Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) Payment Program

The Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) Payment Program funds freestanding, children's hospitals. The money helps their graduate medical education (GME) programs train resident physicians and dentists.

​​Currently Eligible Hospitals​Includes freestanding children"s hospitals that meet the original eligibility requirements for CHGME payments, as described in the CHGME Federal Register published on March 1, 2001 (66 FRN 12940), established prior to the Children"s Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2013. A children"s teaching hospital is considered "freestanding" if it does not operate under a Medicare hospital provider number assigned to a larger health care entity that receives Medicare GME payments. These freestanding children"s hospitals must meet all the following criteria: Have a Medicare payment agreement.Are excluded from the Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) pursuant to section 1886(d)(1)(B)(iii) of the Social Security Act (SSA) and its accompanying regulations. The exclusion of children"s hospitals from IPPS set forth under section 1886(d)(1)(B)(iii) of the SSA states this exclusion exists for hospitals whose inpatients are predominantly individuals under 18 years of age.Participate in an approved GME residency training program as defined in section 1886(h)(5)(A) of the SSA. It is a "freestanding" children's hospital. ​Newly Qualified Hospitals​As per the Children"s Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2013, a freestanding hospital may be eligible for CHGME payments depending on the level of funding appropriated to the program if it meets all the following criteria: Has a Medicare payment agreement.Is excluded from Medicare IPPS pursuant to section 1886(d)(1)(B) of the SSA and its accompanying regulations.Its inpatients are predominantly people under 18 years of age.Has an approved medical residency training program as defined in section 1886(h)(5)(A) of the SSA.Is not otherwise qualified to receive payments under 42 U.S.C. § 256e or section 1886(h) of the SSA as a Currently Eligible Hospital. ​For those freestanding children"s hospitals that met the above requirements for Newly Qualified Hospitals as of April 7, 2014, and the Secretary had not previously determined an average number of full-time equivalent (FTE) residents under section 1886(h)(4) of the SSA, the Secretary may establish such number of FTE residents for the purposes of calculating CHGME Payment Program payments.