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Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

By: Jack Reed
By: Jack Reed
Date: Sept. 9, 2019
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Minors and Children Health and Health Care

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Mr. REED. Mr. President, I am pleased to be introducing the Investment in Tomorrow's Pediatric Workforce Act with Senator Cassidy. This critical legislation would provide funding for the Title VII pediatric subspecialty loan repayment program.

The Title VII health professions programs have a longstanding history of increasing the supply of health care professionals, expanding access to care in rural and urban underserved areas, and developing a workforce that reflects the Nation's diversity and the needs of patients. These education and training programs guide current and aspiring health professionals to high-demand careers in areas of greatest need. Pediatric subspecialty care is one such shortage area.

According to the American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, there are currently only 8,300 child and adolescent psychiatrists (CAPs) in the United States--many of whom are not practicing full time--far short of the estimated need of over 30,000 CAPs. On average, patients wait almost two months to see a CAP, a startling concern given that the incidence rates of mental illness and behavioral disorders among children in the United States continue to grow. Fifty percent of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin at age 14; seventy-five percent by age 24.

This legislation would take an important first step in incentivizing more health care professionals to go into pediatric subspecialties and increase the supply of these professionals to ensure more children have greater access to the health care they need. I look forward to working with stakeholders supporting the legislation including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the Arthritis Foundation, the American College of Rheumatology, and the Child Neurology Society, as well as my colleague, Senator Cassidy, to pass the Investment in Tomorrow's Pediatric Workforce Act, and to strengthen all of the Title VII health professions programs.

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