CHEER Act

Children's Hospitals Educational Equity and Research Act or the CHEER Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payments through FY 2010 (currently, through FY 2005) to children's hospitals for expenses associated with operating approved graduate medical residency training programs.

Excludes reductions for unused resident positions when calculating the number of full-time residents in a children's hospital's approved training program for purposes of reimbursing direct expenses.

Requires the Secretary to: (1) adjust the proportion of such a hospital's costs attributable to wages for differences in hospital wage levels by geographic area; and (2) consider the ratio of residents in such a hospital's approved training program to beds (but excluding beds or bassinets assigned to healthy new born infants) when determining the amount of payments to such a hospital for indirect expenses associated with the treatment of more severely ill patients and for the additional costs associated with teaching residents in such programs.

Authorizes appropriations through FY 2010 for direct and indirect expenses associated with operating such programs.

Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) perinatal hospitals play an important role in providing quality care and ensuring the best possible outcomes for thousands of seriously ill newborns each year; and (2) medical training programs at perinatal hospitals give providers essential training in treating healthy mothers and babies as well as patients in neonatal intensive care units.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov