Dear Chairman Shelby, Ranking Member Leahy, Chairman Blunt, and Ranking Member Murray:
On behalf of organizations dedicated to improving the health and well-being of children and
adolescents, we urge you to include $50 million in funding for the Pediatric Subspecialty Loan
Repayment Program (PSLRP) in the Senate Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Labor, Health and Human Services
(HHS), Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill and prioritize the inclusion of this funding in a
final omnibus spending bill. Understanding the need to support our pediatric medical and mental health
workforce amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress recently reauthorized this important Title VII health
professions program in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. We are asking
you to complete the job by funding this critically important program.
Serious shortages of pediatric medical subspecialists, pediatric surgical specialists, and child and
adolescent psychiatrists are causing decreased access to care for young people. With the possibility that
telehealth can help children in rural and underserved areas access specialty care, demand on pediatric
subspecialists will only grow. Without a federal investment in the pediatric subspecialty physician
workforce, children will continue to face long wait times for subspecialty care, possibly traveling long
distances to receive that care, or going without care altogether.
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