The incumbent serves as Health Benefits Assistant in the Little Rock, Patient Eligibility an Intake Section of the Central business Office. The Health Benefits Assistant interviews applicants to determine eligibility and legal entitlement for healthcare.

Duties

Duties: Answer inquiries in person and via telephone from patients and/or families regarding eligibility for care, enrollment status, admissions, and beneficiary travel benefits. Serve as point of contact for clinical staff regarding eligibility and/or enrollment of patients. Interview individuals to obtain information to determine eligibility and legal entitlement for healthcare. Interpret and apply policies, regulations, and laws to insure Veterans meet eligibility requirements for benefits. Advise individuals and their beneficiaries or representatives of financial obligations, co-pay requirements, and their rights to appeal. Address a variety of benefits and/or obligations (medical benefits, co-pay requirements, medication benefits, dental benefits, lodging, etc.) Maintain familiarity with public laws pertaining to Veterans benefits, state commitment laws, worker's compensation, humanitarian services, reimbursable insurance, third party billing, privacy act and release of information. Enter information into computer system (patient registration, disposition, record tracking, appointment management, etc.) Request, receive and enter information into computer system. Exhibit tact and diplomacy during interactions with patients, staff, and co-workers. Communicate in person, via telephone, via electronic mail and through shared documents with coworkers and supervisors. This position is covered by AFGE bargaining unit. Per the AFGE Master Agreement, the Area of Consideration will be: 1st Area of Consideration - Current Facility and CBOC employees; 2nd Area of Consideration - VA Nationwide applicants; 3rd Area of Consideration - Other Status candidates VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: HR Specialist Total Rewards Work Schedule: Monday to Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. (Subject to change based on the needs of the Agency) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Benefits Assistant/PD04474A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/13/2023. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: entering patient/customer information into or searching for information in various databases or computer programs to track eligibility, enrollment status, demographic information(address, phone, emergency contact information); prepares written documents such as correspondence, memoranda, reports, pamphlets and etcetera of a routine nature; verifies eligibility/entitlement for benefits for all applicants using various methods; understands medical terminology and communicates with patients that are presenting for admissions; applies policies, laws, and regulations to daily; demonstrated strong computer skills and the ability to use many electronic database for complex claims processing procedures; experienced in using computer systems and Microsoft office products such as word, excel, PDF, ETC. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week.OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have four (4) years of education above the high school level in any field which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. Transcripts must be submitted at time of application. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of successfully completed post-high school education (beyond the second year) and specialized experience as described above, which meet the total experience requirements for this grade level. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. Experience must be clearly indicated in your resume. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Computer SkillsCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical)Technical Competence Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: Incumbent functions in a high stress area where there is constant demand for accuracy and services. Work involves sitting, standing, and walking throughout the assigned Unit and to adjoining Units. Some light carrying of forms and/or medical records is required. Incumbent may bend, stoop, or crouch when filling or retrieving records. He/she answers the telephone and types on the computer keyboard from a seated position. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address John L McClellan Memorial Veterans' Hospital 4300 West Seventh Street Little Rock, AR 72205 US
• Name: Tania Cruz
• Phone: 719-238-4358
• Email: [email protected]