Health Benefits Asst - Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration

Summary Truman VA Medical Center 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. Responsibilities This position is within the Health Administration Service at the Truman VA Medical Center in Columbia, Mo, which is a Complexity Level 1c facility. Health Benefits Assistant receives and processes applicants for admission and outpatient treatment. Schedules appointments, determines eligibility and routes patients applying for care. Assigns admitting patients to wards and notifies wards of pending admissions and verifies information is correct. Primary duty is to interview Veterans, or their designated representative, in order to collect demographic information relative to their finances, insurance, address, work history, etc. This information serves as a basis for determining entitlement to medical care as well as bill preparation and collections on billable episodes of inpatient and outpatient care. Accurate and complete data collection is essential to proper processing of third party collection requirements as mandated by law. Contacts may be in person, by telephone, or by mail, and require timely and accurate input into the VA data base system. Incumbent will maintain workload reports relative to these duties. Advise Veterans of their entitlement to various medical benefits and discuss copayment requirements of Veterans in discretionary categories. Extensive knowledge of the Medical Center and Unit policies is required in order to respond to inquiries from Veterans, and to provide orientation and training to new staff members. Health Benefits Assistant is responsible for researching and handling complex questions relative to their area of expertise referred by the supervisor. Health Benefits Assistant is expected to have extensive knowledge of the hospital admitting procedures and policies, entering in patients information into VISTA for hospital admissions, and gathering information for said admission into the facility. Health Benefits Assistant is expected to provide exceptional customer service by exceeding the customer's expectations with respect and concern; focusing on the details of the customer's needs and helps the customer arrive at a satisfactory solution to the problem. Health Benefits Assistant participates in the facility's Outreach events, promoting the VA. These events may be outside the normal tour of duty. Health Benefits Assistant also gives on-the-job training to new employees in accordance with established procedures and practices. Instructs employees on changes in work procedures. Provides written instructions/documentation of changes. Maintain current informational knowledge base and answers questions of other employees on procedures, policies, directives, etc. and obtains needed information or decisions from supervisor on problems. Health Benefits Assistant may serve on various hospital committees and/or VISN or national work groups relative to his/her position, or at the request of the supervisor. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Position Description/PD#: Health Benefits Assistant; 03943-A Financial Disclosure Report: Not required References: Please provide "References" with application. At a minimum two current or former supervisors or from individuals who were in a position of a professional nature. Indicated if the Hiring Manager may contact. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/30/2024. Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one (1) 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: providing clerical support in a hospital ward, knowledge of patient admissions(determining eligibility) and outpatient processing procedures. Typical positions that would lead to this experience include, but are not limited to medical clerk, eligibility clerk, and travel clerk. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a bachelor's degree or four years of successfully completed college study leading to a bachelor's degree. (Copy of Transcript Required). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-5 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-5. 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 Management Computer Skills Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Decision Making Problem Solving 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: The work is primarily clerical; however, some walking, standing, bending and lifting is required. 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. Additional Information Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members. For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document. If you are unable to apply online view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.