Location: Buffalo,NY, USA
Summary The Western NY VA Healthcare system is currently recruiting for one Program Support Assistant for the Buffalo location in the Business office. This position performs a broad range of complex administrative activities in support of access to healthcare related benefits; enrollment, eligibility determination and travel services. Responsibilities Major Program Support Assistant (OA) duties include Health Benefits Enrollment and Eligibility Advisor: Advises applicants of the health care benefits they are legally entitled to in person and over the phone, initiates administrative processes for establishing care, adjudicates eligibility when discrepancies exist, and notifies appropriate healthcare personnel accordingly. Decedent Affairs Duties: Responsible for all administrative functions related to the Decedent Affairs program including details of patient death cases occurring within the Medical Center. Serves as a liaison between Medical Center staff, next of kin, organ/body donation recovery units and funeral directors. Beneficiary Travel Advisor: Demonstrates working knowledge and technical proficiency in Beneficiary Travel program administration using eligibility criteria and regulatory authorities to appropriately administer program benefits to eligible patients and caretakers. Prepares and processes claims for travel reimbursement, authors vouchers to reimburse travel cost to eligible beneficiaries and communicates eligibility criteria to the patient. HOPTEL: Perform administrative responsibilities in management of Hoptel services. Ensure guest meet eligibility requirements and are able to independently function in the Hoptel environment according to orders/Hoptel notes. 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. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday- Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm Ad-hoc Telework: Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant (OA)/PD21T53A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment 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. You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See Required Documents below for details. Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See Additional Information below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/27/2024. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Program Support Assistant (OA) , GS-05 grade: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-04 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: Responsible for 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, Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-05 level. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have four (4) years above high school. OR, Applicants may also have a combination of education and experience to qualify at the GS-05 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 A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Program Support Assistant (OA) , GS-06 grade: 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. Specialized experience includes: Ability to analyze, evaluate, and provide recommendations on administrative issues; Ability to apply eligibility principles to gather information, determine entitlement, process applications and claims, and coordinate benefit needs; Ability to monitor, track, audit, and implement corrective actions across all managed programs; Skill in operating multiple computer systems and applications to accurately enter or extract information; Ability to manage funds in regard to billing and travel; Administrative support such as preparing responses to correspondence, scheduling appointments and meetings, tracking time and attendance, and generating reports. There is no educational substitution for the GS-06 level. Physical Requirements: The work involves mostly administrative processing which requires standing, walking, sitting, stooping, bending, lifting light objects, answering the telephone and retrieving and entering data into various computer programs and databases. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at 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: 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: Additional Information Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act (or the Act) prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from requesting applicant criminal history record information before extending a conditional or tentative offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S.C 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Act, may submit a written complaint within 30 calendar days of the date of the alleged non-compliance to VA at ...@va.gov. Applicant written complaints should include the following: Administration name: Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), National Cemetery Administration (NCA) or VA Central Office (VACO) (for example, Human Resources Service Center). Office name, employee name and contact information or contractor who made contact (if known). Date of contact. Details regarding the job opportunity announcement applied to, and copies of any documents or other evidence related to the complaint. Visit Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) (va.gov) for more information. Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.