[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 181 (Thursday, September 18, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56125-56126]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-22187]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS


Annual Pay Ranges for Physicians and Dentists of the Veterans 
Health Administration

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: As required by the ``Department of Veterans Affairs Health 
Care Personnel Enhancement Act of 2004'' (Pub. L. 108-445, dated 
December 3, 2004) the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is hereby 
giving notice of annual pay ranges for Veterans Health Administration 
(VHA) physicians and dentists as prescribed by the Secretary for VA-
wide applicability. These annual pay ranges are intended to enhance VA 
flexibility to recruit, develop, and retain the most highly qualified 
providers to serve our Nation's veterans and maintain a standard of 
excellence in the VA healthcare system.

DATES: Effective Date: The annual pay ranges listed in this notice are 
effective November 30, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Debra Doty, HR Specialist/Title 38 
Program Manager, Compensation and Classification Service (055), Office 
of Human Resources Management, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 
Vermont Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20420, (757) 728-3381. This is not a 
toll-free number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 38 U.S.C. 7431(e)(1)(A), not less 
often than once every two years, the Secretary must prescribe for 
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)-wide applicability the minimum and 
maximum amounts of annual pay that may be paid to VHA physicians and 
dentists. Further, 38 U.S.C. 7431(e)(1)(B) allows the Secretary to 
prescribe separate minimum and maximum amounts of pay for a specialty 
or assignment. In construction of the annual pay ranges, 38 U.S.C. 
7431(c)(4)(A) requires the consultation of two or more national surveys 
of pay for physicians and dentists, as applicable, whether prepared by 
private, public, or quasi-public entities in order to make a general 
assessment of the range of pays payable to physicians and dentists. 
Lastly, 38 U.S.C. 7431(e)(1)(C) states amounts prescribed under 
paragraph 7431(e) shall be published in the Federal Register, and shall 
not take effect until at least 60 days after date of publication.

Background

    The ``Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel 
Enhancement Act of 2004'' (Pub. L. 108-445) was signed by the President 
on December 3, 2004. The major provisions of the law established a new 
pay system for VA's Veterans Health Administration (VHA) physicians and 
dentists consisting of base pay, market pay, and performance pay. While 
the base pay component is set by statute, market pay is intended to 
reflect the recruitment and retention needs for the specialty or 
assignment of a particular physician or dentist at a facility. Further, 
performance pay is intended to recognize the achievement of specific 
goals and performance objectives prescribed annually. These three 
components create a system of pay that is driven by both market 
indicators and employee performance, while recognizing employee tenure 
in VA.

Discussion

    VA identified and utilized salary survey data sources which most 
closely represent VA comparability in the areas of practice setting, 
employment environment, and hospital/health care system. The 
Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Hospital and 
Healthcare Compensation Service (HHCS), Sullivan, Cotter, and 
Associates (S&C), Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), 
Physician Executive Management Center (PEMC), and the Survey of Dental 
Practice published by the American Dental Association (ADA) were 
collectively utilized as benchmarks from which to prescribe annual pay 
ranges for physicians and dentists across the scope of assignments/
specialties within VA. While aggregating the data, a preponderance of 
weight was given to those surveys which most directly resembled the 
environment of VA.
    In constructing annual pay ranges to accommodate the more than 
forty physician and dentist specialties that currently exist in the VA 
system, VA continued the practice of grouping specialties into 
consolidated pay ranges. This allows VA to use multiple sources that 
yield a high number of physician salary data which helps to minimize 
disparities and aberrations that may surface from data involving 
smaller numbers of physicians and dentists for comparison and from 
sample change from year to year. Thus, by aggregating multiple survey 
sources into like groupings, greater confidence exists that the average 
compensation reported is truly representative. In addition, aggregation 
of data provides for a large enough sample size and provides pay ranges 
with maximum flexibility for pay setting for the more than 25,000 VHA 
physicians and dentists.
    In developing the annual pay ranges, a few distinctive principles 
were factored into the compensation analysis of the data. The first 
principle is to ensure that both the minimum and maximum salary is at a 
level that accommodates special employment situations, from fellowships 
and medical research career development awards to Nobel Laureates, 
high-cost areas, and internationally renowned clinicians. The second 
principle, to attempt to establish a rate range of +/- 25 percent of 
the mean, is imperative to provide ranges large enough to accommodate 
career progression, geographic differences, sub-specialization, and 
special factors. This principle is also the standard recommended by 
World@Work for professional compensation ranges.

