U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Ensuring the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce

CPM 2007-01

February 9, 2007

MEMORANDUM FOR CHIEF HUMAN CAPITAL OFFICERS

To comply with a statutory requirement that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) report to Congress on the operation of the physicians' comparability allowance (PCA) program, we request that you provide OPM with a report on your recent experience under this program by May 1, 2007.

The PCA program permits agencies to provide PCA payments to certain eligible Federal physicians who enter into service agreements with their agencies. The allowance may be paid only to categories of physicians for which the agency is experiencing recruitment and retention problems. Agencies may pay a PCA of up to $14,000 annually to a physician with 24 months or less of service as a Government physician and up to $30,000 annually to a physician with more than 24 months of service as a Government physician.

Your report must include data on physicians receiving PCA payments in FY 2006 and FY 2007. Attachment A contains a listing of Federal agencies that currently have approved PCA plans. These agencies must submit PCA data to OPM. However, this request covers all agencies that employ physicians who are eligible for a PCA. Attachment B provides instructions for completing your PCA report. A negative report is not required if your agency does not employ physicians who are eligible for a PCA.

Please send your report to:

Office of Personnel Management
Division for Strategic Human Resources Policy
Center for Pay and Leave Administration
1900 E Street, NW., Room 7H31
Washington, DC 20415-8200
Attn: Carey Johnston

You may also submit your report by email at pay-performance-policy@opm.gov or by fax at (202) 606-0824. To ensure that we receive your report on time, we ask that agencies submitting reports by standard mail also send an electronic copy. Please include in your report a point of contact, phone number, and email address. If you have any questions regarding this request, please contact Carey Johnston of OPM's Pay and Leave Administration Group at (202) 606-2858.

cc: Human Resources Directors

Attachment A

Attachment B