Teresa Morris, NOVA Director, Advocacy & Government Relations

Greetings NOVA Members –

All of our hard work and advocacy has paid off – The VA Nurse and Physician Assistant RAISE Act passed as part of the FY 2022 Appropriations package by both the House and Senate and was signed into law by the President.  NOVA was instrumental in getting this over the finish line – thanks to all of you for making this happen!

The law will increase pay for Title 38 RNs, APRNs, PAs, and CRNAs working at VA. This was a top legislative priority for NOVA. We are especially thankful to Representatives Lauren Underwood and David Joyce for sponsoring the bill and House and Senate VA Committee Chairmen and Ranking Members for including it as part of the Appropriation package. It now moves to the VA for implementation.  I am in contact with the office of nursing services and my understanding is that the Workforce Management team will be verifying pay scales. There looks to be over 200 pay schedules that will be affected. As soon as I get a complete explanation as to how it will be applied and used to recruit and retain nursing professionals, I will pass it along.

The new law will move RN’s from Level IV to Level II and ARPNs, PAs from level IV to Level I. CRNAs will be able to be paid above Level I.

VA Pay schedules will be adjusted to reflect the new caps. Current levels are as such - Level I is $226,300; Level II is $203,700. (Level IV, which is where we are now, is capped at $176,300).

SALARY TABLE 2022-EX (opm.gov)

I will have more on the increases as VA issues additional information.

Another hot topic and one that I am sure all of you have heard about is the Asset and Infrastructure Review (AIR) report released by VA on Monday, March 14. AIR was included as part of the MISSION Act (Section II of PL:115-182) and required VA to develop criteria by taking a comprehensive look at VA’s present and future infrastructure needs, and make recommendations on repairing, replacing and realigning VA health care facilities. All designed to meet the demand of veterans health care now and into the future.

The report includes a list of those recommendations by Veteran Integrated Service Networks (VISN). The origin of the report was based upon market assessments (done before COVID) which considered the capacity of VA and its providers, veterans usage of VA now and projected usage as well as what may be available per “strategic collaborations.”

A nine-member commission, of which eight have been named will have to be confirmed by the Senate at which time they will begin to review recommendations, conduct its own hearings and investigations, make its own proposals and send them to the White House. The President can either accept or reject all of the recommendations. If he accepts the recommendations, it then goes to Congress to vote against it before they go into effect. Ther is no option to choose which part of the report/recommendations to accept.  It is an all or nothing vote.

All of this is supposed to be finished by 2023.

At the time of this publication, I am reviewing information in each VISN. Please note that what is outlined in the report is not set in stone. There are so many facets and nuances involved, not to mention politics in those areas where VA closures have been announced. I suspect that Veterans, their families, members of congress and others are going to have much to say about what happens in their respective areas.  I also have serious concerns as to if the providers in some markets will be willing and able to take on more patients – especially Veterans who have unique needs of which they have little or no expertise.

All this could have long-term effects on staffing and how VA provides healthcare into the future. Rest assured I am and will be monitoring the AIR Commission with our partners in the VSO community and others who have a stake in the process.

I look forward to continuing our advocacy and working with all of you to make sure VA nurse voices are heard. What you do is and continues to be critical to the health and well-being of our Veterans.

Stay Tuned!