In December 2014, President Barack Obama signed the FY 2015 omnibus appropriations bill which will fund the government through Sept. 30, 2015. The bill includes $265 million in funding for the Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) Payment Program, which is the same amount allotted for the program as last fiscal year.

This program is crucial for The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and other freestanding children’s hospitals because it provides federal funding to support physician training. Hospitals receiving CHGME funds train 49 percent of all pediatricians and 51 percent of all pediatric specialists.