[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 170 (Thursday, September 1, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60411-60413]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-20910]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS


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

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

[[Page 60412]]

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 Department-wide applicability. These 
annual pay ranges are intended to enhance the flexibility of the 
Department 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 health care system.

DATES: Effective Dates: Annual pay ranges are effective November 13, 
2016.

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) 291-6514. (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-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 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 VHA.

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), 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 the Department. While aggregating the 
data, a preponderance of weight was given to those surveys which most 
directly resembled the environment of the Department.
    In constructing annual pay ranges to accommodate the more than 40 
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 is to provide ranges large enough to accommodate career 
progression, geographic differences, sub-specialization, and other 
special factors.
    Forty-one clinical specialties were reviewed against available, 
relevant private sector data. The specialties are grouped into four 
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..................................        $100,957        $225,000
TIER 2..................................         110,000         234,000
TIER 3..................................         120,000         262,000
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                Pay Table 1--Covered Clinical Specialties
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Endocrinology
Endodontics
General Practice--Dentistry
Geriatrics
Infectious Diseases
Internal Medicine/Primary Care/Family Practice
Palliative Care
Periodontics
Preventive Medicine
Prosthodontics
Rheumatology
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..................................        $100,957        $264,000
TIER 2..................................         115,000         292,000
TIER 3..................................         130,000         320,000
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                Pay Table 2--Covered Clinical Specialties
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Allergy and Immunology
Hospitalist
Nephrology
Neurology
Pathology
PM&R/SCI
Psychiatry
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                     Pay Table 3--Clinical Specialty
------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Tier level                     Minimum         Maximum
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TIER 1..................................        $100,957        $348,000
TIER 2..................................         120,000         365,000
TIER 3..................................         135,000         385,000
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                Pay Table 3--Covered Clinical Specialties
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
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Anesthesiology (Pain Management)

[[Page 60413]]

 
Cardiology (Non-Invasive)
Emergency Medicine
Gynecology
Hematology-Oncology
Nuclear Medicine
Ophthalmology
Oral Surgery
Pulmonary
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                     Pay Table 4--Clinical Specialty
------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Tier level                     Minimum         Maximum
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TIER 1..................................        $100,957        $400,000
TIER 2..................................         125,000         400,000
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                Pay Table 4--Covered Clinical Specialties
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Anesthesiology
Cardiology (Invasive/Non-Interventional)
Cardio-Thoracic Surgery
Critical Care
Dermatology
Dermatology (MOHS)
Gastroenterology
General Surgery
Interventional Cardiology
Interventional Radiology
Neurosurgery
Orthopedic Surgery
Otolaryngology
Plastic Surgery
Radiology (Diagnostic)
Radiation Oncology
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        $309,000
TIER 2..................................         145,000         289,000
TIER 3..................................         140,000         270,000
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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)
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                   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, Deputy Under Secretary for Health, Chief Officer,
 Network Director, Medical Center Director, Network Chief Officer,
 Executive Director, Assistant 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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Signing Authority

    The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or designee, 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. Gina S. 
Farrisee, Deputy Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs, 
approved this document August 22, 2016, for publication.

    Dated: August 22, 2016.
Jeffrey Martin,
Office Program Manager, Office of Regulation Policy & Management, 
Office of the Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2016-20910 Filed 8-31-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P