A program meant to train pediatric physicians is on the chopping block. Lawrence McAndrews, President and CEO of the National Association of Children’s Hospitals, says the decade old Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education has been eliminated from President Obama’s proposed budget.
When the CHGME was not in place, McAndrews says they saw 13-percent decrease in the number of children’s physicians being trained. Since the program’s start he cites a 30-percent increase in training.
This comes in a time when there are already shortages of pediatric specialists. McAndrews attributes this to the doctors’ incentive structure favoring adults. He says adult care providers rely more on insurance and Medicare-a better payer than Medicaid-which children often rely on.
McAndrews says 58 children’s hospitals would be affected including the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. The Milwaukee hospital would see about $9 million less a year if the $317 million federal program is axed.
