[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 94 (Wednesday, May 16, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27637-27638]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-2401]


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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 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 healthcare 
system.

EFFECTIVE DATES: Annual pay ranges are effective on July 8, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna R. Schroeder, Director, 
Compensation and Classification Service (055), Office of Human 
Resources Management, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420, (202) 273-9803.

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/healthcare system. The Association 
of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Hospital and Healthcare 
Compensation Service (HHCS), Sullivan, Cotter, and Associates (S&C), 
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 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 
thirty 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 15,000 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.
    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..................................         $91,530        $175,000
Tier 2..................................         110,000         200,000
Tier 3..................................         120,000         215,000
Tier 4..................................         130,000         225,000
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               Pay Table 1.--Covered Clinical Specialties
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Allergy and Immunology.
Endocrinology.
Geriatrics.
Infectious Diseases.
Internal Medicine/Primary Care/Family Practice/Admitting physician.
Neurology.
Preventive Medicine.
Psychiatry.
Rheumatology.
General Practice--Dentistry.
Endodontics.
Periodontics.
Prosthodontics.
Assignments that do not require a specific specialty.
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[[Page 27638]]


                    Pay Table 2.--Clinical Specialty
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               Tier level                     Minimum         Maximum
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tier 1..................................         $91,530        $200,000
Tier 2..................................         115,000         215,000
Tier 3..................................         130,000         225,000
Tier 4..................................         140,000         235,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------


               Pay Table 2.--Covered Clinical Specialties
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Critical Care (board certified).
Emergency Medicine.
Gynecology.
Hematology--Oncology.
Nephrology.
Pathology.
Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation/Physiatry/Spinal Cord Injury.
Pulmonary.
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                    Pay Table 3.--Clinical Specialty
------------------------------------------------------------------------
               TIER level                     Minimum         Maximum
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TIER 1..................................         $91,530        $245,000
TIER 2..................................         120,000         265,000
TIER 3..................................         135,000         275,000
TIER 4..................................         145,000         285,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------


               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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TIER 1..................................         $91,530        $270,000
TIER 2..................................         125,000         285,000
TIER 3..................................         140,000         295,000
TIER 4..................................         150,000         305,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------


               Pay Table 4.--Covered Clinical Specialties
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Anesthesiology.
Cardiology (Invasive).
General Surgery.
Plastic Surgery.
Radiology.
Therapeutic Radiology.
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        $260,000
TIER 2..................................         145,000         240,000
TIER 3..................................         140,000         220,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                   Pay Table 6.--Executive Assignments
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               TIER level                     Minimum         Maximum
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TIER 1..................................        $110,000        $230,000
TIER 2..................................         110,000         250,000
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               Pay Table 6.--Covered Executive Assignments
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Chief Officer.
Deputy Under Secretary for Health.
Facility Director.
Network Chief Medical Officer.
Network Director.
VA Central Office Physician.
VA Central Office Dentist.
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                    Pay Table 7.--Clinical Specialty
------------------------------------------------------------------------
               TIER level                     Minimum         Maximum
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TIER 1..................................         $91,530        $325,000
TIER 2..................................         140,000         350,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------


               Pay Table 7.--Covered Clinical Specialties
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
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Cardio-Thoracic Surgery.
Neurosurgery.
Radiology (Interventionalist).
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    Dated: May 10, 2007.
Gordon H. Mansfield,
Deputy Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 07-2401 Filed 5-15-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-07-M