Rep. Gene Green Statement on E&C Health Subcommittee Hearing on CHGME Reauthorization

Press Release

Today, Congressman Gene Green (D-TX), Ranking Member of the Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health, and Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health Chairman Michael Burgess (R-TX), M.D held a hearing on the reauthorization of the Children's Hospital Graduate Medical Education Program.

The bipartisan legislation, Children's Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2018, introduced in March by Reps. Green and Burgess would reauthorize the Children's Hospital Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) program for five years at $330 million for the fiscal year 2019.

The CHGME provides needed funding for training the pediatric workforce, including pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists, such as neonatologists, pediatric psychiatrists, and adolescent health specialists, as well as other physician types in non-pediatrics-focused specialists that may rotate through children's hospitals for a period of time during their residency.

"The CHGME Payment Program fills a vital gap in healthcare by providing the funding needed to train pediatricians and pediatric specialists in many hospitals throughout the nation," said Green in his opening statement. "The physicians trained through the program go on to provide needed pediatric care throughout the nation including to children living in underserved and rural communities."

Hospitals typically receive support for graduate medical education (GME) through Medicare, and those payments are provided to hospitals based on their Medicare patient volume. Because the Medicare program is used primarily by people who are over the age of 65, and children's hospitals treat primarily people below the age of 18, children's hospitals have low Medicare patient volume and receive few Medicare GME payments.

The CHGME is needed now more than ever to help train the pediatric workforce that will be required to meet the needs of the growing pediatric demographic," said Green.

Source