Among states with fewer than 2 million people, Idaho has the least amount of doctors per capita.
Just because a state doesn’t have its own medical school, doesn’t mean it will have a higher proportion of doctors than states with med schools.
Take a look at this table showing states with populations of less than 2 million people. Fewer than half of these 14 states don’t have their own med school (although some, like Idaho, are part of an agreement to educate doctors through the University of Washington and University of Utah). Continue Reading →
Lately, we’ve covered the wind industry’s aggressive move into Idaho, and utilities’ attempts to rein in the industry’s expansion in the state. Related to that reporting, it’s worth taking a look at the big picture of electricity generation in Idaho. With that in mind, we posted this map last week. Now, let’s size it up from another angle.
University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Science Hall in 1903, home of the University of North Dakota's original medical school. Science Hall was razed in 1999.
With about 680,000 people, North Dakota has less than half as many residents as Idaho. Yet North Dakota has something that Idaho does not: its own medical school.
North Dakota’s school got its start in 1905 as a two-year program, where students would have to leave the state to finish their education. Since 1976, the University of North Dakota has had a full-fledged, four-year medical school to educate doctors in-state. Continue Reading →
What emerges is a picture of struggle in the state. Median household income has dropped, while the poverty rate and food stamp use have climbed year after year since 2007.
In an effort to alleviate Idaho’s doctor shortage, the Idaho Board of Education is asking state lawmakers to approve money to pay for five additional students to attend the University of Washington’s medical school in Seattle.
Idaho, like Alaska, Montana and Wyoming, does not have its own medical school. Instead, the four states rely on a program known as WWAMI.
The program (which sounds like “whammy”) is based at the University of Washington School of Medicine. A certain number of students from each of the four states attend, paying in-state tuition instead of the more expensive out-of-state price.
The U.S. Census Bureau released its 2011 American Community Survey results last week. We’re breaking out the findings in a series of posts here on the StateImpact site.
Last year, 13.5 percent of Idahoans received food stamps, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That works out to about 214,000 people. It’s an increase from 2010, when 12.5 percent of Idahoans were enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
In fact, as shown in the graph below, Idaho’s rate of food stamp use has risen year after year since 2007, when it was 6.2 percent.
Census data released today paint a picture of the recession’s lasting impact in Idaho.
The state’s median household income has dropped considerably since 2008, when half of Idahoans earned more than $47,576 and half earned less. In 2011, median income continued its retreat, falling to $43,341. That’s a nearly 9 percent drop.
For the fourth straight year, real median income in the West is down. Data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau shows median household income across the country fell 1.5 percent from 2010 to 2011 when adjusted for inflation.
The average household took home $50,054 in 2011. That’s more than 8 percent below median household income in 2007, when the average household earned $54,489.
In the West, real median income dropped by 4.1 percent between 2010 and 2011. That’s the biggest decline of any region in the country.
U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Health Insurance Estimates
To see the Census Bureau's interactive map and full data set, click on the image above.
In five Idaho counties, at least 29 percent of residents are uninsured. In two — Clark and Owyhee — the rate tops 32 percent. That’s much above Idaho’s state average of 20.3 percent, which is itself higher than the national average of just over 16 percent.
Clark and Owyhee Counties are best described as remote and rural. With a total population of just 982, Clark County has the fewest people in the state. Continue Reading →
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