The pay guidance/amounts are on the BUMED Special Pays website.
Here is the NAVADMIN...
ROUTINE
R 032056Z NOV 22 MID200012864273T
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC
TO NAVADMIN
INFO ZEN/CNO WASHINGTON DC
BT
UNCLAS
NAVADMIN 249/22
MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/NOV//
SUBJ/FY-23 MEDICAL DEPARTMENT OFFICER SPECIAL PAYS FOR ACTIVE DUTY//
REF/A/DOC/USC/28JAN08//
REF/B/DOC/DOD/30DEC15//
REF/C/DOC/OPNAV/28DEC05//
NARR/REF A IS SECTION 335, TITLE 37, U.S. CODE, SPECIAL BONUS AND
INCENTIVEPAY AUTHORITIES FOR OFFICERS IN HEALTH PROFESSIONS.
REF B IS DODI 6000.13, ACCESSION AND RETENTION POLICIES, PROGRAMS AND
INCENTIVES FOR MILITARY HEALTH PROFESSIONS OFFICERS (HPO).
REF C IS OPNAVINST 7220.17, SPECIAL PAY FOR MEDICAL CORPS, DENTAL CORPS,
MEDICAL SERVICE CORPS AND NURSE CORPS OFFICERS.
RMKS/1. This NAVADMIN announces the continuation of authority granted in
references (a) through (c).
2. Submission of requests for fiscal year (FY) 2023 special and incentive
pays may begin upon release of this NAVADMIN in line with reference (c) and
specific FY-23 medical department special pay guidance.
3. Specific special pays implementation guidance, administrative
procedures, and Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery special pays point of
contact information is available at https://www.med.navy.mil/Special-Pays/.
If not a member of Navy Medicine, common access card (CAC) users will need
to register their CAC upon first access to the site. All personnel eligible
for medical department officer special pays are strongly encouraged to
review their corps-specific guidance located at the aforementioned link.
4. This message will remain in effect until superseded or canceled,
whichever occurs first.
5. Released by Vice Admiral Richard J. Cheeseman, Jr., N1.//
BT
#7956
NNNN
UNCLASSIFIED//
13 thoughts on “FY-23 Medical Department Officer Special Pays for Active Duty”
Peter Knickerbocker said:
November 4, 2022 at 11:56
FY2023 Specially pay plans is fairly disappointing. No increase in the board specialty pay from the 2021 NDAA, and not even an inflation adjustment applied to the specailty tables.
Overall, 10% cut in specialty pay year over year due to inflation.
We brought up inflation every year for the 3 years I was involved but was repeatedly told that these pays were not designed to keep up with inflation, but to influence behavior (retention). Manning and budgets drive the pays, not inflation.
We can put out whatever poor excuses we want. Fine, they aren’t “designed” to keep up with inflation. That doesn’t change the fact that we’ve had a 20% pay cut (in real terms) since we went to consolidated pays in FY2017. I’m sure it’s worse but I didn’t look further back. Yet the Inspector General finds staffing shortages and burnout in their recent pandemic report. If these pays are “designed to influence behavior (retention),” the Navy seems to be saying what we have is good enough. I wonder what it will take for them to wake up?
Why would any pay not be designed to keep up with inflation? This is a disservice to our medical corps. It is flat out wrong and we all know it. The point is made loud and clear and it certainly will influence retention.
We argued for an inflation adjustment all the time, but were never able to get anywhere. Plus, it is not specific the MC. All the Corps are affected by this, and probably non-medical folks too.
Wow. No change in Board certification pay, no change in Incentive Pay 22 months after the FY21 NDAA authorized massive increases.
Only real changes I can see aside from increases in multi-year retention bonuses for Neurosurgeons and some minor changes in other must-year retention bonuses are 33%-100% increases in Critically Short Wartime Specialty Accession Bonuses (but dropping the CSWSAB for Aerospace Medicine). You’d think it would be easier to retain physicians than to recruit new ones in. I would also think that if a specialty is critically short that incentivizing physicians in that specialty to stay on active duty with increased incentive pay and retention bonuses would be a good idea.
The Navy and/or DHA made a very clear statement with this and the last 2 Special Pay documents.
These amounts are Navy amounts, not DHA. Don’t get your hopes up for increases in pays authorized by NDAAs. While NDAAs may have authorized increases, they didn’t appropriate any extra money for them.
This is obviously disappointing for all physicians employed by the navy, and dod as a whole as the gap between our civilian colleagues grows only larger.
Do you have any insight into why the navy is willing to bring in a new surgeon at an effective msp of 150k/yr , but for at least general surgery is only willing to offer an msp at 105k/yr. The same applies for multiple other specialties.
I appreciate the difference between authorizations and appropriations for the NDAA but it seems the navy would rather have new doctors join than retain the ones it has that already have familiarity with the system (a contrast to most civilian hiring strategies).
Well, we almost never directly access physicians. Like maybe 10 a year in a good year, so any money offered to them doesn’t really cost the Navy much money overall. Obviously offering more money to physicians already in would cost a lost more because there are way more of them. Honestly, just about everything people ask about just comes down to money. There isn’t enough money in the budget to do the things people are talking about (higher bonuses, inflation adjustments, increased BCP, etc.).
