Financing graduate medical education to meet pediatric workforce needs

This statement reviews the current system of funding for graduate medical e ducation (GME) in the United States and evaluates the potential of alternat ive GME funding mechanisms, including a portable authorization system, to m eet future pediatric workforce needs. It addresses key issues relating to t he financing of GME: Medicare direct medical education (DME) and indirect m edical education adjustment (IMEA) payments, an all-payer GME trust fund, a nd a market mechanism to distribute GME funds for both core pediatric and p ediatric subspecialty education. In a concluding series of recommendations, the statement calls for changes to the current system of GME funding to en sure the production of a pediatrician workforce that will be able to meet t he future needs of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults.