Health Benefits Assisstant

The primary duties of the Health Benefits Assistant include but are not limited to:

• Interview Veterans or their designated representative in order to collect demographic information relative to their finances insurance address work history etc. Contacts may be in person by telephone or by mail and require timely and accurate input into the VA data base system.
• Maintain workload reports relative to these duties.
• Advise Veterans of their entitlement to various medical benefits and discuss copayment requirements of Veterans in discretionary categories.
• Responsible for researching and handling complex questions relative to their area of expertise referred by the supervisor.
• Expected to have extensive knowledge of the hospital admitting procedures and policies entering in patients information into VISTA for hospital admissions and gathering information for said admission into the facility.
• Provide exceptional customer service by exceeding the customers expectations with respect and concern; focusing on the details of the customers needs and helps the customer arrive at a satisfactory solution to the problem.
• Participate in the facilitys Outreach events promoting the VA.
• Give on-the-job training to new employees in accordance with established procedures and practices instruct employees on changes in work procedures provide written instructions/documentation of changes.
• May serve on various hospital committees and/or VISN or national work groups relative to his/her position or at the request of the supervisor.

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 drivers licenses or state-issued dentification 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)

• 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.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement 02/10/2026.

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-5 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-4. 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 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:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-4 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to: providing clerical support in a hospital ward knowledge of patient admissions (determining eligibility) and outpatient processing procedures. Typical positions that would lead to this experience include but are not limited to medical clerk eligibility clerk and travel clerk. OR
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a bachelors degree or four years of successfully completed college study leading to a bachelors degree. (Copy of Transcript Required). OR
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond the first 60 semester hours (i.e. beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience.