The BA, BTE, PETE, or fee reviewer, or other designated PC position certifies direct
payment to the representative, or entity if there is a valid assignment per GN 03920.021, after we authorize a fee for administrative-level services based on a fee petition,
or to the court attorney after the court authorizes a fee. In addition to following
the procedures in GN 03930.060, the BA, BTE, or PETE must ensure that we collect the correct assessment amount and
provide notice.
As explained in GN 03930.066D, some situations require manual input to override the SPS automated assessment calculation
and deduction.
SPS calculates and deducts the assessment correctly in fee petition or court authorized
fee cases when:
There is one representative and one fee payment.
There are multiple representatives, including those who assigned their right to receive
direct payment of their administrative fee, and we authorized each the same fee amount.
In these situations, as the PC technician, you must:
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Identify the appropriate assessment paragraph to be included in the fee payment notice
that goes to the claimant and the representative or court attorney (refer to the notice
chart in GN 03920.019K.); and
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Provide the variable fill-in information.
2. Override SPS Assessment Calculation
Refer to GN 03930.066D. to determine the situations in which you must override the automated assessment calculation
and deduction.
To override the SPS-calculated assessment, take the following MADCAP/SPS Online (manual)
actions:
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Refer to the SPS or PHUS query, as necessary, to determine whether there has been
a previous assessment.
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Manually calculate the correct assessment.
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For MADCAP actions ONLY, input code “03” (standard assessment does not apply) in the
MACADE Attorney Payment Indicator field on the ATT screen to put a hold on the fee
payment (see SM 00842.016).
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The next day, access the SPS Payment Transaction Menu (SPPT) and in the Choose Option
field, select 2 – update, to update a previously established representative fee record
in payment held status. (This takes you to the Attorney Fee Payment (APAY) screen.)
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On the APAY screen, if multiple representatives are involved, enter the number of
representatives; the “Number of Attorneys on the SSN” field will not be pre-filled.
(The completed APAY screen leads to the Payment Action (PACT) screen.)
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On the PACT screen, override the calculated assessment in the “User Fee” field (9-M)
with the manually calculated assessment; select Payment Action 1, Issue Check.
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Return to SPPT screen. The SPPT screen appearance indicates that the fee will be paid
that evening.
Refer to MS 05701.001 and SM 00834.000 for guidance on using SPS.
If you have prorated and reduced the assessment deducted from a previously paid fee
because you are paying an additional fee to another representative or entity with
a valid assignment after an authorization based on a fee petition or to a court attorney
after a court award, take the following additional actions:
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Authorize a check or EFT in the amount of the assessment reduction to be issued to
the representative who received the previous fee payment or authorize an EFT in the
amount of the assessment reduction to be issued to the entity with a valid assignment.
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Update PHUS to correct the assessment for the previous payment.
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Send an explanatory notice to the representative who received the previous payment.
Refer to GN 03930.066D.2.b. for sample language.