Request for Data for the FY 2022 Physicians' Comparability Allowance Report to Congress

Memorandum for Chief Human Capital Officers CPM 2023-04 March 21, 2023 From: Kiran A. Ahuja Director Subject: Request for Data for the FY 2022 Physicians’ Comparability Allowance Report to Congress The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), must submit a report to Congress by June 30 each year on the operation of the physicians’ comparability allowance (PCA) authority during the previous fiscal year. (See 5 U.S.C. 5948(j) and Executive Order 12109.) This memorandum requests that agencies submit the data and information outlined in the attached worksheet to OPM by March 31st, 2023, for the FY 2022 PCA report to Congress. The head of an agency with a PCA plan approved by OMB may pay a PCA to certain eligible Federal physicians who sign a service agreement. (See 5 U.S.C. 5948 and 5 CFR part 595.) The PCA payment may be up to $14,000 per year (for a physician with 24 months or less of service as a Government physician) or up to $30,000 per year (for a physician with more than 24 months of service as a Government physician) and must address an agency recruitment or retention problem. By law, the PCA report to Congress must include information on— • • • • • which agencies used the allowance; the nature and extent of recruiting and retention problems justifying the use of the allowance by each agency; the number of physicians that entered into PCA agreements by agency; the size of the allowances and duration of the agreements; and the degree to which the allowance alleviated recruiting and retention problems.

To satisfy this reporting requirement, please complete the attached worksheet regarding your agency’s use of the PCA authority in FY 2022. One worksheet should be completed for the entire agency. Agencies that do not have an OMB-approved PCA plan cannot use the PCA authority and are not required to respond to this data request. Please submit your agency report by March 31st, 2023, by email to: pay-leave-policy@opm.gov. If you have any questions, you may contact Rebecca Abels in OPM’s Employee Services, Pay and Leave, at pay-leave-policy@opm.gov. Attachment cc: Deputy Chief Human Capital Officers and Human Resources Directors www.opm.gov Empowering Excellence in Government through Great People www.usajobs.gov Physicians’ Comparability Allowance (PCA) Worksheet Agency: Contact point (name, email address, phone number): Description FY 2022 1) Number of Physicians Receiving PCAs 2) Number of Physicians with One-Year PCA Agreements 3) Number of Physicians with Multi-Year PCA Agreements 4) Average Annual PCA Physician Pay (without PCA payment) 5) Average Annual PCA Payment 6. Explain the recruitment and retention problem(s) for physicians in your agency in FY 2022. 7. Explain the degree to which recruitment and retention problems were alleviated in your agency through the use of PCAs in FY 2022. Guidance and Instructions for PCA Worksheet These instructions cover all agencies that made physicians’ comparability allowance (PCA) payments in FY 2022. Eligibility for PCA is defined in 5 U.S.C. 5948 and 5 CFR part 595. All data should be submitted in the PCA Worksheet. For more information on PCA: PCA Fact Sheet

Definitions-General Government Physician: Section 5948(g)(1) of title 5, United States Code, defines “Government physician” as any individual employed as a physician or dentist who is paid under: the General Schedule; the Senior Executive Service; section 5371, relating to certain health care positions; Tennessee Valley Authority Act; Foreign Service Act; Central Intelligence Agency Act; section 1202 of the Panama Canal Act of 1979; section 2 of the National Security Act of May 29, 1959; section 5376 of title 5 relating to certain senior-level positions; section 5377 of title 5 relating to critical positions; or subchapter IX of chapter 53 of title 5 relating to special occupational pay systems.

Definitions-Worksheet Data 1) Number of Physicians Receiving PCAs: The total number of agency physicians receiving a PCA in FY 2022. 2-3) Number of Physicians with 1-Year and Multi-Year PCA Service Agreements: Under the PCA program, physicians may elect to sign a 1-year or multi-year PCA service agreement. Please provide the number of physicians under 1-year and multi-year agreements in FY 2022 in rows 2 and 3. 4) Average Annual PCA Physician Pay (without PCA payment): Average annual compensation per physician receiving a PCA in FY 2022. These amounts should exclude the PCA payment, but include base pay and all other bonuses, incentives (such as recruitment, relocation, and retention incentives) and awards. 5) Average Annual PCA Payment: The average annual PCA paid per physician in FY 2022. 6) Explanation of Recruitment and Retention Problem(s): Factors contributing to your agency’s physician recruitment and retention problems in FY 2022 should be provided. The explanation may include staffing data, such as accessions, separations and number and duration of unfilled positions, as support. 7) Explanation of the Degree PCA Alleviated Recruitment and Retention Problem(s): Provide an explanation of the extent that providing PCAs prevented or lessened recruitment and retention problems in FY 2022. The explanation may include staffing data, such as accessions, separations and number and duration of unfilled positions, as support.