S. 3771 — Department of Veterans Affairs Therapeutic Medical Physicist Pay Cap Relief Act of 2026

This section authorizes the appointment of therapeutic medical physicists and diagnostic medical physicists as positions in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) under 38 U.S.C. §7401(1), alongside physician assistants and other health care professionals. (1) It specifies qualifications in new §7402(b) paragraphs (14) and (15), requiring completion of a post-graduate clinical training program satisfactory to the Secretary and board certification by a Secretary-approved body in the respective field; (2) establishes separate pay grades for each under §7404(b); (3) includes both positions in VA personnel administration authorities under §7421(b); and (4) incorporates them into the special pay schedules, grade determinations, and administrative provisions for physicians, podiatrists, and dentists under §§7431 and 7433 (with conforming heading and table of sections updates). (As background, medical physicists apply physics principles to radiation therapy for cancer treatment or diagnostic imaging, supporting VA's delivery of specialized care to veterans.) This section also requires the Secretary to submit a report to the congressional Veterans' Affairs Committees within one year of enactment assessing effects of the pay inclusion on full-time VA employees and contract providers, along with any cost changes to the department.