FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 22, 2006
CONTACT: Chris Boyle, Public Relations Associate
860.545.9956 or pager 860.220.3569

BIPARTISAN LEADERSHIP WINS HOUSE PASSAGE OF CHILDREN’S HOSPITALS LEGISLATION
Generous Congressional Support Enables Connecticut Children’s Medical Center To Maintain And Expand Its Training Of Pediatric Residents And Subspecialists

     “Congress has made the right decision by continuing to invest in the future of health care for all children,” said Martin J. Gavin, president and chief executive officer of Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.

     At a time of nationwide shortages of pediatric subspecialists, the growth in CHGME hospitals’ training programs accounted for more than 80 percent of all new pediatric subspeciality training programs and more than 65 percent of all new pediatric subspecialists in training.  Without this growth, there would have been a net decline in the number of general pediatricians trained in recent years.

     “Last year, CCMC received $4 million through CHGME,” said Gavin.  “Over the past five years, CHGME funding has enabled CCMC to expand our training program by 31 percent and to introduce new curricula to provide training in community pediatrics and professional development.”

     H.R. 5574, the Children’s Hospitals GME Support Reauthorization Act, was unanimously endorsed by the Energy and Commerce Committee on June 15.   Last year, the Children’s Hospitals Education, Equity and Research Act, was introduced by Reps. Nancy Johnson (R-CT), Deborah Pryce (R-OH), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and secured 168 additional cosponsors.  Reps. Johnson, Pryce, and Brown have been champions of CHGME funding each year since Congress first enacted the program in 1999.

     "Congresswoman Nancy Johnson continues to play a critical leadership role as a champion for children on the issue of funding graduate medical education," said Gavin. "CHGME has been a great success." 

     Gavin added that members of Connecticut’s Congressional delegation including Senator Chris Dodd, Senator Joe Lieberman, Congressman John Larson, Congressman Rob Simmons and Congressman Chris Shays have been strong supporters of CHGME by co-signing letters of support for CHGME and cosponsoring key legislation. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro also has provided consistent and critical support to CHGME in her role on the House Appropriations Committee.

     H.R. 5574 now moves to a joint House-Senate conference committee, which will be appointed to resolve differences between H.R. 5574 and S. 285, a bill that would authorize $330 million for CHGME and passed the Senate unanimously last year.  H.R. 5574 would reauthorize CHGME for five more years at $300 million annually.

     In today’s increasingly price competitive health care marketplace, fewer and fewer insurers pay the extra costs of teaching hospitals.  Medicare is the only remaining major payer of graduate medical education, spending about $8 billion annually.  However, because they care for children, not the elderly, children’s hospitals receive virtually no Medicare GME support – only about 1/200th of what other teaching hospitals receive on average.