All members of Utah’s delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives have committed to support appropriation for this year’s Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) program. Representatives Blake Moore, John Curtis, and Burgess Owens signed a letter to House Appropriators urging them to fund the program, stating, “The CHGME program is the most vital investment we make as a nation in strengthening the pediatric workforce and access to care for children.”
The letter goes on to say, “While Congress faces many difficult funding decisions this year, we respectfully urge you to provide CHGME with strong Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 funding to . . . strengthen the pediatric workforce to better serve the needs of America’s children.”
As an appropriator, Representative Chris Stewart doesn’t sign Appropriations letters, but says, “The Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education Payment program plays an important role in Utah and across the country. As a program that supports Primary Children’s Hospital as one of 58 freestanding children’s teaching hospitals in 30 states, I’m a proud supporter of the CHGME program.”
The program provides funding to support graduate medical education, including residency and fellowship programs in pediatrics. It was created by Congress in 1999 to address a gap in federal support for pediatric training—specifically that children’s teaching hospitals mostly miss out on Medicare Graduate Medical Education because they generally don’t treat Medicare patients. Today, the children’s hospitals that receive CHGME funding, just 1% of all hospitals, train half of all pediatricians and most pediatric specialists who go on to care for children living in cities, rural communities, suburbs, and everywhere in between across the nation.
Unlike Medicare, CHGME is funded through the annual Congressional appropriations process. Utah’s delegation has consistently supported the program and Congress has shown bipartisan support for the program, providing funding in every year since its enactment.
“A stable source of funding is essential if children’s hospitals are to provide the education of our nation’s pediatricians,” says Katy Welkie, RN, Intermountain’s vice president of children’s health and CEO of Primary Children’s. “The future of our pediatric workforce hinges on the continuous and adequate funding of the CHGME. It’s a critical investment in our country’s medical future to ensure that children will have ongoing access to the care they need across provider settings. We’re grateful for our congressional delegation’s support.”