Title: VA Provider Pay Modernization Act of 2017
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
VA Provider Pay Modernization Act of 2017
This bill provides that market pay (one of the three salary components of Veterans Health Administration [VHA] physicians and dentists) shall be the same for each physician or dentist with the same specialty or assignment in the same Integrated Service Network (VISN).
The market pay of a physician or dentist may exceed the market pay generally available to a physician or dentist with the same specialty or assignment in the same VISN by up to 5%.
Such amount shall take into account the pay in the relevant health service area, as designated by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Market pay in a health professional shortage area for a physician's or dentist's specialty may exceed by up to 25% the market pay for a physician or dentist in a health service area with a specialty or assignment not relevant to the health professional shortage area.
The VA shall: (1) evaluate the market pay of a physician or dentist every 12 months; and (2) in implementing a promotion system, create parity between the grades and annual rates of basic pay for VHA employees performing similar duties in the same facility, regardless of service time.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1505 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1505

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of 
 Veterans Affairs to increase the maximum market pay of physicians and 
   dentists in the Veterans Health Administration who work in health 
          professional shortage areas, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 10, 2017

  Mr. O'Rourke (for himself and Mr. Abraham) introduced the following 
     bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of 
 Veterans Affairs to increase the maximum market pay of physicians and 
   dentists in the Veterans Health Administration who work in health 
          professional shortage areas, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``VA Provider Pay Modernization Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. MARKET PAY FOR PHYSICIANS AND DENTISTS IN THE VETERANS HEALTH 
              ADMINISTRATION IN HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SHORTAGE AREAS.

    Section 7431(c) of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3)--
                    (A) by striking ``The'' and inserting ``Subject to 
                paragraph (5), the''; and
                    (B) by striking ``determined by the Secretary on a 
                case-by-case basis'' and inserting ``the same for each 
                physician or dentist with the same specialty or 
                assignment in the same Veterans Integrated Service 
                Network'';
            (2) in paragraph (5)--
                    (A) by striking ``The'' and inserting ``Subject to 
                subparagraph (C), the'';
                    (B) by striking ``shall take'' and inserting ``may 
                exceed the market pay generally available under 
                paragraph (3) to a physician or dentist with the same 
                specialty or assignment in the same Veterans Integrated 
                Service Network by an amount not to exceed five percent 
                of the total pay of such physician or dentist, 
                taking''; and
                    (C) in subparagraph (C)--
                            (i) by inserting ``(i)'' before ``the 
                        health care labor market'';
                            (ii) by striking all that follows 
                        ``dentist'' and inserting ``in the relevant 
                        health service area, as designated by the 
                        Secretary of Health and Human Services under 
                        section 5.2 of title 42, Code of Federal 
                        Regulations (42 C.F.R. 5.2); and''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following 
                        new clause:
                    ``(ii) whether the Secretary of Health and Human 
                Services has designated under section 332 of the Public 
                Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254e) such health service 
                area as a health professional shortage area with 
                regards to the specialty of the physician or dentist, 
                in which case market pay for the physician or dentist 
                may exceed, by not more than 25 percent, the market pay 
                for a physician or dentist in such health service area 
                with a specialty or assignment not relevant to the 
                health professional shortage area;''; and
            (3) in paragraph (6), by striking ``24'' and inserting 
        ``12''.

SEC. 3. BASIC PAY PARITY.

    Section 7403(h)(6) of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (A);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B) 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
    ``(C) create parity to the greatest extent practicable between the 
grades and annual rates of basic pay for employees of the 
Administration who perform similar duties in the same facility, 
regardless of time of service.''.
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