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Health Benefits Assistant

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Veterans Health Administration

Summary

The incumbent is responsible for a wide range of assignments and provides administrative support to the Member Services Unit. The clinical staff recovery aspects of this position directly impact the facility. The incumbent is organizationally aligned in the Health Administration Service (HAS).

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted yesterday · Apply by 07/27/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 27, 2026
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
No
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$40,736 - $52,957 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 5
Promotion potential
None
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Not required
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
Yes
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
CBSV-13006062-26-AD
Control number
876862900

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Duties

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Duties include but are not limited to:

  • Receive, and determine the needs, and entitlements to coordinate a client's visit from arrival to departure, ensuring all administrative and clinical details have been completed before an applicant leaves the facility.
  • Greet and receive applicants and determines their status in the VA system.
  • Actively listen to customers with respect and concern.
  • Pay attention to the details of the customer's needs and help the customer arrive at a satisfactory solution to the problem.
  • Respond to requests in a timely and appropriate manner.
  • Assist patients in applying for medical benefits.
  • Advises the veteran of their eligibility status and enrollment Priority Group for VA health care.
  • Explain the billing co-payment status, including how their private insurance may affect their billing co-payments.
  • Respond to phone inquiries.
  • Prepare all correspondence.
  • Enter demographic, insurance, and income information into an agency database system (such as: Vist-A).
  • Make telephonic contacts with the client to follow-up and complete details from a previous visit.
  • Schedule, reschedule, and determine the correct wait time for appointments, appropriate use of recall and the electronic wait list.
  • Scan documents into the electronic medical record.
  • Determine the entitlement to medical care, bill preparation and collections on all billable episodes of inpatient and outpatient care.
  • Receives and determine the needs, entitlements.
  • Coordinate the client's visit from arrival to departure, ensuring all administrative and clinical details have been completed before an applicant leaves the facility.
  • Serve as a resource for the veteran community by participating in events and programs by providing training and information to VA staff, other federal agencies and community agencies regarding the VA services.
  • Provide training and information to VA staff, other federal agencies and community agencies regarding VA services.


Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health Benefits Assistant/PD802700
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
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • 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 or trial 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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 07/27/2026.

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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. 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:

  • Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge of medical and administrative record system; Ability to interpret and apply rules, regulations, policies, and procedures and to make sound decisions, using good judgment; Knowledge of using a personal computer Word, Excel, and various VISTA packages such as Integrated Billing, Registration, Appointment Management, Enrollment, and Patient Demographics software applications; Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing; Skill in exercising initiative, originality, and leadership.
OR
  • Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have completed 4 years above high school. 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. Transcripts 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. Transcripts Required.
You will be rated 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


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.

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: The work normally involves mental rather than physical exertion. The work is generally sedentary, but requires some bending, walking, standing, lifting, and carrying patient records and various reports to various areas throughout the medical center campus. Reading from CRT for long periods of time and accessing information from various computer systems as necessary.

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/.

Additional information

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

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.

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.

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.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Resume Reminder - Your resume must include the following information for each job listed:

  • Job title
  • Duties (be as detailed as possible)
  • Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008)
  • Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
  • Salary/Rank etc
  • Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held
  • References, current or recent supervisor
Please be aware that your answers will be verified against information provided on your resume. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all of the questions by addressing your work experience in detail. The experience stated in your resume must support your assessment responses.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

Veterans Health Administration

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?

This position is with the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center.With a combination of excellent wineries and appealing scenery, Walla Walla is on the map! This beautiful town is located on the Washington-Oregon state line; it has a rich history of Indian tribes, early pioneers and the gold rush! There are fascinating museums, music and the arts-and has one of the oldest symphony orchestras west of the Mississippi! There are summertime blues and jazz concerts, arts festivals and at least 15 art galleries! If you crave the outdoors, there are nearby trails for hiking, mountain biking and fishing in the Blue Mountains. You are bound to find yourself at home in this charming Eastern Washington town!

Agency contact information

Ann Drought
Phone
(414) 712-8242
Email
Ann.Drought@va.gov
Address
Jonathan M Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center
77 Wainwright Drive
Walla Walla, WA 99362
US

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http://www.va.gov/jobs

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