Dear Senators Blunt and Reed and Representatives Collins and Courtney:
On behalf of organizations dedicated to improving the health and well-being of children and
adolescents, we write to endorse H.R. 1859/S. 2782, the Ensuring Children’s Access to Specialty
Care Act. We see this legislation as a needed step toward curbing today’s demonstrated critical
shortage of pediatric medical subspecialists, pediatric surgical specialists, and pediatric mental
health specialists to help provide children with timely access to the vital health services they
need.
Currently, there is not only a shortage but also a significant disparity in the geographic
distribution of pediatric subspecialists trained to treat children in need of specialty care, resulting
in many children in underserved areas not receiving timely or appropriate health care. Children
and their families often face long waiting lists to see subspecialists or must travel long distances
to find needed care. According to a recent survey conducted by the Children’s Hospital
Association, appointment wait times for certain pediatric subspecialty care far exceed the
prevailing benchmark of two-weeks in children’s hospitals. The survey showed that the average
time for a developmental pediatric specialist is 14.5 weeks, 8.9 weeks for neurology, and 7.5
weeks for child and adolescent psychiatry, citing just a few examples.
…
Read full letter here
