2011 FECA Circulars Archive

Attention: This circular has been superseded and is inactive.

Subject: Bill Pay - Revision in the Reimbursement Rates Payable for the Use of Privately Owned Automobiles Necessary to Secure Medical Examination and Treatment.

Background: Effective January 1, 2011, the mileage rate for reimbursement to Federal employees traveling by privately-owned automobile increased to 51 cents per mile by GSA. No restriction is made as to the number of miles that can be traveled. As in the past, a determination has been made to apply the applicable rate to disabled FECA beneficiaries traveling to secure necessary medical examination and treatment.

Applicability: Appropriate National Office and District Office personnel.

Reference: Chapter 5-0204, Principles of Bill Adjudication, Part 5, Benefit Payments, Federal (FECA) Procedure Manual and 5 USC 8103.

Action: The Central Bill Pay (CBP) facility has updated its system to reflect the new rates. Since there is no action required at the District Office level, the rates are being provided for informational purposes only.

The following is a list of the historical mileage rates used to reimburse claimant travel expense:

Disposition: This Bulletin should be retained in Chapter 5-0204, Principles of Bill Adjudication, Federal (FECA) Procedure Manual.

DOUGLAS C. FITZGERALD
Director for
Federal Employees' Compensation

Distribution: List No. 2 - Folioviews Groups A and D (Claims Examiners, All Supervisors, District Medical Advisors, Technical Assistants, Rehabilitation Specialists, and Fiscal Personnel).

Back to Top of FECA Circular No. 11-01

Back to Table of Contents

Attention: This circular has been superseded and is inactive.

SUBJECT: Dual Benefits - FERS Cost of Living Adjustments

For the second year in a row, there will not be a raise in the Social Security Administration (SSA) benefits for 2011. This is due to the fact that there was no increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of 2008 to the third quarter of 2010, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The CPI-W percentage of increase sets the amount of the SSA COLA, so the lack of increase results in no increase to SSA benefits.

Since there is no increase to account for, there will be no change to the amounts currently being offset for Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) Dual Benefits deductions.

The historical SSA cost of living adjustments are as follows:

DOUGLAS C. FITZGERALD
Director for
Federal Employees' Compensation

Distribution: List No. 1 - FolioViews Groups A, B and D (Claims Examiners, All Supervisors, District Medical Advisors, Systems Managers, Technical Assistants, Rehabilitation Specialists, Staff Nurses and Fiscal)

Back to Top of FECA Circular No. 11-02

Back to Table of Contents

Attention: This circular has been superseded and is inactive.

SUBJECT: Current Interest Rates for Prompt Payment Bills and Debt Collection

The interest rate to be assessed for the prompt payment bills is 2.625 percent for the period of January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011. This new rate has been updated in the Central Bill Payment system tables. The rate for assessing interest charges on debts due the government has not changed. The interest rate for assessing interest charges on debts due the government remains 1.0 percent for the period of January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011. Ordinarily, the rate of interest charged on debts due the U.S. Government is only changed in January, and is effective for the entire year. However, the rate may be changed in July if there is a difference in the Current Value of Funds (CVF) interest rate of more than two percent. The rate will be reviewed on July 1, 2011 to determine if the Treasury has changed the rate. Attached to this Circular is an updated listing of both the Prompt Payment and Debt Management interest rates from January 1, 1985 through the current date.

Periodically, a question is raised as to whether the Prompt Payment Act (PPA) applies to situations where a request for payment is submitted by medical providers seeking reimbursement for services provided to federal employees under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA). The answer is no, as the PPA applies only to federal procurement contracts. It does not extend to the government's financial obligations that are statutory or regulatory in nature. 5 C.F.R. §§ 1315.1(a) - 1315.2(g); New York Guardian Mortgagee Corp. v. United States, 916 F.2d 1558 (Fed. Cir. 1990) (declining to award interest to mortgage company seeking interest on delayed payments made under VA mortgage-guarantee program); see also Boers v. United States, 243 F.3d 561, 2000 WL 1475538 at *3 (Fed. Cir. 2000) (unpublished) (declining to award interest on benefits under the Dairy Indemnity Payment Program administered by the Agriculture Department). The Prompt Payment Act does not apply to medical providers' invoices under FECA because the agency's obligation to pay arises not out of an enforceable procurement contract between medical providers and the agency, but rather out of a statutory obligation to injured federal employees. See 5 U.S.C. § 8103. The relationship between OWCP and treating medical providers under FECA is not contractual. The enrollment process does not result in any sort of agreement between the medical provider and OWCP; it merely informs medical providers of the procedures for seeking payment for services rendered to injured federal employees.

DOUGLAS C. FITZGERALD
Director for Federal Employees' Compensation

Attachments

Distribution No. 2--Folioviews Groups A, B, and D (Claims Examiners, All Supervisors, District Medical Advisors, Technical Assistants, Rehabilitation Specialists, Staff Nurses and Fiscal Personnel)

Back to Top of FECA Circular No. 11-03

Back to Top of FECA Circular No. 11-03

Back to Table of Contents