Title: Strengthening our Pediatric Workforce Act of 2017
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Strengthening our Pediatric Workforce Act of 2017
This bill temporarily expands the Children's Hospitals Graduate Medical Education Payment Program by authorizing the Health Resources and Services Administration to award grants to support additional, specialty residency positions at hospitals that already have approved programs, and to support the establishment of such specialty programs.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3888 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3888

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide grants for additional 
  residency slots in children's hospitals graduate medical education 
                               programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 28, 2017

   Mr. Smucker (for himself, Mr. Evans, Mr. Valadao, and Mr. Duffy) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide grants for additional 
  residency slots in children's hospitals graduate medical education 
                               programs.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Strengthening our Pediatric 
Workforce Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Our Nation is facing a critical physician shortage.
            (2) The predicted supply of pediatric medical specialists 
        is not expected to meet demand over the next ten years, which 
        may make it more difficult to provide children with complex or 
        special health conditions the care they need.
            (3) Current Children's Hospital Graduate Medical Education 
        (CHGME) funding helps compensate for the imbalance in amount of 
        available funding for children's teaching hospitals in 
        comparison to other teaching hospitals.
            (4) The purpose of this Act is to further support and 
        strengthen the Children's Hospital Graduate Medical Education 
        (CHGME) payment program by providing additional assistance 
        targeted at children's specialty care.

SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR ADDITIONAL RESIDENCY SLOTS IN CHILDREN'S HOSPITALS 
              GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

    Section 340E of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 256e) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(i) Grant Program for Additional Residency Slots.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the 
        Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 
        Administration, may, for a year (beginning with 2018), make 
        grants to--
                    ``(A) children's hospitals with approved graduate 
                medical residency training programs that are otherwise 
                receiving funding under this section for such year, for 
                the direct expenses and indirect expenses associated 
                with operating such program with respect to increasing 
                the number of slots for qualifying full-time equivalent 
                residents that exceed the limitation on the number of 
                full-time equivalent residents under subparagraph (F) 
                of section 1886(h)(4) of the Social Security Act, as 
                applied pursuant to the previous provisions of this 
                section, including for such purpose with respect to 
                pediatric-related combined specialty programs 
                recognized by an American Board of Medical Specialties; 
                and
                    ``(B) children's hospitals for the start up costs 
                associated with establishing an approved graduate 
                medical training program for qualifying full-time 
                equivalent residents.
            ``(2) Qualifying full-time equivalent residents.--For 
        purposes of this subsection, the term `qualifying full-time 
        equivalent resident' means a full-time equivalent resident in 
        pediatric medical subspecialties, or pediatric surgical 
        specialties.
            ``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated to carry out this subsection, not more than 
        $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2025.''.
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