Report to the President: Adequacy of Special Pay for Physicians and Dentists

摘要

This document is a report to Congress under Public Law 96-330, which mandates that pay for Veterans Administration physicians and dentists be fixed at levels reasonably comparable with those of such personnel in other parts of the Federal Government and with those of non-Federal physicians and dentists. It includes a pay comparability study defining the basis for pay distinctions among various categories of physicians and dentists, documenting the income levels of physicians and dentists in the non-VA sectors, and comparing the income levels of VA and non-VA physicians and dentists. The report also includes a VA Department of Medicine and Surgery Task Force review of the pay comparability study and the updated VA pay information, and the comprehensive recommendations of the Task Force. Special emphasis was placed on establishing pay at levels reasonably comparable to other Federal and non-Federal sectors, in order to recruit and retain well-qualified physicians and dentists. As a result of their findings, the Task Force developed a wide range of options for revision of the physician and dentists special pay program. Those most viable options are examined and discussed in detail in this report. They ranged from taking no action now and evaluating the impact of the most recent pay changes over the next two years, to varying one or more of the individual elements in the special pay program. The costs associated with the options ranged from savings of up to $15 million, to additional costs of $25 to $40 million.