Bush Budget Puts Future of Health Care for All Children in Jeopardy, According to National Pediat...(therefore a cut to children's hospitals ...),Health

strengthen their programs to train physicians in the unique health care

needs of children."

"This is a one-two punch against children's health care," said Renee R. Jenkins, MD, FAAP, AAP president. "Coming on the heels of the SCHIP veto, which denied health coverage to millions of uninsured children, the President's proposal to eliminate CHGME funding would put even more of pediatric medicine at risk.

"The children's hospitals that receive CHGME funding are laying the foundation for providing pediatric primary and specialty care, as well as biomedical and health services research, critical to improving the quality and cost effectiveness of children's health care well into the future," Jenkins added.

"CHGME has been a tremendous, bipartisan success since it was first established in 1999 and reauthorized by virtually unanimous votes in the House and Senate in 2006, which extended the program for five years. The President's request is a flagrant disregard of both congressional will and the recommendations of the united pediatric community," said Marianne Felice, MD, FAAP, AMSPDC president.

"CHGME has been successful in addressing a serious national shortages of pediatric subspecialists in many regions of the country and the clamor for physicians who can improve the quality and outcomes of the care they provide," said Lawrence McAndrews, N.A.C.H. president and CEO.

Thanks to CHGME funding, since 2000, children's hospitals have been responsible for 67 percent of the growth in pediatric subspecialists trained and 76 percent of the growth in the number of pediatric residents trained. It also has enabled children's hospitals to make major strides in introducing new phy
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