The Bath VA Medical Center has 1 vacancy for a Program Support Assistant in the Health Benefits Center. Responsibilities include: eligibility determination, program management, financial technician functions, basic Medical Cost Care Fund functions, transportation functions, beneficiary travel billing management, health benefit determination and counseling, subject matter expert to CBOC staff, data management, and Sharing Agreements, and some outreach opportunities.

Duties

Major duties include but are not limited to: The incumbent must maintain a thorough working knowledge and understanding of principles, concepts, policies, laws, regulations, and objectives applicable to an extensive variety of multiple complex and interacting VA and benefit programs including but not limited to: eligibility determination, health benefit counseling, financial assessment processes, co-payment responsibilities, Beneficiary Travel, Long-Term care eligibility, Community Care, Sharing Agreements such as TRICARE/ ChampVA. The incumbent receives, reviews, and processes new and recurring applications for Medical, Dental, Behavioral Heath, Geriatrics and Extended Care, Diagnostic and Therapeutics, outpatient, inpatient, and Long-Term care services, independently applying the appropriate unique regulatory authority to each program. Incumbent independently verifies eligibility for care utilizing primary sources including but not limited to HINQ, VIS, and/or military discharge papers. Responsibilities include financial data collection, data entry, analysis, and interpretation of initial and subsequent annual veteran financial assessments. Directly assist the veteran and/or family member in understanding and completing their financial assessment. Provide veterans with billing information and serve as primary contact for billing issues; includes research , identification, analysis, and resolution/ reconciliation utilizing the VISTA billing software to research individual billing information. Determine eligibility for travel at government expense, based upon applicable federal regulations and policies, for program benefits. Examines analyzes external documentation submitted for transportation reimbursement to determine if government expenditure is appropriate. Arranges all modes of of transportation. Involved in direct handling of cash items and the use of cash accountability control methods in support of the patient funds. Manages personal funds of patients on deposit at a VA Medical Center. Responsibilities include safekeeping of patient funds in PFOP accounts and ensuring adequate monitors and controls are in place. Incumbent coordinates the environmental exam process including Agent Orange. Persian Gulf, Ionizing Radiation Program, POW, and Project SHAD. Determines eligibility for death benefits. Prepares and processes death certificates and legal documents related to release of monies, valuables, and personal effects. Work Schedule: M-F 7:30AM - 4:00PM Telework: Not available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant/PD05933APCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not required. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/02/2024. 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 and 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: Extensive knowledge of laws, regulations, directive, and hospital memoranda, and an ability to interpret and apply regulatory guidelines to numerous Healthcare programs. Extensive knowledge of all regulations, directives, policies, and procedures governing all VSC programs. This includes: Enrollment and Registration, eligibility determination, bed control/ emergency room, Descendent Affairs, Beneficiary Travel, PFOP, billing, Hoptel, Environmental Exposure Program, Sharing Agreements such as TRICARE/ ChampVA, and Data integrity. Extensive knowledge in VISTA software packages. Thorough knowledge of email systems, MS office, spreadsheets, and other equipment. Thorough knowledge of medical administrative processes as they apply to eligibility and access to care is necessary for this position. Knowledge of how to facilitate our customers "use" of our services. Working knowledge of both Joint Commission and VA health information/ documentation requirements as applied to the inpatient/ outpatient setting. Knowledge of medical terminology and the ability to read and interpret written provider orders. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Computer SkillsCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical)FlexibilityProblem Solving 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: The work is administrative processing which requires standing, walking, sitting, stooping, bending, lifting light objects, answering telephone and data entry into VISTA. 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.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Bath VA Medical Center 76 Veterans Avenue Bath, NY 14810 US
• Name: Erika Weisbrod
• Phone: 680-216-8337
• Email: [email protected]