Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) - Health Benefits
The incumbents are assigned to the Enrollment & Eligibility and related Business Office section at the Columbia VA Healthcare System at the following locations: Columbia, Greenville, Sumter, Orangeburg, Spartanburg, Rock Hill, Anderson, and Florence County. The goal of these positions is to perform a variety of administrative duties that facilitate an effective workflow for the clinical staff.
Major duties
VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo Eligibility & Enrollment Operations Conducts comprehensive VA health benefits application reviews. Verifies eligibility through HEC, VIS, MPI Toolkit, and related systems. Processes enrollment applications and updates eligibility status. Performs follow-up on pending or unverified eligibility data. Reviews and resolves enrollment discrepancies, including HEC alerts. Registers and enroll patients per VHA guidelines. Updates demographics, insurance, military service, and income information. Assists Veterans with VHIC identity verification and card issuance. Coordinates information with Beneficiary Travel, Community Care, My HealtheVet, and VBA. Scheduling & Consult Coordination Schedules, cancels, and manages patient appointments using VHA directives. Manages consults, recall lists, and ISS workflows. Performs mandated contact attempts for consults. Cancel consults when appropriate and ensures documentation for consults older than 90days. Educates Veterans regarding VA versus community care wait times. Executes same-day consult actions using DST and consult toolbox. Communication & Customer Support Screens inbound calls and determines required actions. Provides routine administrative assistance and resolves issues. Elevates complex concerns to supervisors or appropriate service lines. Communicates clearly, respectfully, and promptly with Veterans and staff. Coordinates transportation and travel concerns with Veterans Transportation Service. Data Integrity & Documentation Management Enters, reviews, and verifies health eligibility and demographic data. Resolves discrepancies using IEMM and other reporting modules. Extracts medical information for patient education while following HIPAA. Ensure proper route of documents to HIMS for scanning. Generate or assist with required administrative data reports. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:40pm. Work Schedule subject to change based on agency needs. Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 63467F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Qualifications
Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. 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: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. Education: High school diploma, General Education Development equivalency certificate, or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education. 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 and meet the criteria). Grandfathering Provision. Employees in VHA in this occupation, under a permanent, appropriate, and legal placement on the effective date of the qualification standard, are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and/or assignment held, including positive education and registration/certification where applicable. For employees who do not meet all the basic or assignment-specific requirements in this standard but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply: Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees retained in this occupation under this provision who subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. NOTE: This provision is not intended to regularize appointments/ placements. Grade Determinations: Medical Support Assistant (Advanced), GS-06 Experience: Must possess one year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-05). Examples of creditable experience at the GS-05 level include but are not limited to: scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults; entering no-show information; monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources; participating in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic, monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility; verifying and updating demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities - In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs (must be clearly demonstrated in your resume): Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process (including, but not limited to, scheduling across interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community models and patient health care portals) as it relates to access to care. 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. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians. 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. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations. 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. Preferred Experience: None Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. 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: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.
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/.
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. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. 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. Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation/examination. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 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 trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.