Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

Summary

The incumbent serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA) in the Patient Benefits Department of of the Health Administration Service (HAS) at the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System, Reno, Nevada. Extensive knowledge of Medical Center policies and directives is required to respond to inquiries from veterans staff and other agencies regarding applying for health care eligibility etc.

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Duties

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Work Schedule : Monday through Friday, tour of duty may vary depending upon agency needs

Telework : Available - Ad-hoc

Functional Statement # : 06793F

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives : Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Fi nancial Disclosure Report: Not required

The incumbent verifies eligibility and entitlement for benefits of all applicants using various methods including some income assessment military discharge documents Veterans Information Solution (VIS), Veterans Enrollment System (VES), Common Security Employee Manager (CSEM), Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS) and other means of communication avenues to VA external entities. The incumbent managers catastrophe disability and hardship requests. The process of verify eligibility is complex and criteria differ from each type of benefit applied for. The incumbent advises veterans of their entitlement of multiple medical benefits and discusses copayment requirements of Veterans discretionary categories. Tact, diplomacy, and privacy are required to explain complicated laws in this area.

The incumbent accurately generates patient data card requests for Veterans applying for care using the Veterans Identification Card (VIC) system, Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC) system, and other systems as necessary.

The incumbent reviews enrolled patient information to perform updates to health insurance data, income assessments, pharmacy co-pay exemptions as mandated by law. Incumbent completes all assigned applications to ensure that Veterans are enrolled timely. The incumbent is responsible for monitoring the NEAR list and scheduling new patient appointments in accordance with VHA directives, established guidelines, and local policies.

The incumbent will support the management information components of all health eligibility related programs. The support includes not only entering data and information when necessary, but also reviewing reports, records and statistical computations for accuracy and propriety. Local input is compared with the Health Eligibility Center (HEC) in Atlanta, GA and will affect data entry for encounter entries that go to Austin for workload credit. The incumbent(s) must review the Incomplete Encounter Management Module (IEMM) report to clean up any discrepancies in administrative data that would prevent the transmission of encounters. AMSAs are required to be certified by the HEC and must maintain their certification via mandatory continuing education as directed by the HEC.

Responsibilities of the incumbent (s) include meeting performance metrics, maintaining eligibility and enrollment process competencies, and current VA training in enrollment and eligibility processes.

lncumbent (s) will assist the Public Affairs Office as well as other Services at VASNHCS with community activities such as Health Fairs, Homeless Veterans Stand Downs, and Post Deployment Health Re-assessment (PDHRA). This may require staff to work outside the normal business hours to include weekends. Staff will be compensated by either compensation time or overtime for this work.

AMSAs generate the patient data cards for Veterans applying for care using the Veterans Health Identification Card (VHIC) system.

The incumbent(s) will be responsible for all aspects of Decedent Affairs to assist Veterans and their families with appropriate paperwork. The incumbent(s) have frequent contact with funeral home staff to assist Veterans' families.

The incumbent(s) will perform the enrollment and eligibility functions for the Emergency Department during regular tour hours. This includes enrolling Veterans at the point of service in the Emergency Department. The incumbent(s) must alert clinical staff when Humanitarian emergency patients are seen in the department. They will enter the billing information for first and third-party reimbursement. They may occasionally be asked to assist with off tour duties in coordination with the Administrative Officers of the Day.

The lncumbent (s) will perform all functions for the Beneficiary Travel office. The Beneficiary Travel program provides transportation at Government expense to beneficiaries and their attendants traveling to and from VA facilities and other places for the purpose of examination, treatment, or care. This will include correctly determining eligibility for the program, and processing requests. It will include correctly determining which of several fund control points to utilize, obligating funds, maintaining manual and electronic accounting records, performing regular reconciliations, and adjusting account balances.

lncumbent (s) reviews requests for reimbursement of travel costs for the purpose of assuring compliance with regulations and procedures, completeness, accuracy, internal consistency, and agreement with basic authorization.

lncumbent (s) may be asked to perform duties in other areas of the Patient Benefits Department and other duties as assigned.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• 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).
• 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, 09/09/2026.

Basic Requirements :

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• English Language Proficiency: Advanced Medical Support Assistants must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Policy.

Creditable Experience Knowledge of MSA Practices. To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) associated with current MSA responsibilities or an equivalent administrative patient support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as an MSA or an equivalent position in a non-VA hospital or clinic setting.

Quality of Experience. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MSA experience [or equivalent administrative clinical support role in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting] at the next lower grade level. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty), and a range of varieties as described in this standard, at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time

Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience as an MSA or equivalent administrative patient support in a non-VA medical inpatient or outpatient setting is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, an MSA employed 20 hours a week, or on a 1/2-time basis, would receive one full-time workweek of credit for each two weeks of service.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation).

Grade Determinations : For GS-06 In addition to the basic requirements you must demonstrate that you possess one year of specialized experience at the next lower grade level (GS-05).

You will be rated on the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities based on your application for this position: Please make sure that each is addressed in detail in the body of your resume .

1. Ability to collaborate and communicate with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines (e.g. medical doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, clinical pharmacists, and nursing staff) to accomplish team goal setting to ensure medical care to patients is met.
2. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations.
3. Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively, electronically, by phone, in person, and in writing, with internal and external customers. This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels, as well as resolving patient concerns.
4. Advanced knowledge of the technical healthcare process including, but not limited to, scheduling across interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community models and patient healthcare portals as it relates to access to care.
5. Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community operational activities that affect patient flow, and patient support care administrative functions to include, but not limited to appointment cycles, outside patient referrals, follow-up care, overbooking, provider availability, etc.
6. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians.

References: VA Handbook 5005, PART II, APPENDIX G45 Medical Support Assistant VA Qualification Standards.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06 . The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-06.

Physical Requirements: This is primarily a sedentary position. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019

Education

There is no education substitution at this grade level.

Additional 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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

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.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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