The purpose of the position is to serve as Health Benefits Assistant(s), also known as the Health Benefit Advisor(s), for the Health Benefits and Processing (HB&P) section of Health Administration Service (HAS) at the Phoenix VA Healthcare System (PVAHCS). The incumbent(s) is responsible for a wide range of assignments and provides a high level of administrative and data support to HB&P, HAS, and the PVAHCS; to include the Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs).

Duties

Duties include but are not limited to: Serve as advisors and experts to the HAS Section Chiefs and support the management information components of all health eligibility related programs. Entering data and information, when necessary, but also reviewing reports, records and statistical computations for accuracy and propriety. Review, verify, and analyze data submitted for consistency with financial and program objectives, and adherence to VA directives. Assist the Public Affairs Office as well as other Services at Phoenix VAMC with community activities such as Health Fairs, Homeless Veterans Stand Downs, Post Deployment Health Re-assessment (PDHRA) and Tribal Community Outreach programs. Interview patients applying for medical benefits. Verify eligibility/entitlement for benefits of all applicants using various methods including income assessments, military discharge documents, Veterans Information Solution (VIS), Enrollment System Redesign (ESR) and other means such as communications with VA Regional Office, VA Records Processing Centers and HEC Health Eligibility Center. Review various financial documents to include tax forms, bank records, and SSI/SSDI forms. Advise the veterans of their entitlement to various medical benefits and discusses co-payment requirements of veterans in discretionary categories. Extreme tact, diplomacy and privacy are required to explain complicated laws in this area. Extensive knowledge of the Medical Center and policies is required to respond to inquiries from veterans, Medical Center staff and other agencies regarding applying for care, eligibility, and Beneficiary Travel, etc. Ensure proper identification is utilized when processing the Veterans card according to national guidance. Monitor enrolled patient data base information on a regular basis (at a minimum, annually) to perform updates to health insurance data, income assessments for the Means Test and Pharmacy Co-pay Exemption programs as mandated by law. Provide exceptional customer service by exceeding the customer's expectations. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 07:30am-04:00pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Benefits Assistant/PD10227A Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/22/2023. 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-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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 as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Providing customer service to patients/veterans; performing clerical and technical work related to medical records and benefits; performing routine administrative procedures; establishing and maintaining filing and reference systems; utilization of office automation software and establishing priorities and setting deadlines; dealing with patient administration, computer systems, scanning documents, reports and participating with written and oral presentations. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service (Clerical/Technical), Health Information Exchange, and Interpersonal Skills 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: This is primarily a sedentary position, but the work requires some walking, bending, stooping, lifting, and carrying objects such as manuals, documents, etc. The position requires constant viewing of a computer. Concentration and sustained performance under prolonged stress is required because of the time factors involved in completion of work assignments within deadlines. Occasionally veterans may be angry and potentially violent 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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Contacts

• Address Carl T Hayden Veterans' Administration Medical Center 650 East Indian School Road Phoenix, AZ 85012 US
• Name: Christine Cline
• Phone: 401-525-2588
• Email: [email protected]