Program Support Assistant

Summary

This position is located in the Health Administration Service (HAS), Eligibility Section, under the direct supervision of the Eligibility Supervisor. The incumbent continuously embraces and supports the Salt Lake City George E. Wahlen VA Medical Center (MEDVAMC) mission, vision, and core values. The purpose of the position is to serve as a Program Assistant (PSA), also known as an enrollment and eligibility advisor in HAS.

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Duties

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Duties include but are not limited to:

• Provides exceptional customer service, actively listen to internal and external customers, pays attention to details of customer concerns, and assist in problem solution; interacts with respect and communicates appropriately based on needs of the customer.
• Serves as an independent advisor of health benefits, verifying eligibility/entitlement for benefits of all applicants using various methods including income assessments, military discharge documents, computer applications and other means.
• Enters data and information including demographic, health insurance, and income information into the Veteran Enrollment System; review reports, records and statistical computations for accuracy.
• Operates computer systems and applications, such as Vista, CPRS, Microsoft applications, and various necessary internal software applications to accurately enter or extract information following HIPAA, FOIA and ROI laws and regulations; completes administrative functions including filing, scanning, faxing, and/or other applicable documentation in the electronic healthcare record.
• Greets and receives applicants; provides counseling regarding patients' financial obligations relative to care they will receive based on established VHA directives, laws, rules, policies and/or regulations for eligibility and entitlement of various benefits.
• Provides the Veteran with "New Patient Orientation" including assisting with scheduling of initial appointment with Primary Care provider at the medical center.
• Generates Veteran ID cards within Veterans Health Identification Card (VHIC) system for eligible Veterans.
• Travels to areas in the catchment area to assist in outreach programs assisting with counseling veterans, their dependents, and their beneficiaries.
• Collaborates with internal and external stakeholders; Provides training and information to VA staff, other federal agencies, and community agencies regarding the VA Health Care System services.
• Assesses enrollment data processing reports and provides significant finds and statistical trends to management.
• Generates and monitors enrolled patient data base information for accurate health insurance data, income assessments for the Means Test and Pharmacy co-pay exemption programs.
• Reviews the Incomplete Encounter Management Module (IEMM) report; resolve discrepancies in admin data that would prevent transmission of encounters.
• Administratively supports and collaborates with clinical and scheduling staff; reviews and reconciles appointments for ineligible Veterans; including notification when cancellation is necessary.
• Has the ability to work efficiently with a high degree of quality and accuracy, be dependable and use good judgment, while effectively and properly analyzing and evaluating all information.
• Performs administrative tasks pertaining to Decedent Affairs, Disposition of Body (Deaths); Indigent Program; and speaking and/or corresponding with family/next of kin/stakeholders which can include funeral homes and state entities.
• Other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday - 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant/ PD13088A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved.

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

Requirements

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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. 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 ( 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)
• Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee -Official Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) noting your current position or most recently held position, tenure, type of position occupied (i.e., Excepted or Competitive), grade level and duty location. For current Federal employees, the SF-50 must be effective the first pay period of the current year or later.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial 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, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/07/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement : Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

In order to qualify for this position , all applicants must possess at least one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. To be creditable, experience must have been equivalent the next lower grade level (GS-5) in the Federal service. Specialized experience includes: Provide exceptional customer service, serve as an independent advisor of health benefits, verifying eligibility/entitlement for benefits of all applicants, enters data and information including demographic, health insurance, and income information into the Veteran Enrollment System; review reports, records statistical computations for accuracy, Operate computer systems and applications such as Microsoft applications, and various necessary internal software applications to accurately enter or extract information following HIPAA, FOIA, and ROI laws and regulations; completes administrative functions including filing, scanning, faxing, and/or other applicable documentation in the electronic healthcare record, Greets and receives applicants; provides counseling regarding patients' financial obligations relative to care they will receive based on established VHA directives, law, rules, policies and/or regulations for eligibility and entitlement of various benefits, Provides the Veteran with "New Patient Orientation" including assisting with scheduling of initial appointment with Primary Care provider at the medical center, Generate Veteran ID cards within Veterans Health Identification Card (HIC) system for eligible Veterans, Travel to areas in the catchment area to assist in outreach programs assisting with counseling veterans, their dependents, and their beneficiaries, Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, Assess enrollment data processing reports, Generate and monitor enrolled patient data base information for accurate health insurance data, Review reports, resolve discrepancies in administrative data that would prevent transmission of encounters, Administratively support and collaborate with clinical and scheduling staff. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week.

Note : A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: This is primarily a sedentary position, but the work requires some walking, bending, stooping and carrying of light objects such as manuals, documents, etc. Concentration and sustained performance under prolonged stress is required because of the time factors involved in completion of work assignments within deadlines.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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.

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 Competency Based 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.

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.

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 qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at

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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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.