BOARD DATE: 15 December 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160000582 BOARD VOTE: ________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ___x_____ ___x_____ __x___ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration BOARD DATE: 15 December 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160000582 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: 1. The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: a. showing the applicant applied for and was authorized payment of Non-Physician Board Certification Pay (NPBCP) for the period 1 January through 30 September 2015; and b. paying the applicant retroactive NPBCP for this period, utilizing a Health Professions Pay Entry Date or finance MS-Pay-Date of 20060630 for the correct pay rate. 2. The Board further determined the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief. As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to correcting the applicant's records to show she was authorized NPBCP for the period 1 October through 31 December 2015, as the Office of the Surgeon General has stated that this portion of the requested relief has already been granted. __________x________________ CHAIRPERSON I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. BOARD DATE: 15 December 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160000582 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant requests, in effect, correction of her records to show she applied for and was authorized payment of Non-Physician Board Certification Pay (NPBCP) for the period 1 January through 31 December 2015. 2. The applicant states she remained board certified after 31 December 2014 but her board pay stopped. She needs to be listed as board certified as she is still board certified. She needs to receive BCP from 1 January 2016 (sic) to present (her application is dated 20 December 2015). 3. The applicant provides copies of her American Midwifery Certification Board credentials and a memorandum for Human Resources (DASG-HR-P), Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Special Pay Branch, Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG), dated 9 December 2015, subject: Request for Specialty Registered Nurse Incentive Special Pay (RN ISP). CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant was initially appointed as a Reserve commissioned officer of the Army on or about 14 May 1993, as a second lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps. She was promoted to first lieutenant on or about 14 May 1995, captain on 1 August 1997, and major (MAJ) on 1 September 2003. 2. The applicant was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in May 1993. She attended and completed the AMEDD Officer Basic and Advanced Courses and the Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) Nursing Course. 3. The applicant was appointed as a Regular Army commissioned officer on 30 March 2004, as a MAJ in the Army Nurse Corps. 4. The applicant was awarded a Master of Science degree from Philadelphia University on 14 August 2006, with concentration in Midwifery. 5. The applicant was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 1 October 2009. 6. The applicant's records show she is a registered nurse (RN) who is licensed and was certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board on 30 June 2006. 7. The applicant's records contain and she provides a memorandum for Human Resources (DASG-HR-P), Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Special Pay Branch, Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG), dated 9 December 2015, subject: Request for Specialty Registered Nurse Incentive Special Pay (RN ISP). This document shows: * she attested to being a fully qualified specialty RN who is licensed and certified in her specialty * she is licensed in the State of Pennsylvania and her license does not expire until 31 December 2019 * she is nationally certified in the Midwifery specialty by the American Midwifery Certification Board * she agreed to serve a 36-month period of continuous active duty commencing on 15 November 2015 8. In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained on 24 February 2016 from OTSG, wherein the AMEDD Special Pay Branch Chief noted: a. Discussion. (1) The officer is requesting retroactive payment of NPBCP from 20150101 to date. The officer indicates she remained board certified; however, NPBCP stopped without notice. (2) The eligibility criteria for the discretionary category of NPBCP, under the authority of Title 37, U.S. Code, section 302c., requires the officer to hold the specialty identifier, to be board certified in that specialty by their national professional specialty board, and to be trained at the Master's Degree level of education for their specialty. In turn, requests for NPBCP are initiated by the officer through their supporting Human Resource/Personnel/S1 office. If board certification renewals are issued, they must also be submitted to ensure NPBCP continues uninterrupted. Receipt of monthly NPBCP can be verified by the officer reviewing their monthly Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) entitlements column. (3) Upon receipt of documentation and eligibility verification, this office initiated NPBCP payments at a rate of $2,000/year; payable $166.66/month effective 20151001, with a current expiration of 20191231. This period is the maximum authority this office has for NPBCP payments in arrears. There is no previous record of submission, authorization, or payment of NPBCP for the period 20150101-20150930. b. Advisory Opinion. A review of supporting documentation, and available special pay and finance data indicates the officer met all criteria. The officer would have been eligible to receive the discretionary NPBCP for the missing 9-month period of 20150101-20150930, if the officer submitted their renewal certification document effective 20150101-20191231. The retroactive payment for this total period is approximately $1,500 prior to withholding; exact payment to be determined by DFAS-IN utilizing a Health Professions Pay Entry Date (HPPED) or finance MS-Pay-Date of 20060630 for the correct pay rate. c. In accordance with Army Regulation 37-104-4 (Military Pay and Allowances Policy), Chapter 20 (Settlement Actions Resulting from Correction of Records by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR)) only the Director, Defense Finance and Accounting Service – Indianapolis (DFAS-IN) may make settlement actions affecting the military pay accounts of Soldiers as a result of correction of records by the ABCMR per the provisions of Army Regulation 15-185 (ABCMR). Therefore, any ABCMR relief granted should be addressed for action to the Corrections – Claims Section, DFAS-IN. 9. The advisory opinion was forwarded to the applicant on 1 March 2016 for information and to allow her the opportunity to submit any comments or a rebuttal. She did not respond. REFERENCES: Title 37, U.S. Code, Section 302c (Special pay: psychologists and nonphysician health care providers) provides guidance related to eligibility for NPBCP, an incentive to retain high-quality health care providers in the Military Departments. Sub-section (d) provides, in pertinent part, that eligibility for the NPBCP is limited to those officers: * in the Medical Service Corps of the Army designated as a non-physician health care provider * who are health care providers in a clinical specialty that is privilegeable * who have a post-baccalaureate degree in their clinical specialty * who are certified by a professional board in their clinical specialty DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant's request for correction of her records to show she applied for and was authorized payment of NPBCP for the period 1 January through 31 December 2015 was carefully considered. 2. The applicant contends, in effect, that she remained board certified after 31 December 2014; however, her board certification pay stopped. The applicant was and is a fully qualified specialty RN who is licensed and certified in her specialty. She is licensed in the State of Pennsylvania. She was licensed and certified on 1 January 2015 and her current license does not expire until 31 December 2019. 3. The applicant's records show she submitted a request for NPBCP in 2015; however, it appears the submitted request pertained to her agreement to serve a 36-month period of continuous active duty commencing on 15 November 2015. According to the OTSG-provided advisory opinion, that office initiated NPBCP payments at a rate of $2,000/year; payable $166.66/month effective 1 October 2015. 4. The applicant's record lacks a request for NPBCP for the period 1 January through 31 December 2015. Based on the applicant's request, finance data, and the supporting documentation, OTSG officials determined the applicant was eligible for receive the discretionary NPBCP for the period 1 January through 30 September 2015. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150017490 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160000582 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2