House panel sends bill to phase out WWAMI partnership and direct new medical-education partnerships to floor

House Education Committee members voted 9–5 to send House Bill 176 to the full House with a due-pass recommendation after extended testimony and deliberation over the future of Idaho’s WWAMI medical-education arrangement.

House Bill 176, sponsored by Representative Dustin Manwaring, would remove statutory references to the WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) regional medical-education program and direct the State Board of Education to designate at least two medical-education programs in Idaho or adjacent Mountain Time Zone states. The bill directs that no new slots be reserved for Idaho students in WWAMI after the 2026–27 academic year; current WWAMI students would continue under existing arrangements through completion. The draft requires that a majority of clinical (years 3–4) training for Idaho-supported medical students occur in Idaho by the 2029–30 academic year and sets a not-to-exceed cap of 60 seats (the University of Idaho currently has 40 WWAMI seats and the University of Utah has long held 10 seats for Idaho students, per testimony).

Representative Manwaring framed the bill as an effort to align Idaho medical training with state needs: “Idaho does not have its own state run medical school,” he said, and the legislature’s role is to “give that direction to our universities and to the State Board and make sure that they know what the intent is.” He said the change aims to increase in-state training capacity and retain more Idaho-trained physicians.

University of Idaho and potential partner testimony: Dr. Rusty Baker (University of Idaho) described the current program and transition plan. “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 the University of Idaho faculty deliver the first two years on the Moscow campus and the program posts a 98 percent pass rate on the USMLE Step 1 exam. Baker said under the bill Idaho would have two years to develop a new preclinical curriculum with an outside partner and that clinical rotations would be expanded in-state before the 2029–30 academic year.

University of Utah participation: Dr. Ben Chan (University of Utah) testified by phone that Utah has trained Idaho students for decades and that Utah’s system could expand class size and clinical capacity; he said Utah is “very much on board” and pointed to ongoing coordination and a memorandum of understanding between the University of Idaho and the University of Utah.

University of Washington and clinical capacity concerns: Suzanne Allen, vice dean for academic rural and regional affairs at the University of Washington School of Medicine, testified the UW “does not spend any Idaho funds on abortion care or abortion training” and said UW is committed to expanding Idaho WWAMI seats when more Idaho clinical training capacity is available. Multiple UW witnesses said the principal limitation to expanding WWAMI seats in Idaho is a shortage of clinical training slots in-state rather than unwillingness to expand.

Public testimony was extensive and split. Supporters of HB176—several Idaho physicians and some policy advocates—said the bill would keep more state tuition dollars in Idaho, increase state control over medical education priorities and ultimately expand the in‑state physician workforce. Representative Manwaring summarized funding figures he presented: the University of Idaho currently receives $4,450,000 while the University of Washington receives $9,380,000 for the full four-year program for the cohort sizes described; he said a Utah partnership could reverse the distribution so roughly two-thirds of those funds would remain in Idaho.

Opponents—current WWAMI students, alumni and many Idaho clinicians—warned that breaking the long-standing UW partnership risks disrupting established clinical training sites and preceptor relationships and could reduce the number of Idaho students placed in Idaho residencies. Students and physicians testified WWAMI provides extensive rural training experiences and strong residency outcomes; several said the UW affiliation is a major reason program graduates match into residencies and return to practice in Idaho.

Committee deliberations included multiple procedural motions. An amended substitute motion to hold HB176 in committee until Feb. 19 was proposed and failed on an 7–7 vote. A subsequent motion to hold the bill in committee failed 5–9. The final motion to send HB176 to the House floor with a due-pass recommendation passed by roll call vote, 9–5.

Next steps: HB176 will be placed on the House calendar for floor consideration. If advanced by the full House and Senate, the bill would trigger a multi-year transition in Idaho’s medical-education arrangements and require coordination between the State Board of Education, Idaho universities, and potential out-of-state partners.