged diversifying medical education partnerships beyond WWAMI (the Washington‑Idaho WWAMI regional medical education program).

Manwaring outlined the bill’s mechanics: Idaho currently supports 40 WWAMI seats in‑state and 10 seats tied to the University of Utah for a total of 50 state‑sponsored medical seats. Under HB 368, the state would add 30 new non‑WWAMI seats over a phased period; because of reductions in WWAMI seats in year two the net increase would be 20, bringing the total to 70 state‑sponsored seats. “With this pending legislation, Idaho will add 30 new non‑WWAMI seats leading to a net increase of 20 medical school seats bringing the total to 70,” Manwaring said.

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