"Notice to Rescind, IHM Circulars 79-02, 83-03, 88-07, 88-10; DOA Personnel #26, and SGM 95-03

Refer to: OHR

This notice rescinds the following Indian Health Service (IHS) Indian Health Manual (IHM) policies:

Circular 79-02, “Leave Without Pay Detail of IHS Professional Staff,” dated March 30, 1979.

Obsolete, as provisions are no longer applicable: Currently, Commissioned Officers are not placed in a Long-Term Training Agreement process and are no longer placed on Leave Without Pay status. An Officer is officially detailed through the use of a Memorandum of Agreement to institutions of higher learning, professional organizations, state, or local governments. This circular is no longer needed as the information is outdated and has been replaced with a formal package submission process through Commissioned Corps Headquarters.

Circular 83-03, “Filling Area Director and Program Office Positions,” dated March 9, 1983. The circular outlines a hiring process pertaining to GM¹ pay plans, in accordance with the Performance Management and Recognition System (PMRS). The PMRS system and GM positions were terminated as a result of Public Law 103-89, effective November 1, 1993. After the passage of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 and the termination of GM positions, effective November 1, 1993, IHS Area Director and Program Office positions, otherwise known as Office Directors, were elevated to the Senior Executive Service (SES). The process outlined in Circular 83-03 does not follow established SES hiring requirements and procedures and is therefore obsolete. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Human Resources Guidance OHR-05-2019 outlines the current process for filling SES-level positions with the Indian Health Service.

¹GM - Employees covered by the General Schedule classification and pay system who are covered by the Performance Management and Recognition System (PMRS) termination provisions of Public Law 103-89 (former PMRS employees).

Circular 88-07, “Time and Attendance Card Administration IHS Headquarters, Rockville, Maryland,” dated July 25, 1988. The Time and Attendance process has evolved into an electronic platform for Commissioned Corps Officers. The Electronic Commissioned Officer Resources Processing System has replaced the paper forms. Paper timecards represented in this Circular are obsolete and no longer needed for Commissioned Corps Officers’ timekeeping.

Circular 88-10, “Commissioned Officer Authorization for Actual Expense Allowance,” dated October 13, 1988. Travel and Transportation Allowance for Expenses (Actual or Fixed) are provided through the Joint Travel Regulation. All Travel and Transportation requests for payments are not processed through IHS and is no longer submitted to CCHQ. This process has become electronic. The current Circular is no longer needed and outdated and can be removed as the process is completed in the areas and not at Headquarters.

Delegation of Authority, Personnel Delegation #26, “Delegation of Authority for Physicians Comparability Allowance” dated November 21, 1994. Since the institution of Title 38 Physician and Dentist Pay (T38 PDP) in the early 2000s, which includes a flexible market pay component to physician salaries, there has been no reason for the IHS to provide the physicians comparability allowance. This allowance is less flexible and less lucrative than T38 PDP and is for agencies that do not have T38 PDP compensation authority. This Personnel Delegation #26 is no longer needed.

Special General Memorandum (SGM) 95-03, “Delegation of Personnel Management Authorities for the Indian Health Service Area Personnel Offices,” dated May 11, 1995. The HHS updates this authority when there is a new presidential administration or a change in the Assistant Secretary for Administration position or the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Resources. The latest delegation was signed into effect on June 9, 2022, making the SGM 95-03 obsolete.

Please discard your copies and any file copies of the above-listed IHM policies at your earliest convenience.

/P. Benjamin Smith/
P. Benjamin Smith, M.B.A., M.A.
Acting Director
Indian Health Service

Distribution:  IHS-wide
Date: 03/05/2025