Idaho’s healthcare workforce faces a multitude of challenges shaped by the state’s unique physical geography and population trends, according to a viewpoint published by IdahoEdNews.org Dec. 18.
Idaho is the 11th largest state in the U.S., according to the Department of Labor, spanning more than 82,600 square miles. Nearly 88% of that land comprises rural counties, home to more than 25% of the state’s population.
According to the U.S. Census, more than 1 in 5 residents in the state’s most rural counties are 65 or older, who primarily work in agriculture.
Furthermore, Idaho’s population is growing. While the national population grew by 1% from 2023 to 2024, Idaho’s has increased by more than 8% since 2025.
This presents a unique challenge for the state’s healthcare workforce, which already lags behind the growing demand for healthcare, author Chantal Ramirez Sanchez, a public policy student at Claremont, Calif.-based Pitzer College writes in the viewpoint piece. Idaho ranks 50th in the nation for primary care physicians and 43 out of 44 of its counties are designated health profession shortage areas, the Idaho Capital Sun reported in March.
“Even adding 1,400 doctors overnight would only bring the state up to the national average,” reads the article.
Idaho also does not have an in-state public medical school, but has instead invested in regional partnerships, including the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho program through the University of Washington and another program with the University of Utah. In 2025, the state spent $10.6 million to strengthen the medical workforce through these programs, IdahoEdNews.org reported in October.
“The results matter,” Ms. Ramirez Sanchez writes. “[Seventy-two percent] of Idaho students trained through WWAMI return to practice in the state. These physicians are trained in rural and community hospitals, exactly where Idaho’s need is greatest.”
Meanwhile, there have been some proposals to reduce participation in WWAMI or to shift the focus to expanding access to medical school outside the program. Ms. Sanchez contends that stepping away from the program could disrupt workforce pipelines and clinical care networks.
This year the state legislature passed House Bill 368, which created a working group to explore a state-supported medical school. The project could exceed more than $300 million by completion, with no guarantee that it will produce enough physicians to close the growing care gap.
Instead, Ms. Ramirez Sanchez suggests the state should maintain its ties to the WWAMI program while expanding policies that incentivize physicians to practice in Idaho.
“Idaho’s physician shortage is urgent but solvable,” she writes. “By choosing fiscally responsible solutions that build on what already works, Idaho can ensure rural communities receive care, strengthen the economy, and honor its responsibility to taxpayers. Maintaining WWAMI and pairing it with targeted incentives is the most optimal way to secure a strong, sustainable medical workforce for Idaho.”