[[Page 56126]]

    All clinical specialties for VHA physicians and dentists were 
reviewed against relevant private sector data. The specialties are 
grouped into five clinical pay ranges that reflect comparable 
complexity in salary, recruitment, and retention considerations. Two 
additional pay ranges apply to VHA Chiefs of Staff and physicians and 
dentists in executive level administrative assignments at the facility, 
network, or headquarters level.

                     Pay Table 1--Clinical Specialty
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                   Tier level                       Minimum     Maximum
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TIER 1..........................................     $98,967    $215,000
TIER 2..........................................     110,000     230,000
TIER 3..........................................     120,000     255,000
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                Pay Table 1--Covered Clinical Specialties
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Allergy and Immunology.
Compensation and Pension.
Endocrinology.
Geriatrics.
Infectious Diseases.
Internal Medicine/Primary Care/Family Practice.
Neurology.
Preventive Medicine.
Rheumatology.
General Practice--Dentistry.
Endodontics.
Periodontics.
Prosthodontics.
All other specialties or assignments that do not require a specific
 specialty.
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                     Pay Table 2--Clinical Specialty
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   Tier level                       Minimum     Maximum
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TIER 1..........................................     $98,967    $240,000
TIER 2..........................................     115,000     250,000
TIER 3..........................................     130,000     260,000
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                Pay Table 2--Covered Clinical Specialties
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
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Critical Care.
Emergency Medicine.
Gynecology.
Hematology--Oncology.
Hospitalist.
Nephrology.
Pathology.
PM&R/SCI.
Psychiatry.
Pulmonary.
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                     Pay Table 3--Clinical Specialty
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   Tier level                       Minimum     Maximum
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TIER 1..........................................     $98,967    $300,000
TIER 2..........................................     120,000     310,000
TIER 3..........................................     135,000     320,000
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                Pay Table 3--Covered Clinical Specialties
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
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Cardiology (Non-invasive).
Dermatology.
Gastroenterology.
Nuclear Medicine.
Ophthalmology.
Oral Surgery.
Otolaryngology.
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                     Pay Table 4--Clinical Specialty
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   Tier level                       Minimum     Maximum
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TIER 1..........................................     $98,967    $325,000
TIER 2..........................................     125,000     340,000
TIER 3..........................................     140,000     355,000
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                Pay Table 4--Covered Clinical Specialties
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Anesthesiology.
Cardiology (Invasive/Non-Interventional).
General Surgery.
Plastic Surgery.
Radiology (Non-Invasive).
Urology.
Vascular Surgery.
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                       Pay Table 5--Chief of Staff
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                   Tier level                       Minimum     Maximum
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TIER 1..........................................    $150,000    $300,000
TIER 2..........................................     145,000     280,000
TIER 3..........................................     140,000     260,000
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                    Pay Table 5--Covered Assignments
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VHA Chiefs of Staff.
Deputy Chiefs of Staff (Complexity Level 1a and 1b facilities only).
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                   Pay Table 6--Executive Assignments
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                   Tier level                       Minimum     Maximum
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TIER 1..........................................    $145,000    $265,000
TIER 2..........................................     145,000     245,000
TIER 3..........................................     130,000     235,000
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               Pay Table 6--Covered Executive Assignments
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Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Health, Deputy Under Secretary for
 Health, Chief Officer, Network Director, Medical Center Director,
 Network Chief Officer, Executive Director, Assistant Deputy Under
 Secretary for Health, VA Central Office Chief Consultant, National
 Director, National Program Manager, and other VA Central Office
 Physician/Dentist.
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                     Pay Table 7--Clinical Specialty
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   Tier level                       Minimum     Maximum
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TIER 1..........................................     $98,967    $375,000
TIER 2..........................................     140,000     385,000
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                Pay Table 7--Covered Clinical Specialties
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
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Cardio-Thoracic Surgery.
Interventional Cardiology.
Interventional Radiology.
Neurosurgery.
Orthopedic Surgery.
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    Signing Authority: The Secretary of Veterans Affairs approved 
this document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the 
document to the Office of the Federal Register for publication 
electronically as an official document of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs. Robert A. McDonald, Secretary, Department of Veterans 
Affairs, approved this document on September 3, 2014, for 
publication.

    Dated: September 12, 2014.
William F. Russo,
Deputy Director, Office of Regulation Policy & Management, Office of 
the General Counsel, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2014-22187 Filed 9-17-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P