Press Release
September 21, 2000
Contact: Gillian Ray
703/684-1355
National Association of Children's Hospitals Urges Enactment of Bipartisan "Children's Health Act of 2000"
Children Would Benefit From New Research
Funded
by National Institutes of Health
The National Association of Children's Hospitals (N.A.C.H.) urges enactment of the bipartisan "Children's Health Act of 2000," which would authorize the establishment of federal child health funding programs, including a pediatric research initiative in the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
"Enactment of the 'Children's Health Act' can be a win for the health of all children, which every member of Congress can take home to their constituents this year. Public opinion research demonstrates that children's health is a priority for voters, and they want to know their elected officials' platforms to address children's health care needs," said Lawrence A. McAndrews, president and CEO of N.A.C.H.
Similar child health legislation passed the House in May, by a vote of 417 - 2. The Senate is expected to vote on the new, updated version of the bill in conjunction with the reauthorization of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) this week, and the House will vote on it next week.
Incorporated into the child health bill are the provisions of the "Pediatric Research Initiative Act of 1999," S. 1091 by Sens. Mike DeWine (R-OH), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), and Kit Bond (R-MO), and H.R. 2621 by Reps. Jim Greenwood (R-PA) and Nancy Johnson (R-CT). The legislation is designed to give the NIH director new resources and flexibility, up to $50 million per year, to make pediatric research - research devoted specifically to children's illnesses and conditions - a higher priority in the National Institutes of Health. N.A.C.H. and other child health advocates have championed the pediatric research legislation for several years.
"The 'Pediatric Research Initiative Act' is Congress' opportunity to make pediatric research an enduring part of NIH," said McAndrews. In recent years, NIH funding for pediatric research has grown along with the rest of the NIH budget. But as a proportion of total NIH funding, pediatric research support has declined slightly from 12.5 percent of NIH to about 12 percent.
N.A.C.H. supports several other important provisions of the bill, including the establishment of a multi-year funding authority for grants to support asthma prevention and treatment, and the reauthorization of the federal investment in the graduate medical education (GME) programs of independent children's teaching hospitals.
Asthma Asthma is the leading cause of children's admission to children's hospitals, and the incidence of asthma among children has been growing. Last year, Congress appropriated funding to assist in the prevention of childhood asthma. The new legislation would provide a multi-year authority for future federal investment.
Children's Hospitals' GME Independent children's teaching hospitals represent less than one percent of all hospitals but train nearly 30 percent of all pediatricians and nearly 50 percent of all pediatric specialists with virtually no federal support for their physician training, until recently. Last year, Congress enacted the Children's Hospitals Education and Research Act," which authorized federal support for physician training in independent children's hospitals through FY 2000. Enactment of the "Children's Health Act of 2000" would continue this funding authority through FY 2005.
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N.A.C.H. is a not-for-profit trade association, representing more than 100 children's hospitals across the country, including freestanding acute care children's hospitals, freestanding children's specialty and rehabilitation hospitals, and children's hospitals organized within larger medical centers. The association assists children's hospitals in providing clinical care, education, research, and advocacy devoted to the health and well-being of the nation's children.
