Claims
There is no limit to the number of requests. Agencies may incur costs for the requisite hardware and software (see Equipment Requirements list).
The main charge to the user will be telephone line usage charges incurred while on-line, receiving, or transmitting information.
The only charge payable to Fiscal Service will be for copies of checks that are older than 18 months (following the date of issuance) which is also done in today's environment. The current cost is $5.50.
Fiscal Service is developing a cost strategy for check copies in an imaging environment.
Yes. A FPA can use PACER On-Line for selected claims while continuing to use a batch process for the rest.
No. OPAC will be received and viewed via GOALS--OPAC as is done today. Microfiche will continue to be sent to agencies.
No. Agency Claim Number is now referred to as Agency Reference Number to be consistent with CP&R terminology.
It's optional when you are creating claims on-line or in batch but required for paper SF-1184s.
Yes. If the check is outstanding, turnaround time will be 48 to 72 hours.
PACER On-Line will be able to provide check and initial claim status information immediately.
Daily Advice of Status for check claims will be provided within 48 hours.
For agency claims (A and F stops) the check claim form will be mailed back to the agency.
For payee claims, the check claim form is mailed to the payee, unless the agency has made arrangements with Fiscal Service to have it mailed to the agency.
PACER On-Line will not significantly shorten the reclamation process.
Some efficiencies will be gained, but the length of the recovery time is largely beyond our control. The recovery process is governed by the financial institutions, not by PACER On-Line.
The second trace is not automatic. It must be requested by the Federal Program Agency.
Currently, EFT Claims are not supported by PACER On-Line.
Financial institutions govern the EFT trace process.
PACER On-Line will process trace requests promptly but cannot influence how long it will take the Federal Reserve Bank or a financial institution to provide status on the item.
Currently, EFT Claims are not supported by PACER On-Line.
Yes. PACER On-Line and GOALS can be accessed from the same PC.
The credit will be returned to the agency in the next daily cycle, if there is no problem matching a check to an issue record.
Yes. SF-3859s are Claims Disposition Notices (CDN) which are used in the Check Claim Adjudication process.
This process is not being changed by PACER On-Line.
No. Detail cancellation will not change under PACER. Information will be processed as it is today.
Yes. This will remain a TRACS process and will not change.
None. The processes will remain the same.
No. Fiscal Service is exploring the possibility of eliminating the SF-1184 at some point in the future.
We encourage agencies to take advantage of the improved levels of service provided by PACER On-Line or large file batch processing.
Payments issued after the implementation of PACER On-line will be available for on-line claims initiation.
Claims against payments issued prior to the implementation of PACER On-Line will be handled as they are today.
Yes. The part of the claim process that PACER On-Line addresses will improve significantly.
For example, an agency will be able to determine check status immediately. Currently, the SF-1184 process used in determining check status may take from six to eight weeks. The time it takes to submit a claim through the SF-1184 process and mail the claim form to the agency or payee falls within the same time frame.
PACER On-Line provides Daily Advice of Status (DAS) on-line within 48 hours. The claims form will be mailed to the agency or payee within 7 working days after the claim is submitted to PACER On-Line.
In both these cases, the level of service will improve significantly. In some cases, the amount of time will have decreased from weeks to instant check status and in others from 6 to 8 weeks to 48 hours for DAS, and from 6 to 8 weeks to 7 days for the mailing of a claim form.
For agencies that take advantage of the Digital Check Imaging capability of PACER On-Line, copies of checks will be available immediately if the image is resident at Fiscal Service or within 24 hours if the image must be requested from the Federal Reserve Archive.
The current process for agencies using the SF-1184 falls within the 6 to 8-week time frame.
PACER On-Line will not affect this process. It will be handled the same as it was before PACER On-Line.