Summary The Western NY VA Healthcare system is currently recruiting for one Program Support Assistant for the Buffalo location in the Service Center with 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. Work Schedule: Monday- Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position 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. Position Description Title/PD#: Program Support Asstistant/PD21T53A 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. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 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: 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. 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. 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. 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. A supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Participation in the seasonal influenza program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). It is a requirement that all HCP to receive annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain an exemption for medical or religious reasons. Wearing a face mask is required when an exemption to the influenza vaccination has been granted. HCP in violation of this directive may face disciplinary action up to and including removal from federal service. HCP are individuals who, during the influenza season, work in VHA locations or who come into contact with VA patients or other HCP as part of their duties. VHA locations include, but are not limited to, VA hospitals and associated clinics, community living centers (CLCs), community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs), domiciliary units, Vet centers and VA-leased medical facilities. HCP include all VA licensed and unlicensed, clinical and administrative, remote and onsite, paid and without compensation, full- and part-time employees, intermittent employees, fee basis employees, VA contractors, researchers, volunteers and health professions trainees (HPTs) who are expected to perform any or all of their work at these facilities. HPTs may be paid or unpaid and include residents, interns, fellows and students. HCP also includes VHA personnel providing home-based care to Veterans and drivers and other personnel whose duties put them in contact with patients outside VA medical facilities. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/. Receiving Service Credit for 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. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.