During a meeting Friday afternoon, the Tripp Umbach consulting firm was set to make a presentation about its draft report to the special legislative commission.
"With over 300 additional primary care providers needed statewide, and nearly half of the current physicians nearing retirement, the situation has reached a tipping point," the report states.
Unlike most states, Rhode Island lacks a public medical school, and Brown University's medical graduates mostly pursue specialties rather than primary care, according to the report.
"URI offers a strong foundation for a new school of medicine through its existing pharmacy, nursing, and health sciences programs, which provide infrastructure, interprofessional education opportunities, and established clinical partnerships," the report states.
The proposed program would emphasize primary care and community-based training, rather than an osteopathic medicine program or a regional campus.
"Establishing a public medical school at URI would yield substantial economic benefits, including job creation, research funding opportunities, and advancing Rhode Island's biomedical sector," the report says.
Making this concept a reality would come with a price tag of $225 million over 10 years, the report says.
That would include state start-up funding of $30 million, annual state support of $25 million, and $50 million for feasibility and design work.
In addition, the plan calls for $20 million in "seed funding" from community and university foundations, plus $40 million from a "lead/private donor" and $60 million in "matching private funds or health system commitments."
The proposed timetable calls for two years of "planning, community engagement, and accreditation preparation." The third year would involve applying to the accrediting body, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, and hiring a dean and leadership team.
The first class would begin studying at the medical school in the fifth year, and that inaugural class would graduate in the ninth year.
The proposed annual tuition would be $50,000 a year, aligning with tuition at other public medical schools, the report says.
The report also sketches out a plan for advocating for the a public medical school.
"A key argument should focus on the economic consequences of not establishing a public medical school, including lost opportunities for job creation, research funding, and long-term economic growth," the report says.
Also, advocates "must emphasize the role a public medical school can play in advancing health equity and addressing critical physician shortages, particularly in underserved communities," the report says. "The school should be positioned as an integral component of statewide efforts to strengthen the healthcare workforce, support the retention of local talent, and align with broader economic development goals."
But the proposed medical school is already facing skepticism.
On Wednesday, during a Rhode Map Live event about the state's health care crisis, Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said the medical school would not fix the state's immediate health care problems.
He said the head of Anchor Medical Associates, whose closure will affect 25,000 patients, compared the medical school plan to "telling the patient that the doctor, the inexperienced doctor, will be with you in a decade."
"I don't want to be distracted by things that won't fix the problem," Neronha said. "I think in some ways that's a distraction. And to think that that's going to solve our problem is, frankly, avoiding the hard questions."
The panel discussion included proposed legislation to immediately increase Medicaid reimbursement rates to primary care providers so the rates are 100 percent "on par with rates for Medicare." The current Medicaid rate in Rhode Island is 37 percent of Medicare's rate -- lower than it is in neighboring Massachusetts and Connecticut, Neronha said.
Brown University Health President and CEO John Fernandez, and Maura Daly Iversen, the dean of the College of Health & Wellness at Johnson & Wales University, agreed that the medical school is a distraction from the crisis at hand.
"I'd let the commission do their work, but it's a clear distraction," Fernandez said.
He called health care "the greatest team sport ever," saying it involves not just doctors but also nurses, physician assistants, technicians, and support staff.
"It's a great team sport, but we need to make sure we support it financially so the team can take care of the patients," Fernandez said.