Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “VA Provider Pay Modernization Act of 2017”.
VA Provider Pay Modernization Act of 2017
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.
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—
in paragraph (3)—
by striking “The” and inserting “Subject to paragraph (5), the”; and
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”;
in paragraph (5)—
by striking “The” and inserting “Subject to subparagraph (C), the”;
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
in subparagraph (C)—
by inserting “(i)” before “the health care labor market”;
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
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;”
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—
by striking “and” at the end of subparagraph (A);
by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B) and inserting “; and”; and
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.”