EPN361 - Scheme Medical Advice Services - New framework agreement effective from 1 July 2013

Date posted: 01/08/2013

Audience

This Notice will be of particular interest to:

• Staff responsible for referring cases to the Scheme Medical

Adviser

• Departmental Occupational Health Providers
• Staff responsible for paying the Scheme Medical Adviser

Action

• To note changes to fees
• To note that there are plans for the Scheme Medical Adviser to move to an electronic referral system, away from the current paper-based system. This will later reduce the fees being charged.
• To note that existing referral forms and medical adviser literature are not changing, and should continue being used.

Timing

• The new framework agreement came into effect from 1 July 2013. New fees will apply to all work carried out by the Scheme Medical Adviser on or after that date.

1. Where access to benefits under the Civil Service Pension and Compensation arrangements is dependent upon medical advice the sole provider of this advice is the Scheme Medical Adviser (SMA).
2. Cabinet Office, Scheme Management Executive (SME) appoints the SMA and sets up a framework agreement for providing their services to PCSPS employers and the scheme pension administrator, MyCSP Limited.
3. Following a competitive tender exercise Capita Health and Wellbeing (formerly Capita Health Solutions) has been reappointed as SMA. The new framework agreement came into effect on 1 July 2013.
4. Revised fees
   A tariff of the revised fees is attached. The first column (Unit Price – Paper Submission) is the fee that CHW will begin charging for cases opened on or after 1 July 2013. Where a case is in progress on 1 July, this will be charged at the old rate.
   Although the new charges will apply from 1 July, Capita will suppress the billing of those cases that are due to be billed at the new rates until after September so that Employers can prepare for the changes in rates. This means there will be a catch up in
   billing in October. However, in the meantime, in order to prevent any backlog of cases Capita will ratify the validity of all ‘new rate transactions’ closed in the period July to September, in real time in readiness to bill in October.
5. The second column in the tariff is the fee that CHW will be charging if PCSPS employers use the company’s on-line portal. This is being designed specifically for the scheme’s use, allowing PCSPS employers to submit cases electronically and track
   progress. This new system will require piloting before rolling out and being offered to PCSPS employers. We are planning to be able to provide all PCSPS employers with access to the new system before the end of 2013.
6. Employers should take this opportunity to provide CHW with up to date contacts for invoice queries. Updates should be sent to matthew.archer@capita.co.uk Employers who have invoice queries, need case updates or escalation of issues should use the following contacts:
   
   

   Invoice Queries	Matthew Archer matthew.archer@capita.co.uk
   Case Updates	referralsihr@capita.co.uk
   Escalation	Peter Firmo peter.firmo@capita.co.uk

    

7. We will be updating the Employers’ Pension Guide with the new fees tariff in due course.

Contacts

You can find electronic copies of the Employers’ Pension Guide, all current EPNs and forms on our website.

Enquiries about the distribution or content of this EPN, or to receive it in a different format, should be sent to SMEEmployers@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk

This notice is for employers and should not be issued to scheme members.

If members have any queries about their scheme, you should direct them your MyCSP Pension Service Centre for information.

Attachments

• Annex A - New contract prices