[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
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Tier level Minimum Maximum
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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
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Tier level Minimum Maximum
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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
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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).
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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 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
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Tier level Minimum Maximum
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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