The incumbent of this position is located in the Business Office under Health Administration Service, Patient Benefits/Enrollment Unit Section under the supervision of the Supervisor, Patient Benefits. The incumbent is responsible for verifying and certifying the eligibility of applicants seeking health care or beneficiary travel benefits at this facility.

Duties

EKHCS is committed to Diversity and Inclusion. Together, we strive to create and maintain a working and learning environment that promotes professional growth and teamwork. We offer an inclusive, equitable, and welcoming environment where we celebrate our individual differences and unite as a team toward a common goal of providing outstanding service to our Nation's Veterans. Duties include but are not limited to: Incumbent receives and processes applicants for admission and outpatient treatment. Makes patient appointments and/or makes the determination as to the patient's eligibility for benefits. Conducts quality assurance reviews, summarizes the results and initiates corrective action to help expedite the processing of applications. Counsels patients, their families, and agency employees on entitlement to benefits. Interprets admission and outpatient policies to patients, their families and agency employees and veteran's organizations. Coordinates primary care team assignments for eligible veterans. Counsels patients on co-payment obligations for medical care and medications. Provides information and guidance to agency employees as requested. Conducts personal interviews with the applicants and/or their family or representative to obtain additional assistance in establishing eligibility when the normal method is unsuccessful and the veteran is seeking emergent medical care and has not been enrolled in the VA Health Care System. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Telework: Ad-Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Benefits Assistant/PD03862A 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, 01/19/2024. 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-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-03. 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-4 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience using computer systems and databases with multiple automated programs and software such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, Power Point. Ability to review documents for accuracy. Experience providing clerical support in a medical environment. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have Successfully completed four (4) years above the high school level in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. One year of fulltime academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-05. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and ManagementClient OrientationComputer SkillsCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical)Technical Credibility 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: Work is mostly sedentary and requires prolonged sitting and typing; Light lifting (under 15 pounds); Light carrying (under 15 pounds); Reaching above shoulder; Use of fingers; Both hands required; Walking (up to half hour); Standing (up to half hour); Kneeling (up to half hour); Repeated bending (up to half hour); Both legs required; Ability to read written material; Depth perception; Hearing (aid permitted). 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 readable 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System 2200 SW Gage Blvd Topeka, KS 66622 US
• Name: Randy Pass
• Phone: 913-682-2000 X62503
• Email: [email protected]