Bill > HR3489

This bill amends title 38 of the United States Code to codify and establish specific requirements for therapeutic and diagnostic medical physicists working at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The legislation creates formal qualifications for these professional roles, requiring candidates to complete post-graduate clinical training programs and be board certified in their specific field (either therapeutic or diagnostic medical physics) by a Secretary-approved certifying body. The bill adds these medical physicist positions to existing VA personnel categories, establishing specific grade designations and pay structures comparable to other medical professionals like physicians and podiatrists. It also mandates that the VA Secretary submit a report within one year of enactment detailing the effects of increased pay for full-time medical physicists, impacts on physicists providing care through agreements, and any associated cost changes to the department. Medical physicists play critical roles in healthcare, using specialized knowledge of radiation and physics to support medical treatments and diagnostic procedures, and this bill aims to standardize and improve their professional standing within the VA healthcare system.

Health and Social Services, Military Affairs and Security

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3489/all-info