[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 124 (Thursday, September 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1902]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL GME SUPPORT REAUTHORIZATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. GENE GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 28, 2006

  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill 
to reauthorize the Children's Hospital Graduate Medical Education 
Program. Seven years ago, Congress established this program to provide 
the federal support needed for training activities at our children's 
teaching hospitals. In other hospital settings, training dollars needed 
for residents are funded, in part, through Medicare's graduate medical 
education program. With relatively few Medicare patients being served 
at children's hospitals, however, children's teaching hospitals cannot 
fully benefit from Medicare's graduate medical education program. CHGME 
was established to help alleviate the inequity faced by children's 
hospitals with respect to the training of their residents.


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  September 28, 2006--On Page E 1902 the following appeared: 
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL GME SUPPORT REAUTHORIZATION ACT SPEECH OF HON. 
GENE GREEN OF TEXAS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Wednesday, 
September 27, 2006 Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in 
support of this bill to reauthorize the Children's Hospital 
Graduate Medical Education Program.
  
  The online version should be corrected to read: CHILDREN'S 
HOSPITAL GME SUPPORT REAUTHORIZATION ACT SPEECH OF HON. GENE GREEN 
OF TEXAS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Thursday, September 28, 
2006 Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of 
this bill to reauthorize the Children's Hospital Graduate Medical 
Education Program.


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 

  Since its inception in 1999, the CHGME program has achieved 
tremendous success and enabled our children's teaching hospitals to 
address reductions in the number of pediatric residents. With this 
funding, children's teaching hospitals--such as Texas Children's 
Hospital in my hometown of Houston--have been able to keep their 
residency programs ali ve and ensure that the pediatricians treating 
our children and our grandchildren are trained at the best facilities 
in the country.
  It's no surprise that the same children's teaching hospitals 
receiving CHGME funds provide the ideal training grounds for pediatric 
residents. These hospitals house the Nation's leading pediatric 
research institutions and provide residents with experience in treating 
the whole range of childhood health care problems, from routine 
immunizations to pediatric trauma care and pediatric oncology.
  Continued CHGME funding is critical if our children's hospitals can 
continue providing quality care to low-income children, as well as 
children whose families have private health insurance. Nearly 50 
percent of care delivered at our children's hospitals nationwide is 
provided to Medicaid beneficiaries, and CHGME payments help cover the 
gap created by a Medicaid reimbursement policy that covers only 80 
percent of care delivered to Medicaid patients.
  The CHGME program provides children's teaching hospitals with real 
funding, without which their residency programs would face severe 
financial strain. Texas Children's Hospital in Houston is one of the 
top children's hospitals in the country and received nearly $11 million 
last year in CHGME payments. Even with this funding, Texas Children's 
absorbed an additional $11.5 million in unreimbursed costs associated 
with their training of pediatric residents.
  We want our pediatricians trained at quality hospitals like Texas 
Children's, where they can put their skills to use on a diverse set of 
patients. Through this type of education and training, pediatric 
residents can leave children's teaching hospitals and travel to all 
corners of the country armed with the experience to effectively treat 
the young patients in their community. CHGME makes this possible, and I 
encourage my colleagues to support the reauthorization of this 
important program.

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