[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 210 (Tuesday, November 1, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65980-65981]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-21640]


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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. The inception of these annual pay ranges 
enhances 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 January 8, 2006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna R. Schroeder, Director, 
Compensation and Classification Service (055), Office of Human 
Resources Management and Labor Relations, 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) required 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

    The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) performed an extensive 
search of salary survey data for physicians and dentists. The result 
was a wealth of information in the field of compensation. Upon 
completion of the initial review of the data collected, VA utilized 
those sources which most closely represented VA comparability in the 
areas of practice setting, employment environment, and hospital/
healthcare system. Thus, the Association of American Medical Colleges 
(AAMC), Hospital and Healthcare Compensation Service (HHCS), Sullivan, 
Cotter, and Associates (S&C) and Physician Executive Management Center 
(PEMC), 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.
    An analysis of the data produced the emergence of natural groupings 
for consideration in constructing annual pay ranges to accommodate the 
more than thirty specialties that currently exist in the VA system. The 
benefit of grouping specialties into consolidated pay ranges 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 range with maximum

[[Page 65981]]

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 specialities for VHA physicians and dentists were 
reviewed against relevant private sector data. The specialties were 
grouped into four clinical pay ranges that reflect comparable 
complexity in salary, recruitment, and retention considerations. Two 
additional pay ranges were compiled for 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........................................      $90,000     $175,000
Tier 2........................................      110,000      200,000
Tier 3........................................      120,000      215,000
Tier 4........................................      130,000      225,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------


               Pay Table 1.--Covered Clinical Specialties
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Admitting Physician.
Allergy and Immunology.
Endocrinology.
Geriatrics.
Infectious Diseases.
Internal Medicine/Primary Care/Family Practice.
Neurology.
Preventive Medicine.
Psychiatry.
Rheumatology.
General Practice--Dentistry.
Endodontics.
Periodontics.
Prosthodontics.
Assignments that do not require a specific specialty.
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                    Pay Table 2.--Clinical Specialty
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Tier level                      Minimum      Maximum
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tier 1........................................      $90,000     $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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Dermatology.
Emergency Medicine.
Gastroenterology.
Gynecology.
Hematology--Oncology.
Nephrology.
Nuclear Medicine.
Ophthamology.
Pathology.
Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation/Physiatry/Spinal Cord Injury.
Pulmonary.
Oral Surgery.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                    Pay Table 3.--Clinical Specialty
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Tier Level                      Minimum      Maximum
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tier 1........................................      $90,000     $220,000
Tier 2........................................      120,000      230,000
Tier 3........................................      135,000      240,000
Tier 4........................................      145,000      250,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------


               Pay Table 3.--Covered Clinical Specialties
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
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Cardiology.
General Surgery.
Otolaryngology.
Urology.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                    Pay Table 4.--Clinical Specialty
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Tier Level                      Minimum      Maximum
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tier 1........................................      $90,000     $255,000
Tier 2........................................      125,000      275,000
Tier 3........................................      140,000      285,000
Tier 4........................................      150,000      295,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------


               Pay Table 4.--Covered Clinical Specialties
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
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Anesthesiology.
Cardio-Thoracic Surgery.
Neurosurgery.
Orthopedic Surgery.
Plastic Surgery.
Radiology.
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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    Dated: October 25, 2005.
R. James Nicholson,
Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 05-21640 Filed 10-31-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-M