Medical Support Assistant (Patient Registration)

Summary Located at Wewoka Indian Health Center, this position provides registration and eligibility services by working directly with patients to obtain, verify, and process demographic and third-party resource information. In this role, you will assist in maintaining accurate patient information and deliver customer service to support patient care. A REAL ID will be required beginning May 7, 2025, in accordance with 6 C.F.R. 37.5 (2021). Responsibilities Interviews patients to obtain, verify, and update accurate patient registration information. Determines patient eligibility for healthcare services and establishes Purchased/Referred Care eligibility status. Perform patient and administrative support by receiving patients and visitors, answering and routing telephone calls, responds to medical, personnel and administrative inquiries, and schedules and/or checks in patients for appointments Creates and maintains the disposition of medical records in accordance with established procedures while reviewing records for completeness and accuracy. Perform assigned responsibilities that support revenue-cycle and third-party resource activities for billing and reimbursement purposes. Total Compensation Package - Check out IHS's outstanding total compensation package for this job: Medical Support Assistant Total Compensation | Pay (ihs.gov) Requirements Conditions of Employment Selectee may be subject to a probationary period U.S. Citizenship is required Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 This is a competitive vacancy announcement advertised under Delegated Examining Authority. Selections made under this vacancy announcement will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. Current civil service employees would therefore be given new appointments to the civil service; however, benefits, time served, and all other Federal entitlements would remain the same. IHS Selectees whose duties and responsibilities require them to work permanently, temporarily, or occasionally in an IHS healthcare facility must comply with the IHS Employee Immunization Policy related to vaccine-preventable diseases, consistent with recommendations for healthcare workers. Vaccine exemption requests may be available, as outlined in the IHS Employee Immunization Policy and facility guidance. This is a designated position covered by Public Law 101-630, requiring contact or control over Indian children. Due to this requirement, the agency must ensure that persons hired for these positions have not been found guilty of or pleaded nolo contendere or guilty to certain crimes. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit You will need to set up direct deposit so we can pay you. Background Investigation Requirement: This position requires the successful completion of a federal background investigation as a condition of employment. A background investigation is a standard process used by the Federal Government to verify an individual's identity, employment history, education, and other relevant information to determine suitability for Federal service. Upon receipt of instructions, applicants must complete all required background investigation forms within five (5) calendar days of issuance. Timely completion is critical to avoid delays in processing or a determination of unsuitability. Applicants are strongly encouraged to prioritize this requirement and to maintain regular communication with their assigned Personnel Security Specialist throughout the process. Prior to the appointment, candidates must present two valid forms of identification. If one of the documents is a state-issued ID or driver's license, it must be REAL ID-compliant. Qualifications To qualify for this position, your resume must state sufficient experience and/or education, to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are applying. 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; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer and part time experience. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week. Minimum Qualification, GS-04, you must meet One of the following: Experience: Your resume must demonstrate at least one (1) year of general experience. General experience is progressively responsible clerical, office, or other work that indicates your ability to perform the work of this position at the GS-04 level. OR Education: Your resume must demonstrate Two (2) years of education above the high school level. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial, or technical school, junior college, college, or university. OR Combination: Your resume must demonstrate a combination of qualifying education and experience that meets the minimum qualifications described above. The percentage of the education requirement met, plus the percentage of the experience requirement met, must total at least 100% to qualify at the GS-04 level. Minimum Qualification, GS-05, you must meet One of the following: Experience: Your resume must demonstrate at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the lower grade level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector. Examples include: interviewing patients to obtain and verify demographic, eligibility, or third-party resource information; reviewing supporting documentation to determine or establish eligibility for healthcare services; creating and maintaining records in an electronic records system; scheduling appointments and responding to patient inquiries: obtaining and verifying insurance coverage. OR Education: Your resume must demonstrate four (4) years of education above the high school level. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college, or university. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school. OR Combination: Your resume must demonstrate a combination of qualifying education and experience that meets the minimum qualifications described above. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. For example, one full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. The percentage of the education requirement met, plus the percentage of the experience requirement met, must total at least 100% to qualify at the GS-05 level. Minimum Qualification, GS-06, you must meet the following: Experience: Your resume must demonstrate at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the lower grade level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector. Examples include: interviewing patients and independently verifying demographic, eligibility, and third-party resource information; determining eligibility for healthcare services by applying established policies; creating, maintaining, reviewing, and correcting electronic patient medical records; independently verifying insurance coverage; identifying and resolving registration, eligibility, record, or billing-related discrepancies; and providing guidance or assistance to other staff in carrying out patient registration activities. You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement. Education If you are substituting education for experience: You are strongly encouraged to submit a copy of your transcripts or a list of your courses including titles, credit hours completed, and grades. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package. Official transcripts will be required from all selectees prior to receiving an official offer. Only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education may be credited. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: 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 Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire CompetencyBased Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. ( Additional selection(s) of candidates may be possible within 240 days from the date the certificate of eligibles was issued for this announcement. 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. IHS may offer newly-appointed Federal employees credit for their directly related previous 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. Recruitment or relocation incentives may be authorized. A service agreement will be required. This position has promotion potential to the GS-GS-6 grade level. Promotion to the next grade level is at management's discretion and is based on your demonstrated ability to perform the higher level duties, the continuing need for the higher level duties, and "Regulatory/Administrative" approval. Promotion to the next higher grade level is not guaranteed and no promise of promotion is implied. You will be evaluated for this position in accordance with the OPM Merit Hiring Plan. As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide short essay responses (200 words or less each) to the following four questions. How has your commitment to the Constitution and the founding principles of the United States inspired you to pursue this role within the Federal government? In this role, how would you use your skills and experience to improve government efficiency and effectiveness? In this role, you will be expected to professionally and efficiently implement executive direction. Provide an example where you implemented leadership direction on a strategy or policy decision that differed from your own recommendation. How has a strong work ethic contributed to your professional, academic or personal achievements? Your responses are optional and will not be scored. However, they may be reviewed by hiring managers and agency leadership (or designees) during the evaluation process. You will be asked to certify that your responses are written in your own words and that you did not use a consultant or artificial intelligence (AI) tool (such as ChatGPT or Copilot).