State lawmakers in Iowa are considering several bills that aim to address the state's growing physician shortage, the Des Moines Register reported Feb. 12.
According to the report, Iowa ranked 44th in the nation for its patient-to-physician ratio in 2023, with 233 physicians per 100,000 patients.
Here are four things to know about the proposals:
1. House File 12 would require the University of Iowa Health Care in Iowa City to offer residency interviews for applicants who specialize in obstetrics, gynecology, psychiatry, general surgery, emergency medicine, neurology and primary care who are also Iowa residents or earned their undergraduate degree from a university or medical school in the state.
This bill listed cardiology as a specified area of residency, but will be changed in its text, as cardiology is an existing fellowship at UIHC. The bill was also changed to allow Iowa medical students to participate in an audition clinic for a residency slot.
2. House File 146 would require Iowa City-based University of Iowa College of Medicine and the Des Moines (Iowa) University College of Osteopathic Medicine to conduct a study to see whether four-year medical schools could be compressed into three-year programs.
The state legislature's Health and Human Services Committee advanced the bill on a 13-7 vote Feb. 11. The schools would be required to submit a joint report to the governor and General Assembly by Dec. 1, 2025.
3. House File 137 would require at least 80% of students accepted at the University of Iowa's Carver College of Medicine, the College of Nursing and College of Dentistry are Iowa residents or were enrolled in a university or community college in the state.
The bill was voted out of its subcommittee Feb. 11.
4. Gov. Kim Reynolds also proposed several initiatives to address the physician shortage during her annual Condition of the State speech in January. Her proposals included:
- Using $150 million in federal funds to create 115 new medical residency slots in Iowa each year for the next four years
- Doubling funding for loan repayment programs
- Increasing Medicaid reimbursement for certain healthcare services