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, 2006.

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 2005 and FY 2006. 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 [28 KB] contains a data worksheet to be completed by agencies reporting the required PCA data. PCA-reporting agencies with organizational components that employed more than 100 physicians who received PCA payments in FY 2005 must submit separate reports by component (using the PCA worksheet), in addition to a composite report for the entire department or agency. Attachment C provides additional guidance and instructions for completing the PCA worksheet.

Please send your report(s) to:

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

You may also submit your report(s) by email at pay-performance-policy@opm.gov or by fax at (202) 606-0824. To ensure that we receive your report(s) on time, we ask that agencies submitting report(s) by standard mail also send an electronic copy. Please include in your report(s) 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:  Agencies with Approved Plans

Attachment B:  Data Worksheet To Be Completed By Agencies  

Attachment C:  Guidance and Instructions for PCA Worksheet Preparation