The Patient Services Assistant is in the Enrollment/Means Test Unit Section under the supervision of the Member Services Supervisor. The employee is responsible for verifying and certifying the legal eligibility of applicants seeking medical treatment and/or benefits. The position is located at the VA Medical Center located in Fargo, ND.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** Duties include but may not be limited to: Establishes legal entitlement to determine eligibility of applicants for healthcare benefits. Obtains and reviews insurance policies and plans. Serves as the key contact for veterans seeking guidance with eligibility inquiries, which may be regular and recurring contacts. Conducts interviews with applicants and family representatives to establish medical eligibility. Ensures documentation is obtained, verifying eligible medical and/or dental services can be provided. Interprets and explains issues such as deductibles, co-payments, length of stay and other matters to applicants. Investigates authorizations, orders, and/or utilizes the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) to review medical records, forwards for supervisory approval and submits all documents for payment utilizing appropriate control point for reference. Prepares eligibility notification documents regarding health and/or dental care qualifications. Communicates insurance and program information to eligible patients and explains denial of benefits in a diplomatic, professional manner. Prepares and forwards inquiries to the Regional Office for establishing eligibility and/or verifying service information to continue the process of the application. Processes applications received that are determined ineligible for VA Health Care. Manages the means testing and copay exemption test program. Utilizes a variety of office equipment and automated software. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicant(s) must meet the following qualifications: English Language Proficiency - In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position.-AND- SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Requires at least one (1) full year of specialized experience that equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the Patient Services Assistant position. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-04) in Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience with the laws and regulations pertaining to determining eligibility entitlement of applicants for health care and other benefits; obtaining and reviewing insurance policies and plans; interpreting/explaining issues such as deductibles, co-payments, length of stay and other matters; and utilizing a variety of office equipment and software. (Resume(s) must clearly support the duties and experience required for this position. We will not make assumptions regarding experience.) -OR- SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): Requires four (4) years of successfully completed education above the high school level in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. -OR- COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and specialized experience to meet total qualification requirements for this position. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Administrative LawClericalCommunicationsComputer Skills IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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. Physical Requirements: The work is mainly sedentary but requires some light walking, standing, bending, and lifting. The position requires constant viewing of a computer screen and hours of keyboarding daily. Infrequent walking to various locations of the Hospital with records of patients is necessary. 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

IMPORTANT: 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: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov).

Contacts

• Address Fargo VA Medical Center 2101 Elm Street Fargo, ND 58102 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]