Patient Services Assistant

Summary

The purpose of this position is to serve as Enrollment Clerk for the Eligibility Unit of the Medical Administration Service at the Oklahoma City VA Health Care System.

Duties

Enters demographic, insurance, and income information into various data systems. Verifies eligibility/entitlement for benefits of all applicants. Gathers information and updates data files as necessary to ensure accurate and complete Veteran eligibility records. Processes applications for benefits received through the mail, electronically, or in person. Interviews patients applying for VHA medical benefits. Provides customer service to all applicants. Responds to requests or complaints. Identifies needs or problems and determines solutions. Is open to change and new information coming from the Enrollment Standardization Office & Health Enrollment Center. Adapts behavior and work methods in response to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles. Corresponds with applicants, visitors, and other stakeholders in a professional manner. Corresponds with Enrollment Standardization Office (ESO) Liaisons to resolve any escalations and shows understanding of needed corrections. Works and corresponds with staff from various backgrounds to include VHA staff and other Veteran Organizations with courtesy and respect. Maintains patient privacy (PHI/PII). Provides feedback to all Veteran applications. Communicates and expresses information surrounding health benefits in a clear manner to Veterans within the community setting at outreach events. 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, 7:30am-4:00pm Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Patient Services Assistant/PD09002A, PD14683A, and PD14684A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements

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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). 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) 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, 09/24/2026. 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 GS-4 there is no 52 week requirement, for GS-5 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-4 level, for GS-6 you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5 level. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: General Experience (GS-04): Applicants applying for this position at the GS-04 level must possess general experience, which includes progressively responsible clerical, office, or other work that indicates ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position to be filled and a knowledge of a body of standardized rules, procedures, or operations that require considerable training, and the experience to perform the full range of developmental assignments as well as the ability to resolve recurring problems...OR Education: Applicants may also be qualified for this position at the GS-04 level based on their education. To be qualified, applicants must have successfully completed 2 years above the high school level in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. 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: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total experience requirements for this position at the GS-04 level. NOTE: All experience must be clearly stated and described on your resume to include dates of employments (month/year) and hours worked. Failure to do so may disqualify you for this position. Specialized Experience (GS-05): . To qualify for this position, applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade of GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Knowledge of various services available within the medical facility; knowledge of the laws and regulations pertaining to eligibility and entitlement for benefits; knowledge of organizing work and completing priority tasks; skilled in establishing and maintaining effective working relationship with patients, relatives, and hospital staff; possess good communication skills, and exhibits high skills in oral communication techniques with particular emphasis placed on interviewing; must be able to relate and coordinate with individuals of all socioeconomic and educational levels. ....OR Education: Applicants may also qualify for this position at the GS-05 level based on their education. Applicants must have successfully completed 4 years 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: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total experience requirements for this position at the GS-05 level. Specialized Experience (GS-06): To qualify for this position, applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade of GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience for this position includes but is not limited to... Knowledge of the priorities, commitments and goals for the Eligibility Unit, Medical Administration Service and the Medical Center's operating principles to meet this facility's needs as they relate to annual collection goals; comprehensive knowledge of various services available at the facility; a thorough knowledge of the laws and regulations pertaining to eligibility and entitlement for benefits; the ability to work under considerable pressure and plan workload without halting or interrupting the operation as a whole by showing initiative in completing priority tasks; the ability to work rapidly with a high degree of accuracy; dependable and able to use good judgment, and effectively and properly analyzes and evaluates all situations to ensure that the Veteran's welfare is protected; skilled in establishing and maintaining effective working relationship with patients, relatives, and hospital staff; possesses good communication skills, and exhibits high skills in oral communication techniques with particular emphasis placed on interviewing, which is a main responsibility of this position; must be able to relate and coordinate with individuals of all socioeconomic and educational levels. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

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: 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. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. How You Will Be Evaluated

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position: Accountability Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Your 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. 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. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. 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. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. Other 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. 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 http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.