Among health care professionals in Idaho, one concern remains constant: The state needs more doctors.
Dr. Jonathan Shupe said North Idaho’s five northern counties are expected to be short about 50 primary care physicians by 2030.
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In the first year of the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), states have homed in on a few core themes designed to improve the nation’s rural health infrastructure.
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Among health care professionals in Idaho, one concern remains constant: The state needs more doctors.
Dr. Jonathan Shupe said North Idaho’s five northern counties are expected to be short about 50 primary care physicians by 2030.
“If we were to fill 1,400 new physician positions tomorrow in Idaho, we would only reach the national average,” Shupe said. “That shows the magnitude of the shortage in our state.”
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Comprehensive primary care promises to transform the U.S. health care system by unlocking powerful health improvements and cost savings for patients and taxpayers. By investing in primary care, lawmakers can improve the health and wellbeing of all Americans.
The package of fact sheets below examines the state of primary care in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Comprehensive primary care promises to transform the U.S. health care system by unlocking powerful health improvements and cost savings for patients and taxpayers. By investing in primary care, lawmakers can improve the health and wellbeing of all Americans.
The fact sheet below examines the state of primary care in Idaho.
President Donald Trump and the Republican led-Congress cut nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid last year. Now it’s up to the states to carry out work requirements and other complex policies.
Taken from the Primary Care Collaborative’s 2025 Evidence Report: Closing the Distance in Rural Primary Care, these five case studies highlight how rural primary care practices are innovating to meet local needs despite ongoing workforce shortages, financial pressures, and access challenges.
This case study features Full Circle Health in Idaho, a teaching health center that prepares clinicians for rural practice through broad-scope training, community-based residency pathways and team-based care. This shows how investing in rural training pipelines, comprehensive care models, and diversified financing can strengthen workforce retention and sustain access across rural and frontier communities.
Taken from the Primary Care Collaborative’s 2025 Evidence Report: Closing the Distance in Rural Primary Care, these five case studies highlight how primary care practices across rural communities are innovating to meet local needs despite facing consistent workforce shortages, growing financial pressures and access challenges.
Drawing from diverse models—including FQHCs, direct primary care practices, independent rural clinics and teaching health centers—these various stories illustrate how comprehensive, community-rooted primary care strengthens access, supports clinicians and improves health outcomes in rural communities that need it.
Health care providers say the state’s decision to defund some Medicaid programs could end up costing the state upward of $150 million in the first year.
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This Executive Order creates the Idaho Healthcare Coalition (IHC). The IHC is charged with building upon the work of the previously established Idaho Medical Home Collaborative (Executive Order No. 2010-10) to facilitate and support the transformation of primary care practices to the PCMH model, develop regional collaboratives to support practices in transformation, and integrate PCMHs with the medical neighborhood that includes hospitals, behavioral health and other community support services.