FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 21, 2007
CONTACT: Chris Boyle, Public Relations Associate
860.545.9956 or pager 860.220.3569 

CONGRESS HELPS PRESERVE ACCESS TO CHILDREN’S HEALTH CARE
Appropriations Bill Increases Funds For Children’s Hospitals’ Graduate Medical Education

HARTFORD, Conn.—On the final day of the 2007 session, Congress passed an omnibus appropriations bill that includes a 1.56 percent increase in funds for Children's Hospitals Graduate Medical Education Payment Program (CHGME). President Bush has said that he will sign the bill soon. CHGME is a critical program that preserves access to high quality pediatric care for children across the nation. As the Pediatrics Department of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center relies on CHGME funding to train tomorrow’s pediatricians so that all of Connecticut’s children have access to the health care they need to grow and learn.

“The increase in funds for CHGME during a tight and contentious federal budget debate is an important victory for Connecticut’s children,” said CCMC President and CEO Martin Gavin. “Without the ongoing support of Connecticut’s entire Congressional delegation, children’s access to health care could have been seriously jeopardized.”

Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Representative John Larson (D-CT 1st), Representative Joseph Courtney (D-CT 2nd), Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT 3rd), Representative Christopher Shays (R-CT 4th), and Representative Christopher Murphy (D-CT 5th) all supported the increase in CHGME funding. On behalf of the children and families we serve, CCMC thanks the Connecticut delegation for its commitment to children and children’s hospitals.