Well, I will be “voting with my feet.” It’s all anecdotal, but I know of at least 3 other physicians getting out next year, all at 15-17yrs service. Lip service to burnout and lack of resources, and we get the same garbage year after year. Good bye!
That’s obviously up to you/them. Just so you know, it isn’t because the MC Chief’s Office wasn’t trying. We advocated for all of these things people want (inflation adjustments, increased BCP, increased specialty pays) every single year. That is one reason why the pay plans take so long to come out. We argue about all this stuff at every opportunity.
I don’t think anyone is doubting that the MC Chief’s Office is trying. Its just clear at levels above the Corps Chief that they don’t value physicians anywhere near as much as the civilian world does and based on the number of people getting out at first opportunity, the repercussions of those decisions are going to come to a head soon.
Joel Schofer's Career Planning Blog 
November 4, 2022 at 11:56
FY2023 Specially pay plans is fairly disappointing. No increase in the board specialty pay from the 2021 NDAA, and not even an inflation adjustment applied to the specailty tables.
Overall, 10% cut in specialty pay year over year due to inflation.
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November 4, 2022 at 19:39
We brought up inflation every year for the 3 years I was involved but was repeatedly told that these pays were not designed to keep up with inflation, but to influence behavior (retention). Manning and budgets drive the pays, not inflation.
LikeLike
November 5, 2022 at 02:03
We can put out whatever poor excuses we want. Fine, they aren’t “designed” to keep up with inflation. That doesn’t change the fact that we’ve had a 20% pay cut (in real terms) since we went to consolidated pays in FY2017. I’m sure it’s worse but I didn’t look further back. Yet the Inspector General finds staffing shortages and burnout in their recent pandemic report. If these pays are “designed to influence behavior (retention),” the Navy seems to be saying what we have is good enough. I wonder what it will take for them to wake up?
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November 5, 2022 at 08:05
Vote with your feet if you want to. I wouldn’t hold it against anyone.
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November 5, 2022 at 20:44
Why would any pay not be designed to keep up with inflation? This is a disservice to our medical corps. It is flat out wrong and we all know it. The point is made loud and clear and it certainly will influence retention.
LikeLike
November 5, 2022 at 21:34
We argued for an inflation adjustment all the time, but were never able to get anywhere. Plus, it is not specific the MC. All the Corps are affected by this, and probably non-medical folks too.
LikeLike
November 4, 2022 at 12:06
Wow. No change in Board certification pay, no change in Incentive Pay 22 months after the FY21 NDAA authorized massive increases.
Only real changes I can see aside from increases in multi-year retention bonuses for Neurosurgeons and some minor changes in other must-year retention bonuses are 33%-100% increases in Critically Short Wartime Specialty Accession Bonuses (but dropping the CSWSAB for Aerospace Medicine). You’d think it would be easier to retain physicians than to recruit new ones in. I would also think that if a specialty is critically short that incentivizing physicians in that specialty to stay on active duty with increased incentive pay and retention bonuses would be a good idea.
The Navy and/or DHA made a very clear statement with this and the last 2 Special Pay documents.
LikeLike
November 4, 2022 at 19:41
These amounts are Navy amounts, not DHA. Don’t get your hopes up for increases in pays authorized by NDAAs. While NDAAs may have authorized increases, they didn’t appropriate any extra money for them.
LikeLike
November 5, 2022 at 14:13
CAPT Schafer,
This is obviously disappointing for all physicians employed by the navy, and dod as a whole as the gap between our civilian colleagues grows only larger.
Do you have any insight into why the navy is willing to bring in a new surgeon at an effective msp of 150k/yr , but for at least general surgery is only willing to offer an msp at 105k/yr. The same applies for multiple other specialties.
I appreciate the difference between authorizations and appropriations for the NDAA but it seems the navy would rather have new doctors join than retain the ones it has that already have familiarity with the system (a contrast to most civilian hiring strategies).
LikeLike
November 5, 2022 at 21:37
Well, we almost never directly access physicians. Like maybe 10 a year in a good year, so any money offered to them doesn’t really cost the Navy much money overall. Obviously offering more money to physicians already in would cost a lost more because there are way more of them. Honestly, just about everything people ask about just comes down to money. There isn’t enough money in the budget to do the things people are talking about (higher bonuses, inflation adjustments, increased BCP, etc.).
LikeLike
November 8, 2022 at 10:10
Well, I will be “voting with my feet.” It’s all anecdotal, but I know of at least 3 other physicians getting out next year, all at 15-17yrs service. Lip service to burnout and lack of resources, and we get the same garbage year after year. Good bye!
LikeLike
November 8, 2022 at 12:44
That’s obviously up to you/them. Just so you know, it isn’t because the MC Chief’s Office wasn’t trying. We advocated for all of these things people want (inflation adjustments, increased BCP, increased specialty pays) every single year. That is one reason why the pay plans take so long to come out. We argue about all this stuff at every opportunity.
LikeLike
November 8, 2022 at 14:04
I don’t think anyone is doubting that the MC Chief’s Office is trying. Its just clear at levels above the Corps Chief that they don’t value physicians anywhere near as much as the civilian world does and based on the number of people getting out at first opportunity, the repercussions of those decisions are going to come to a head soon.
LikeLike