ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF:   BOARD DATE:  4 August 2020 DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20180008803 


APPLICANT REQUESTS: in effect, retroactive contract to show he was eligible for Health Professions Officer (HPO) Incentive Pays (IP) effective on 1 January 2017 through 28 January 2018: 

.Board Certification Pay

.Incentive Pay



APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: 

DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) 

FACTS: 

1.The applicant states he should have been able to execute a HPO IP contracteffective 1 January 2017 at the initial residency rate.  He was at an off-site location withlimited email access.  When he returned, he contacted the proper personnel to pursuethe new contract.  No records of any contract executed at the time were seen despitemonths of him emailing it in.  He would request a retroactive contract back to
1 January 2017 through 28 January 2018.  A new contract was made for29 January 2018 to the time of his application.  He emailed the correct personnelmultiple times inquiring about the steps he needed to perform to secure the new rate.When work was delegated to a new person, he sent additional emails and attemptedcalling many times to follow up on the progress.  Eventually, it was sent up the chainand he was informed no contract had been placed previously.

2.The applicant's service record contains the following documents for the Board'sconsideration:

a.A USAREC Form 1131 (Department of the Army Service Agreement F. EdwardHebert Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program), which shows the applicant was accepted for admission as a full-time student leading to a degree in Medicine.  For the scholarship he would serve 4 years on extended active duty.  The scholarship was signed on 19 September 2011. 

b.A DA Form 5074-R (Record of Award of Entry Grade Credit (Medical and DentalOfficers)), which shows the applicant was in the Medical Corps as a Doctor of Medicine (MD)and he qualified for an entry grade of Captain (CPT).  The form was prepared on8 January 2015.

c.A DA Form 71 (Oath of Office - Military Personnel), which shows the applicanttook the oath of office and appointed as a CPT in the Regular Army Medical Corps on 27 May 2015. 

d.A letter from the American Board of Family Medicine, dated June 2018, whichshows the applicant passed the 2018 Family Medicine Certification Examination on  
13 April 2018 and was a certified Diplomate of the American Board of Family Medicine. 

e.A memorandum for the Surgeon General, Subject:  Request for HPO BCP, whichshows: 

.he was entering into the agreement effective 15 August 2018 and it expiredon 30 September 2028

.he would get BCP at the rate of $6,000 a year paid on a monthly basis

.his specialty was Family Practice

.the board name was American Board of Medical Specialties

.the board effective date was 15 August 2018

.the board expiration date was 30 September 2028

.he and the approval authority signed the form on 7 February 2019



f.A State of Official License Record, which shows the applicant was alicensed Physician.  The license was issued on 16 June 2017 and expired on 
 31 October 2019.  

g.A memorandum for the Surgeon General, Subject:  Request for HPO IP, whichshows: 

.his specialty was Family Practice - Family Medicine

.the period of continued active duty was effective 1 October 2018

.he would get IP at the rate of $43,000 a year paid on a monthly basis

.he and the approval authority signed the form on 13 February 2019



h.The applicant's service record is void of a memorandum for the Surgeon Generalrequesting for 1 January 2017 through 28 January 2018. 

3.The applicant's application indicates he included email correspondence for theBoard's consideration; however, they were not attached to his application.

4.See applicable references below.

BOARD DISCUSSION: 

The Board carefully considered the complete evidentiary record, including the applicant’s statement and supporting documents and found sufficient evidence to grant relief.  The Board considered the advisory opinion from the Office of the Surgeon General that states the officer was eligible for the Residency rate HPO IP at $8,000/year effective 20170101-20180127; however, officer was also in receipt of the Residency rate VSP at $5,000/year, which the HPO IP replaced. If authorized the HPO IP, the overlapping period is 20170101-20180127, and the difference due officer for the 387– days is approximately $3,225. The exact arrears payment would be determined by DFAS–IN after any withholdings.  The Board agreed that the applicantmet the criteria for award of HPOIP from 1 January 2017 through 28 January 2018.  Therefore, the board determined that full relief was warranted. 



BOARD VOTE: 

Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 

: : : GRANT FULL RELIEF 

: : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

: : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING 

: : : DENY APPLICATION 


BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: 

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: 



1.showing that the applicant timely executed and submitted his HPOIP requestcontract effective 1 January 2017 through 28 January 2018, that his Personnel Officeduly processed his request in a timely manner, and2.paying his any HPOIP due, less the period of overlap with VSP, in the amountdetermined after review by Office of the Surgeon General.


X

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. 


REFERENCES: 

1.DoDI 7000.14-R (Financial Management Regulation) Volume 71, Chapter 5 (HPOSpecial and Incentive Pay) States:

a.For BCP, the Health Professional Officer must:

(1)Be serving in an Active Component (AC) or an RC of a Military Service andentitled to basic pay under Title 37, United States Code (U.S.C.), section 204 or compensation pursuant to 37 U.S.C. § 206 

(2)Be serving on AD or in an active Reserve status in a designated healthprofessional clinical specialty 

(3)Have a post-baccalaureate degree in a clinical specialty (a post Master'scertificate acceptable to the Secretary concerned can satisfy this requirement) 

(4)Be certified by a professional board in a designated health profession clinicalspecialty.  The annual amount payable is $6,000, to be prorated monthly. 

2.DoDI 7000.14-R (Financial Management Regulation) Volume 7A, Chapter 5 (HPOSpecial IP) states in Table 5-4 a Family Practice Physician would receive IP in theamount of $43,000 per year on a prorated monthly basis.

3.Title 37 U.S.C. 335 (Special Bonus Incentive Pay) states the Secretary of the Armymay pay Health Professions Incentive Pay to an officer in a regular or reservecomponent of a uniformed service who is entitled to basic pay under section 204 of thistitle or compensation under section 206 of this title and is serving on active duty or in anactive status in a designated health profession specialty or skill.  Health Professionsbonus paid may not exceed $100,000 for each 12-month period of obligated service.To receive a bonus under this section, an officer determined to be eligible for the bonusshall enter into a written agreement with the Secretary concerned that specifies, theamount of the bonus; the method of payment of the bonus under subsection (e)(2)(lump sum or installments); the period of obligated service; whether the service will beperformed on active duty in an active status in or in a Reserve Component.