Idaho lawmakers are considering a move to address the Gem State’s doctor shortage.
The Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee Wednesday were presented with the state’s new 10-year plan to increase graduate medical education in the state, which Governor Butch Otter recommends launching in the coming year. The state currently ranks 49th out of the 50 states both in the number of doctors per-capita and in the number of medical residents per capita.
The 10-year plan would sharply expand medical residency training in Idaho, producing 2,000 new physicians for the state over the next decade. Without it, under the existing system, just 520 would be trained over that time.
The proposal is for a public-private partnership, with the state paying a third of the cost.
Supporters add that a number of existing doctors in Idaho are nearing retirement age, as 27 percent of the active physician workforce is over the age of 60. Idaho has 6.7 medical residents per 100-thousand people – the U.S. average is 28.1. The new plan would increase Idaho’s residency programs from the current 9 to 21 in all geographic regions of the state.
The new programs would include psychiatry, as Idaho ranks last among states in its number of psychiatrists per capita.
Officials say every single county in Idaho has a mental health profession shortage. (Spokesman-Review)
