HHS Awards $227M to Children’s Teaching Hospitals for Pediatrician Training Costs
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson yesterday announced $227 million in graduate medical education payments to 57 children's teaching hospitals to "train and educate" the nation's pediatricians. Independent children's teaching hospitals train about half of the nation's pediatric specialists and about 30% of pediatricians. Nearly 50% of cases seen at these facilities involve children who are uninsured or on Medicaid. The awards for children's teaching hospitals are similar to the funds that Medicare provides for other teaching hospitals (HRSA release, 9/27). The
payments result from Congress' enactment last year of a FY 2001
appropriation of $235 million for children's hospitals' GME (National Association of Children's Hospitals release, 9/27). Since children's hospitals treat few Medicare patients, Congress created the program in 1999 to reimburse training costs for hospitals that receive less than one percent of the Medicare GME support that other teaching hospitals receive (HRSA Web site). Thompson said, "Our children deserve the best medical care possible, and that requires the best trained doctors who care for them. These awards will help to assure a brighter future by supporting top-notch medical training for pediatricians and other pediatric specialists." Children's Hospital of Philadelphia received the most funding with an award of $18,340,480, while the Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital for Rehabilitation received the smallest amount at $25,395 (HRSA release, 9/27).
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