Letters to the Hill

American Hospital Association 325 Seventh Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20004	National Association of Children's Hospitals 401 Wythe St., Alexandria, VA 22314
September 2000
The Honorable Trent Lott Majority Leader S- 230 Capitol Building U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20510	The Honorable J. Dennis Hastert Speaker of the House H-232 Capitol Building U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Lott:	Dear Mr. Speaker:

On behalf of the 5,000 hospital, health system, and other health care provider members of the American Hospital Association (AHA), and the more than 100 independent children's hospitals, children's hospitals organized within larger medical systems, and children's specialty and rehabilitation hospitals of the National Association of Children's Hospitals (N.A.C.H.), we strongly urge Congress to make a critical investment in the future of children's medicine and the nation's pediatric workforce.

As you negotiate with the White House on the FY 2001 Labor-HHS appropriation, please seek an appropriation for graduate medical education (GME) funding for independent children's hospitals as close as possible to the full authorization of $285 million, which the House and Senate approved unanimously last year.

America's children's hospitals educate nearly half of all pediatric specialists. Yet, because these hospitals care for children, not the elderly, they qualify for virtually no GME support from Medicare, the nation's sole remaining significant source of financial support for physician training. The $285 million authorized by Congress represents the amount of federal GME funding children's hospitals would receive if they qualified for the same level of GME support other teaching hospitals now receive through Medicare.

The AHA and N.A.C.H. are united in our support for comprehensive GME financing reform for all hospitals, but achieving that goal may take years. Meanwhile, the ability of independent children's teaching hospitals to continue training the next generation of pediatricians will be dramatically diminished without equitable federal GME support.

Please include equitable GME funding - the full authorization - for children's hospitals in the FY 2001 Labor-HHS appropriations bill. For more information call the AHA's Carla Luggiero at (202) 638-1100, or N.A.C.H.'s Pete Willson at 703/684-1355. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Return to Advocacy & Representation Home