PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The House voted 65 to 6 Tuesday to permit a for-profit osteopathic medical school to open in Rhode Island, provided it meets applicable academic standards.

State Rep. Joseph M. McNamara, D-Warwick, presented the proposal as a boost to economic development that will create 300 jobs and bring construction of a 250,000-square-foot facility.

He also said the new Rhode Island School of Osteopathic Medicine would help address a projected shortage of primary care physicians in the next decade.

But State Rep. Edith H. Ajello, D-Providence, said the shortage of doctors stems from low reimbursement rates. She raised concerns that the school might not require students to have bachelors degrees and that it would strain available clinical placements for upper-level medical students.

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House okays for-profit medical school