AAMC Testifies on VA Pay
Bill
October 24, 2003 - At an Oct. 21 hearing
of the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health,
Thomas J. Lawley, M.D., dean of the Emory University School
of Medicine, testified
(PDF, 4 pages - 43KB) on behalf of the AAMC on a proposal
to increase salaries for physicians at the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA). Dr. Lawley expressed the AAMC's strong support
for the bill, which would significantly increase the ability
of both VA and academic affiliates to recruit and retain high
quality physicians.
The draft proposal calls for reform of the VA's physician
compensation system into one that is responsive to market
forces through the addition of performance based incentives
and benchmarking to the 50th percentile of the AAMC's Associate
Professor salary level. The AAMC encouraged the subcommittee
to go even further, suggesting a benchmark at the 75th percentile,
arguing that under such a scenario, over 99 percent of VA
physicians would receive salary increases versus 30 percent
under the draft proposal. Dr. Lawley noted that under the
current system, VA is having difficulty recruiting individuals
in scarce specialties and subspecialties, even with the academic
salary subsidy. Dr. Lawley also expressed concern that provisions
in the draft proposal to prohibit VA Chiefs of Staff from
receiving compensation of any type from the affiliate would
serve as a disincentive for the most qualified individuals
to pursue such leadership positions.
Information:
Jonathan Fishburn, Director, Research, Education and Veterans' Legislative Affairs
AAMC Government Relations
jfishburn@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
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