On Wednesday, August 26, 2009, a group of pediatricians from the Los Angeles met with Rep. Henry Waxman. In attendance were Nancy Harris, mother of a young man with a complicated neurologic history. Dr. Donald Shields and Dr. Raman Sankar, both child neurologists at UCLA, spoke about the scope of Pediatrics and how our practice differed from internal medicine; they also discussed how successes in science and practice led to the need for our specialized services. Dr. Edward McCabe, chair of the UCLA Department of Pediatrics, discussed the various roles of most pediatric subspecialists as educators and scientists. Dr. Roberta Williams, chair of the USC Department of Pediatrics, provided an excellent overview of debt load of our residents along with a rationale for the career choices of many of these young physicians. Dr. Andrew Russell, UCLA Child Psychiatrist, also stressed that mental health needs for children were also not currently well staffed now and would undoubtedly worsen in the future. Dr. Mark Krieger, CHLA Neurosurgeon, briefly reviewed the current health care reform legislation in the House of Representatives, in particular the Matheson-Rogers-Eshoo amendment. Dr. Christopher Harris, Cedars-Sinai pediatric pulmonologist, asked for Rep. Waxman's support of the Matheson-Rogers-Eschoo amendment. Ms. Gail Margolis, Esq, CHLA Vice President for Governmental Relations, and Dr. Andreas Reiff, CHLA Rheumatologist, were also in attendance.SUGGESTED LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR PEDIATRIC SPECIALTY LOAN PROVISIONS
The Honorable Henry A. Waxman
Chairman
Energy and Commerce Committee
United States House of Representatives
2204 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0530
Dear Chairman Waxman;
As you recall, when pediatricians met with you in your Los Angeles District office this August, we asked that you adopt Section 775 of the Senate " Affordable Health Choices Act " as you work to merge the House and Senate versions of health care reform in conference.
Section 775 of the Senate health care reform bill establishes a Pediatric Specialty Loan Repayment Program designed to address the critical shortage of pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists facing our Nation's children and families.
The organizations listed below, including the American Academy of Pediatrics , the National Association of Children's Hospitals and a majority of the pediatric specialty organizations all agree with the findings of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services that " lack of access to pediatric subspecialty care has reached crisis proportions in the United States."*
While the number of pediatric specialists is shrinking, the demand is growing. We know that there have been increases in both the incidence and prevalence of conditions such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, asthma, obesity, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic kidney disease, juvenile arthritis, depression and increased demand for surgical repair of cleft lip and palate, congenital heart disorders and orthopedic anomalies. All the pediatric specialists that treat these conditions are in short supply.
Loan repayment programs are successful in addressing health care work shortages. Expanded loan forgiveness programs have been included in the House and Senate health care reform bills for primary care, internal medicine, general pediatrics, geriatrics, physician assistants, dentists, dental hygienists and nurses. Section 775 of the Senate health care reform bill is the only program specifically designed to help bring more physicians into training in the pediatric medical subspecialty and pediatric surgical specialty fields.
We ask that you adopt the Senate Pediatric Specialty Loan Repayment provisions in the House- Senate health care reform conference. Thank you.
Sincerely,
SUGGESTED TEXT FOR LETTER SUPPORTING PEDIATRIC SPECIALTY LOANS
The Honorable Joe Barton
Ranking Minority Member
Energy and Commerce Committee
United States House of Representatives
2109 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4306
Dear Representative Barton:
We are contacting you to ask that you adopt Section 775 in the Senate Affordable Health Choices Act as you merge the House and Senate versions of the health care reform bill in conference.
Section 775 of the Senate health care reform bill establishes the Pediatric Specialty Loan Repayment Program designed to address the critical shortage of pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists.
The organizations listed below, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Association of Children's Hospitals and a majority of the pediatric specialty organizations all agree with the findings of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services that " lack of access to pediatric subspecialty care has reached crisis proportions in the United States."*
While the number of pediatric specialists is shrinking, the demand is growing. We know that there have been increases in both the incidence and prevalence of conditions such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, asthma, obesity, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic kidney disease, juvenile arthritis, depression and increased demand for surgical repair of cleft lip and palate, congenital heart disorders and orthopedic anomalies. All the pediatric specialists that treat these conditions are in short supply.
Loan repayment programs are successful in addressing health care work shortages. Expanded loan forgiveness programs have been included in the House and Senate health care reform bills for primary care, internal medicine, general pediatrics, geriatrics, physician assistants, dentists, dental hygienists and nurses. Section 775 of the Senate health care reform bill is the only program specifically designed to help bring more physicians into training for pediatric specialty medicine and surgery. Please adopt the Senate Pediatric Specialty Loan Repayment Provisions in the House-Senate health care reform conference.
Sincerely Yours,