Health Benefits Assistant at Veterans Health Administration

About the role

This position is assigned to the Veterans Service Center in the Business Office of the Health Administration Service under the oversight of the Assistant Medical Center Director. The incumbent performs a broad range of administrative activities in support of a business unit that administers health and related benefits within an integrated system of VA healthcare resources and healthcare access points. MAJOR DUTIES: Health Benefits Enrollment and Eligibility Advisor: Advises regulations and policies determining the eligibility of Veterans for VA Healthcare. Responds to technical questions regarding patients' administrative rights and situational eligibility. Provides Veterans both verbal and written information regarding non-medical benefits and refers Veterans to are VBA Benefits Counselors for clams as appropriate. Decedent Affairs Administration: Responsible for all administrative functions related to the Decedent Affairs program including details of patient death cases occurring within the Medical Center. Serves as the liaison between Medicare Center staff, next of kin, and other related parties. Admissions: Will be responsible for monitoring and processing admissions and transfer of inpatients from clinics and the Emergency Room accurately and in a timely manner. Is required to determine eligibility for inpatient status, including medical, surgical, behavioral health, domiciliary, and long term care and alerting management/admitting provider regarding ineligible patients submitted for admission. Note: The above is not an exhaustive list of duties and you will be expected to perform additional tasks as necessitated by the supervisor or designee. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 4:30pm. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Benefits Assistant/PD14181A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/31/2026. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education s described below: 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~ This position includes a Selective Placement Factor (skill, knowledge, ability or other worker characteristics basic to - and essential for - satisfactory performance of the job). Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. The Selective Placement Factor for this position is: Experience in organizing paper and electronic files, correspondence, data entry, and reporting ~AND~ Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the Program Support Assistant in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: providing clerical, technical, or customer support, receiving and referring phone calls, communicating and treating customers in a courteous, tactful and respectful manner while providing consistent information according to established policies and procedures, and using computer programs to prepare correspondence and manage documents, OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have four (4) above high school, OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education. 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 A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. A Quality Ranking Factors* has also been requested by the facility to help determine which of the basically qualified applicants are likely to be better qualified for a position. The quality ranking factor for this position is: "Experience in organizing paper and electronic files, correspondence, data entry, and reporting" 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/. You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required. Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.