House panel advances bill to end WWAMI ties and direct new medical education partnerships and timelines

The House Education Committee voted to send House Bill 176 to the floor with a "do pass" recommendation after a contentious hearing with more than a dozen witnesses for and against the measure.

Rep. Dustin Manwaring, sponsor of HB 176, said the bill would phase out Idaho's reliance on the WWAMI regional medical-education arrangement and direct the State Board of Education to designate at least two medical-education programs in Idaho or adjacent Mountain Time Zone states. Manwaring said the change is intended to increase capacity, keep more state investment in Idaho and to boost the number of Idaho-trained and Idaho-retained physicians. "Idaho does not have its own state run medical school," Manwaring told the committee, and lawmakers should give direction to universities and the State Board about the state's priorities.

Under the bill text described by Manwaring, no further slots may be reserved for Idaho students in the WWAMI program after the 2026-27 academic year; current students would complete their training and continue to receive state support. The bill would require that, by the 2029-30…