Annual Pay Ranges for Physicians, Dentists, and Podiatrists of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), 67340-67341 [2019-26435]
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 236 / Monday, December 9, 2019 / Notices
VA Environmental Health Registry
evaluations are free, voluntary medical
assessments for Veterans who may have
been exposed to certain environmental
hazards during military service.
Evaluations alert Veterans to possible
long-term health problems that may be
related to exposure specific to
environmental hazards during their
military service. The registry data may
help VA understand and respond to
these health problems more effectively
and may be useful for research
purposes.
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to, a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB
control number. The Federal Register
Notice with a 60-day comment period
soliciting comments on this collection
of information was published at 84 FR
42993 on August 19, 2019, page 42993.
Affected Public: Individuals or
Households.
Estimated Annual Burden: 20,000.
Estimated Average Burden per
Respondent: 60 minutes.
Frequency of Response: Once
annually.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
20,000.
By direction of the Secretary.
Danny S. Green,
Interim VA Clearance Officer, Office of
Quality, Performance and Risk (OQPR),
Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2019–26419 Filed 12–6–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS
[OMB Control No. 2900–0568]
Agency Information Collection Activity
Under OMB Review: Submission of
School Catalog to the State Approving
Agency
Veterans Benefits
Administration, Department of Veterans
Affairs.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
In compliance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995
this notice announces that the Veterans
Benefits Administration (VBA),
Department of Veterans Affairs, will
submit the collection of information
abstracted below to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and comment. The PRA
submission describes the nature of the
information collection and its expected
cost and burden; it includes the actual
data collection instrument.
Comments must be submitted on
or before January 8, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments
on the collection of information through
www.Regulations.gov, or to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget, Attn:
VA Desk Officer; 725 17th St. NW,
Washington, DC 20503 or sent through
electronic mail to oira_submission@
omb.eop.gov. Please refer to ‘‘OMB
Control No. 2900–0568’’ in any
correspondence.
DATES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Danny S. Green at (202) 421–1354.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Authority: Title 38 CFR, sections
21.4253 and 21.4254, restates this
statutory requirement in the Code of
Federal Regulations, and Title 38 U.S.C.
3676.
Title: Submission of School Catalog to
the State Approving Agency (VA Form
= No Form).
OMB Control Number: 2900–0568.
Type of Review: Revision of a
currently approved collection.
Abstract: State approving agencies
and VA use the catalogs to determine
what courses can be approved for VA
training. VA receives catalogs when
institutions change their education
programs. In general, the catalogs are
collected approximately once a year.
Without this information, VA and the
State approving agencies cannot
determine what courses could be
approved.
Affected Public: Individuals or
households.
Estimated Annual Burden: 2,582
hours.
Estimated Average Burden per
Respondent: 15 minutes.
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Actual Number of Respondents:
10,330.
By direction of the Secretary.
Danny S. Green,
VA Interim Clearance Officer, Office of
Quality, Performance and Risk, Department
of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2019–26391 Filed 12–6–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320–01–P
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SUMMARY:
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Jkt 250001
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS
Annual Pay Ranges for Physicians,
Dentists, and Podiatrists of the
Veterans Health Administration (VHA)
Department of Veterans Affairs
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
VA is hereby giving notice of
annual pay ranges, which is the sum of
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00087
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
the base pay rate and market pay for
VHA physicians, dentists, and
podiatrists 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: Annual pay ranges are applicable
February 16, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Leah Brady, HR Specialist, Human
Resources Center of Expertise, VHA
Workforce Management and Consulting
Office (10A2A), Department of Veterans
Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20420, (631) 514–9622.
This is not a toll-free number.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 38
U.S.C. 7431(e)(1)(A), not less often than
once every 2 years, the Secretary must
prescribe for Department-wide
applicability the minimum and
maximum amounts of annual pay that
may be paid to VHA physicians,
dentists, and podiatrists. 38 U.S.C.
7431(e)(1)(B) allows the Secretary to
prescribe separate minimum and
maximum amounts of annual pay for a
specialty or assignment. Pursuant to 38
U.S.C. 7431(e)(1)(C), 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.
In addition, under 38 U.S.C.
7431(e)(4), the total amount of
compensation paid to a physician,
dentist, or podiatrist under title 38 of
the United States Code cannot exceed,
in any year, the amount of annual
compensation (excluding expenses) of
the President. For the purposes of
subparagraph 7431(e)(4), ‘‘the total
amount of compensation’’ includes base
pay, market pay, performance pay,
recruitment, relocation, and retention
incentives, incentive awards for
performance and special contributions,
and fee basis earnings.
Background
The ‘‘Department of Veterans Affairs
Health Care Personnel Enhancement Act
of 2004’’ (Public Law (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 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
E:\FR\FM\09DEN1.SGM
09DEN1
67341
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 236 / Monday, December 9, 2019 / Notices
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
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.
