Dear Chairmen Pallone and Alexander and Ranking Members Walden and Murray:
On behalf of organizations dedicated to improving the health and well-being of children and
adolescents, we write to urge you to reauthorize the Pediatric Subspecialty Loan Repayment
program (Section 775 of the Public Health Service Act) as part of the effort to reauthorize the Title
VII health professions workforce programs. Support for pediatric subspecialists is a needed step
toward curbing today’s demonstrated critical shortage of pediatric medical subspecialists, pediatric
surgical specialists, and child and adolescent psychiatrists 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 pediatric
genetics specialist is 20.8 weeks, 18.7 weeks for a developmental pediatric specialist, and 12.1
weeks for a pediatric pain management palliative care specialist, citing just a few examples.
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