Idaho considers end to 50-year physician-training partnership with University of Washington over ‘Idaho values’

The Idaho Legislature is considering a move to end a 50-year partnership with the University of Washington to train future Idaho doctors.

Since 1972, Idahoans training to be physicians have been able to do so through the WWAMI system, a partnership between five states that relies on the UW School of Medicine for physician training.

A bill headed to the Idaho State House floor would sever the state’s ties with UW in favor of a proposed partnership with the University of Utah.

Bill sponsor Rep. Dustin Manwaring, R-Pocatello, argued before the Idaho House Education Committee last Friday that the state’s partnership with the University of Washington does not align Idaho physicians’ “medical education with Idaho values.”

“I appreciate the University of Washington and the reputation they have for quality. But at the same time, we have a physician shortage in Idaho. We have to address this issue in Idaho, and we have to find new relationships that works for us, and we have to keep and retain more doctors in the state of Idaho,” Manwaring said.

Manwaring claimed that the University of Washington could use Idaho state funds to teach physicians how to perform abortions. He also said calls to increase the number of Idaho students in the partnership had been ignored by UW.

At the hearing, UW School of Medicine Vice Dean Suzanne Allen said the school would agree to Idaho’s abortion stipulation.

“The University of Washington does not spend any Idaho funds on abortion care or abortion training,” she said.

Allen also said UW hopes to expand the number of Idaho students involved in the program.

“We are committed to that expansion. Currently we do not have enough clinical training in the state of Idaho for us to be able to do that expansion. We are working diligently to create more high-quality clinical training opportunities for our students,” she said.

Idaho medical students currently receive their first two years of training at the University of Idaho in Moscow. They then receive two additional years of clinical training at medical facilities in any of the WWAMI states, including Idaho, Washington, Wyoming, Alaska or Montana. There are currently 40 Idaho medical students in the WWAMI partnership each year.

If passed, the bill would allow for current University of Idaho students to complete their participation in WWAMI, and Idaho’s involvement in the partnership would be phased out by the 2029-30 school year. The state would also need to find a new partnership with other medical schools in the Mountain time zone.

While the bill does not outline any new partnerships, Manwaring said talks were ongoing to partner with the University of Utah, which he argues could keep state dollars and Idaho physicians-in-training closer to home.

“Right now, the University of Idaho gets $4.45 million and the University of Washington gets $9.38 million, so that’s almost 69% that goes to the University of Washington. What we’re proposing is a potential partnership with University of Utah, which would flip that on its head. We believe we would be able to keep almost 66% of those dollars in Idaho, and 34% of that would go out of state,” he said.

The University of Utah currently provides training for 10 Idaho students, but this proposal would bring the number to parity with those currently receiving UW instruction. The partnership would also need approval by the Utah state Legislature.

University of Idaho medical professor Rusty Baker said at the hearing such a transfer would be possible.

“It doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate what the University of Washington has done, or that I want it necessarily to change. But if our state Legislature and our board deems that this change needs to happen, then it’s our duty to find a way to make sure that physicians are continuously trained in the University of Idaho,” Baker said.

Other Idaho physicians spoke in opposition to the proposal at the hearing.

“WWAMI is not just any other medical training. It is a national leader that is number one in rural training and primary care physician training, which is what Idaho continues to be in dire need of,” said Kootenai Health physician Dr. Crystal Pyrak. “The WWAMI program is not just the time spent at the University of Idaho but includes over a hundred teaching sites in wonderful, unique Idaho communities, and really has a great standard of excellence. It will be impossible for any other medical school program to replace it.”

The bill was approved in a 9-5 committee vote and now waits for debate and a vote in the Idaho House.