‘Everything is on the table:’ Idaho State looks at the practicality of buying a medical school

POCATELLO (IdahoEdNews.org) — Idaho State University is looking at the feasibility of buying a private medical school in Meridian.

The review is in its early stages, Idaho State President Robert Wagner said Monday. It’s unclear how much it would cost to acquire the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine (ICOM) or where the state or the university would get the money. It’s not even clear that Idaho State would actually pursue a purchase of ICOM, which has been affiliated with Idaho State since it opened six years ago. And at this point, ICOM isn’t even for sale.

“It is so early in any discussions, everything is on the table,” Wagner told Idaho Education News.

The discussions come as Idaho State looks to defend its preeminence in the field of health care professions — a high-demand market that is drawing increased interest from other colleges and universities across the state.

Wagner floated the idea of an ICOM purchase in an email to House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star.

“I will continue to work on assessing the feasibility of ISU partnering with the state to acquire ICOM — in order to provide more medical professionals for Idaho,” Wagner said in the July 22 email, received by EdNews through a public records request. “This is a natural next step in the existing strong partnership between ISU and ICOM.”

A preliminary process — but an ongoing issue

An ICOM purchase is far from a done deal.

In his July email to Moyle, Wagner said he hopes ICOM’s owners will explore a sale “over the next two years.” Wagner said he has discussed the idea with ICOM President and CEO Tracy Farnsworth, and ICOM is “willing to at least listen to our ideas.”

On Tuesday, Farnsworth said a sale could benefit Idahoans, and a state with a dire doctors’ shortage. But he said he’s never discussed the idea of a sale with ICOM’s staff or its board of trustees. ICOM’s ownership group has never discussed the idea either. “There’s no current, active interest in selling the college right now,” Farnsworth told EdNews.

In an interview Monday, Moyle also emphasized that ICOM is not for sale. However, he added, “We ought to be in a position to take advantage … if (ICOM) becomes available.”

Moyle said he has long supported the idea of pursuing an Idaho medical school. He said the process began years ago, with the opening of the Sam and Aline Skaggs Health Sciences Center on Idaho State’s Meridian campus. The Skaggs family’s charitable trust has contributed more than $10 million to Idaho State since 2007.

“Idaho ought to keep moving to the ball to getting a medical school here,” Moyle told EdNews.

There has been “potential interest” in an ICOM purchase for years, dating back to its opening, State Board of Education spokesman Mike Keckler said. “But there has been no action or even discussions held by the board.”

If Idaho State pursues an ICOM purchase, the State Board, the Legislature and Idaho’s health care industry would certainly be involved in the discussions, Wagner said. It doesn’t appear likely that the issue would come before the 2025 Legislature, which begins its next session in less than two months.

The State Board and the Legislature have played prominent — and conflicting — roles in the debate over another proposed higher ed acquisition.

In May 2023, the State Board signed off on the University of Idaho’s bid to acquire the University of Phoenix, a massive for-profit online university serving some 70,000 students nationwide. The 2024 Legislature balked at the $685 million purchase, leaving the proposal on life support.

ICOM, by contrast, is far smaller, with deep connections to Idaho State.

About ICOM — and its ties to Idaho State

The state’s first medical school, ICOM was founded in partnership with Idaho State and opened in 2018. In July, the school welcomed its seventh group of first-year students — a cohort of 162 students, scheduled to graduate in 2028. Thirty-five of these students are from Idaho.

ICOM expects its enrollment to grow by 70 students next fall, Dean Kevin Wilson said recently, and is hiring 27 additional staffers to accommodate the growth.

ICOM sits next to Idaho State’s Meridian campus. And the two affiliates are not just linked by physical proximity.

Farnsworth is a former professor of health care management at Idaho State. Wagner sits on ICOM’s board of trustees, as does Rex Force, Idaho State’s vice president for health science and senior vice provost.

Idaho State and ICOM offer several dual degrees. In May, Idaho State and ICOM renewed a memorandum of understanding; at the time, Idaho State said the agreement “solidifies the partnership between the two institutions and paves the way for further collaboration.” (More about the partnership from the Idaho Capital Sun.)

On Monday, Wagner said this agreement prompted the July 22 email to Moyle, updating him on a possible ICOM purchase.

ICOM is now owned by Rice University, a private university based in Houston, and TPG, an international private equity company. While the company’s board has not yet discussed selling ICOM, it could be just a matter of time. Private equity firms like TPG generally look to sell their assets at some point, Farnsworth told EdNews in an interview. “That’s expected.”

The health care professions niche

ICOM’s projected growth coincides with Idaho State’s plans to grow its Meridian campus and grow its statewide footprint in health care programs. Last week, the Meridian City Council approved a plan to annex 23 acres and rezone it for an expanded health science campus, the Idaho Press reported.

Health care has been a centerpiece in Idaho State’s mission for decades. The university has added 700 students in health professions fields over the past five years, touting partnerships with ICOM, Lewis-Clark State College and the College of Southern Idaho, among others.

But in recent years, other Idaho colleges and universities have scrambled to expand offerings in programs such as nursing. A response to a growing workplace demand, this expansion has also raised questions about competition and duplicated services.

Ultimately, Wagner says it will take partnership and collaboration to serve the state’s need for health care professionals. But he pointed out that Idaho State’s mission gives it a unique role in exploring new avenues.

“We’re willing to be creative. We are willing to be innovative,” he said. “I, for one, am, not satisfied to just sit back and say, ‘Hey, we’re doing a good job.’ Which we are.”

Medical education in Idaho

Currently, Idaho funds two programs that allow Gem State students to attend out-of-state medical schools.

The WWAMI program — named for the member states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho — partners with the University of Washington’s medical school. Idaho students begin their studies at the University of Idaho. The $7.5 million program, which serves 160 Idaho students at a time, has come under some scrutiny. In 2022, Moyle sponsored a bill requiring WWAMI grads to return to Idaho to practice medicine for four years, or pay back the money the state paid to subsidize their education. The bill became law after then- Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate.

Idaho has a second partnership with the University of Utah, which subsidizes 40 medical school students at a time, at a cost of close to $3 million.

An ICOM purchase has long been a part of the conversation about medical education in Idaho, Keckler said. “There is a need in Idaho for more doctors and various ideas have come up over the years about how to best address it, including this one.”

An ICOM purchase is only one possible approach.

The state could purchase medical school “seats” at ICOM, as it now does through WWAMI and the University of Utah partnership. In other words, the state would spend tax dollars to subsidize Idaho students who want to attend ICOM. On Monday, Moyle said he was open to the idea of acquiring medical school seats at ICOM, or additional seats at the University of Utah.

Either way, the objective is to address a looming problem: Idaho’s growing doctor’s shortage. Wagner and Farnsworth can cite a series of grim statistics. Idaho ranks 49th in the nation for primary medical care positions in Idaho, Wagner said. Even if Idaho added 1,400 doctors overnight, that massive influx would only bring its number of physicians to the national average, Farnsworth said. On top of that, he added, a third of Idaho’s doctors are over the age of 60.

“You have to look at every combination of solutions,” he said.