Childrens Hospitals Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) Payment Program

The Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education Payment Program is administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This federal program was established to support freestanding children’s hospitals that provide graduate medical education and training for resident physicians and dentists. The program exists to address the imbalance in Medicare funding, which traditionally does not support graduate medical education in freestanding children’s hospitals, by offering direct financial support to ensure continued training of pediatric healthcare professionals. The primary purpose of the program is to strengthen the pediatric healthcare workforce by funding accredited residency training programs in eligible children’s hospitals. These funds are intended to support the costs associated with training residents, including salaries, benefits, and related educational expenses. The program ensures that children’s hospitals can maintain high quality training environments while continuing to serve pediatric populations, particularly those under the age of eighteen. Funding is provided as discretionary federal grants with a significant total program allocation. Award amounts vary widely depending on hospital size, number of residents, and other calculated factors, with both minimum and maximum award thresholds defined. There is no cost sharing or matching requirement associated with this funding, allowing eligible hospitals to fully utilize federal support without additional financial burden. Funds are restricted to supporting graduate medical education activities and cannot be diverted to unrelated operational expenses. Eligibility is limited to freestanding children’s hospitals that meet specific statutory and regulatory requirements. These include having a Medicare payment agreement, being excluded from the Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System, and primarily serving patients under eighteen years of age. Eligible hospitals must also operate approved graduate medical education residency programs. Both currently eligible hospitals and newly qualified hospitals may apply, provided they meet all outlined criteria, including not receiving duplicative Medicare graduate medical education payments under other statutory provisions. The application process requires electronic submission through designated federal systems by the stated deadline. Applications must be submitted by the specified due date and time, and late submissions are not accepted. While detailed application components are not outlined in the forecast notice, applicants can expect to provide institutional data, residency program information, and financial documentation supporting their eligibility and funding request. Evaluation is based on statutory formulas and eligibility verification rather than competitive scoring alone. The timeline for this opportunity indicates a forecasted posting followed by a defined application window, with awards expected shortly after the deadline and project activities beginning at the start of the federal fiscal year. The program operates on an annual cycle tied to federal appropriations, suggesting recurring funding opportunities each fiscal year. Award decisions are anticipated by early October, aligning with the project start date, and funds are distributed accordingly to support ongoing residency training programs.