On April 8, 2019, the President signed
Public Law 116–12, which amended 38
U.S.C. 7431 to include podiatrists
within the physician and dentist pay
system, authorizing podiatrists to
receive base pay, market pay, and
performance pay. With the amendment,
podiatrists are also subject to the same
limitations and requirements as
physicians and dentists under 7431.
With regard to the Pay Tables for
physicians, dentists, and podiatrists,
there have been changes to the
minimum and maximum amounts for
Pay Tables 1, 2, and 5. However, the
maximum amount for Pay Table 4 has
remained unchanged since the 2016
publication in the Federal Register.
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, Hospital and
Healthcare Compensation Service,
Sullivan, Cotter, and Associates,
Medical Group Management
Association, and the Survey of Dental
Practice published by the American
Dental Association were collectively
utilized as benchmarks from which to
prescribe annual pay ranges 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
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 salary data which helps to
minimize disparities and aberrations
that may surface from data involving
smaller numbers 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
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:22 Dec 06, 2019
Jkt 250001
representative. In addition, aggregation
of data provides for a large enough
sample size and provides pay ranges
with maximum flexibility for pay setting
for VHA physicians, dentists, and
podiatrists.
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, subspecialization, and other special factors.
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. The Steering Committee
recommended realigning Deputy
Network Chief Medical Officer from Pay
Table 5 Tier 3 to Pay Table 5 Tier 4 to
distinguish this assignment as an
advanced clinical and leadership role at
the Network level.
The Steering Committee also
recommended realigning Chief of Staff
from Pay Table 5 Tier 4 to Pay Table 5
Tier 3 for complexity level 3 facilities
and from Pay Table 5 Tier 3 to Pay
Table 5 Tier 2 for complexity level 2
facilities to distinguish this assignment
as an advanced clinical and leadership
role at the Medical Center level.
Tier level
Minimum
Maximum
Prosthodontics
Rheumatology
All other specialties or assignments not requiring a specific specialty training or certification
Tier level
Minimum
Maximum
Pay Table 2—Clinical Specialty
Tier 1 ........................
Tier 2 ........................
Tier 3 ........................
$104,843
115,000
130,000
$282,480
306,600
336,000
Pay Table 2—Covered Clinical Specialties
Allergy and Immunology
Hospitalist
Nephrology
Neurology
Pathology
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation/Spinal
Cord Injury
Psychiatry
Tier level
Minimum
Maximum
Pay Table 5—Chief of Staff and Network
Chief Medical Officers
Tier
Tier
Tier
Tier
1
2
3
4
........................
........................
........................
........................
$150,000
147,000
145,000
140,000
$350,000
325,000
300,000
285,000
Pay Table 5—Covered Assignments
VHA Chiefs of Staff and Network
Chief Medical Officers Tier assignments
for Chiefs of Staff are based on
published facility complexity level. Tier
1—Network Chief Medical Officer and
Chief of Staff—Complexity Levels 1a
and 1b. Tier 2—Chief of Staff—
Complexity Levels 1c and 2. Tier 3—
Chief of Staff—Complexity Level 3 and
facilities with no designation level. Tier
4—Deputy Network Chief Medical
Officer and Deputy Chief of Staff.
Signing Authority
Pay Table 1—Clinical Specialty
Tier 1 ........................
Tier 2 ........................
Tier 3 ........................
$104,843
110,000
120,000
$243,000
252,720
280,340
Pay Table 1—Covered Clinical Specialties
Endocrinology
Endodontics
General Practice—Dentistry
Geriatrics
Infectious Diseases
Internal Medicine/Primary Care/Family Practice
Palliative Care
Periodontics
Podiatry (General)
Podiatry (Surgery—Forefoot, Rearfoot/Ankle,
Advanced Rearfoot/Ankle)
Preventive Medicine
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Fmt 4703
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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.
Pamela Powers, Chief of Staff,
Department of Veterans Affairs,
approved this document on December 2,
2019, for publication.
Jeffrey M. Martin,
Assistant Director, Office of Regulation Policy
& Management, Office of the Secretary,
Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2019–26435 Filed 12–6–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320–01–P
E:\FR\FM\09DEN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 236 (Monday, December 9, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67340-67341]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-26435]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Annual Pay Ranges for Physicians, Dentists, and Podiatrists of
the Veterans Health Administration (VHA)
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: VA is hereby giving notice of annual pay ranges, which is the
sum of the base pay rate and market pay for VHA physicians, dentists,
and podiatrists 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: Annual pay ranges are applicable February 16, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Leah Brady, HR Specialist, Human
Resources Center of Expertise, VHA Workforce Management and Consulting
Office (10A2A), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20420, (631) 514-9622. This is not a toll-free number.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 38 U.S.C. 7431(e)(1)(A), not less
often than once every 2 years, the Secretary must prescribe for
Department-wide applicability the minimum and maximum amounts of annual
pay that may be paid to VHA physicians, dentists, and podiatrists. 38
U.S.C. 7431(e)(1)(B) allows the Secretary to prescribe separate minimum
and maximum amounts of annual pay for a specialty or assignment.
Pursuant to 38 U.S.C. 7431(e)(1)(C), 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.
In addition, under 38 U.S.C. 7431(e)(4), the total amount of
compensation paid to a physician, dentist, or podiatrist under title 38
of the United States Code cannot exceed, in any year, the amount of
annual compensation (excluding expenses) of the President. For the
purposes of subparagraph 7431(e)(4), ``the total amount of
compensation'' includes base pay, market pay, performance pay,
recruitment, relocation, and retention incentives, incentive awards for
performance and special contributions, and fee basis earnings.
Background
The ``Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel
Enhancement Act of 2004'' (Public Law (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 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
[[Page 67341]]
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.
On April 8, 2019, the President signed Public Law 116-12, which
amended 38 U.S.C. 7431 to include podiatrists within the physician and
dentist pay system, authorizing podiatrists to receive base pay, market
pay, and performance pay. With the amendment, podiatrists are also
subject to the same limitations and requirements as physicians and
dentists under 7431.
With regard to the Pay Tables for physicians, dentists, and
podiatrists, there have been changes to the minimum and maximum amounts
for Pay Tables 1, 2, and 5. However, the maximum amount for Pay Table 4
has remained unchanged since the 2016 publication in the Federal
Register.
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, Hospital and Healthcare
Compensation Service, Sullivan, Cotter, and Associates, Medical Group
Management Association, and the Survey of Dental Practice published by
the American Dental Association were collectively utilized as
benchmarks from which to prescribe annual pay ranges 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
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 salary
data which helps to minimize disparities and aberrations that may
surface from data involving smaller numbers 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 VHA physicians, dentists,
and podiatrists.
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.
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. The Steering Committee recommended realigning
Deputy Network Chief Medical Officer from Pay Table 5 Tier 3 to Pay
Table 5 Tier 4 to distinguish this assignment as an advanced clinical
and leadership role at the Network level.
The Steering Committee also recommended realigning Chief of Staff
from Pay Table 5 Tier 4 to Pay Table 5 Tier 3 for complexity level 3
facilities and from Pay Table 5 Tier 3 to Pay Table 5 Tier 2 for
complexity level 2 facilities to distinguish this assignment as an
advanced clinical and leadership role at the Medical Center level.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tier level Minimum Maximum
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pay Table 1--Clinical Specialty
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tier 1............................................ $104,843 $243,000
Tier 2............................................ 110,000 252,720
Tier 3............................................ 120,000 280,340
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pay Table 1--Covered Clinical Specialties
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Endocrinology
Endodontics
General Practice--Dentistry
Geriatrics
Infectious Diseases
Internal Medicine/Primary Care/Family Practice
Palliative Care
Periodontics
Podiatry (General)
Podiatry (Surgery--Forefoot, Rearfoot/Ankle, Advanced Rearfoot/Ankle)
Preventive Medicine
Prosthodontics
Rheumatology
All other specialties or assignments not requiring a specific specialty
training or certification
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tier level Minimum Maximum
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pay Table 2--Clinical Specialty
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tier 1............................................ $104,843 $282,480
Tier 2............................................ 115,000 306,600
Tier 3............................................ 130,000 336,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pay Table 2--Covered Clinical Specialties
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allergy and Immunology
Hospitalist
Nephrology
Neurology
Pathology
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation/Spinal Cord Injury
Psychiatry
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tier level Minimum Maximum
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pay Table 5--Chief of Staff and Network Chief Medical Officers
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tier 1............................................ $150,000 $350,000
Tier 2............................................ 147,000 325,000
Tier 3............................................ 145,000 300,000
Tier 4............................................ 140,000 285,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pay Table 5--Covered Assignments
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VHA Chiefs of Staff and Network Chief Medical Officers Tier
assignments for Chiefs of Staff are based on published facility
complexity level. Tier 1--Network Chief Medical Officer and Chief of
Staff--Complexity Levels 1a and 1b. Tier 2--Chief of Staff--Complexity
Levels 1c and 2. Tier 3--Chief of Staff--Complexity Level 3 and
facilities with no designation level. Tier 4--Deputy Network Chief
Medical Officer and Deputy Chief of Staff.
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. Pamela
Powers, Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs, approved this
document on December 2, 2019, for publication.
Jeffrey M. Martin,
Assistant Director, Office of Regulation Policy & Management, Office of
the Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2019-26435 Filed 12-6-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P
