VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT NO

							                                                                                       DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
                                                                                 VA Western New York Healthcare System
                                                                                        3495 Bailey Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14215
                                                                                      222 Richmond Avenue, Batavia, NY 14020

                                       VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT NO. 528-09-111


    OPENING DATE:           September 15, 2009                        CLOSING DATE: October 5, 2009

    POSITION:               Program Support Clerk, GS-303-5
                            TERM Not To Exceed 1 year and 1 day.
                            This appointment may be extended for a maximum of 4years without further competition.

    SALARY RANGE:           $30,772-$40,005 per year

    DUTY LOCATION: Medical Care Cost Fund (MCCF) Department
                   Service Line
                   Batavia, New York

    BARGAINING UNIT/UNION NAME:                      Position excluded from Bargaining Unit

    TOUR OF DUTY:           Monday-Friday. Either 8am-12noon, 9am-1pm, 10am-2pm, 11am-3pm, or 12noon-4pm.
                            Subject to change based on Agency needs.
                            Part-time, 20 hours/week

    WHO MAY APPLY (Area of Consideration): Current permanent employees of the VA Western New York Healthcare
    System including permanent Veterans Canteen Service Staff (after 90-days), Veterans with a service connected disability
    rating of 30% or more, Veterans eligible under the Veterans Recruitment Authority (service-connected disabled,
    Expeditionary Service medal recipient, or recently discharged veteran [within the past 3years]). The area of consideration
    has been expanded to ensure an adequate pool of candidates.

    If you are NOT eligible to apply under one of the above-listed authorities, please apply online (public announcement) at
    www.usajobs.gov, reference job announcement number VN284246. PLEASE NOTE - the public announcement closes
    on September 21, 2009.

    RELOCATION EXPENSES AUTHORIZED: No

    NUMBER OF VACANCIES: 2

    DUTIES: The Program Support Clerks provides support to the Medical Cost Care Fund (MCCF) Department at the VA
    Western New York Healthcare System in Batavia, NY. MCCF has the primary function of the collection of
    revenues generated by the Medical Centers and CBOC's (Community Based Outpatient Clinics) located within
    VISN 2 by collecting from third party health insurance for medical care rendered to Veteran patients.
    Major duties and responsibilities include:
         Collecting insurance information from individual insurance carriers, patients and/or patient's families,
     employers, attorney, guardian or other responsible parties to obtain all necessary information ;
                                                          www.visn2.va.gov
              Interpreting insurance policy language to ensure proper information is obtained;
              Coordinating, organizing and implementing the necessary control mechanism to identify veterans with third
        party insurance coverage;
              Verifying reimbursable insurance with carriers, including obtaining specific benefits of policy (precertification
        and/or primary contact phone number;
              Identifying what is covered under the policy; inpatient, outpatient, drug or alcohol treatment, and skilled
        nursing;
              Identifying policy benefits, deductibles, limitations, filing limits, effective and expiration dates;
              Inputting insurance data into the Patient Insurance Files;
              Maintaining insurance database to ensure the integrity of the information;
              Instructing front-line staff on data entry into the insurance buffer files and acts as a resource for complex
        questions regarding patient insurance policies;
              Resolving complex insurance questions that arise from patients and staff;
              Performing pre-authorization for outpatient care with insurance carriers when required;
              Assessing workload on a daily basis to establish priorities, directs and assists medical clerks and other staff
        in their work to facilitate the collection of insurance and other demographic information ;
              Assisting the supervisor in maintaining Standard Operating Procedure and training manuals ;
              Preparing reports and completing data analysis as required;
              Protecting electronic files containing sensitive data which must be protected under the provisions of the
        Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPA A) of 1996, Public Law 104 -191 and Department of
        Health and Human Services Privacy Rule, December 2000;
              Participating in collective projects to address issues identified by management in their efforts to maintain
        accurate insurance file information; and
              Performing other duties as assigned.


    QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: You may qualify for this position:

    Based on Experience: You must have one full year1 specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-4 level. This
    experience must be close to the work of this job and has given you the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities required
    to successfully perform the duties of Program Support Clerk (Medical Cost Care Fund). Examples of qualifying
    experience would be work within this field or a field that is closely related to the processes that include medical coding,
    billing, accounts receivable analysis and collection, account follow-up, utilization review and collection reconciliation in
    a hospital or medical facility.

    ~OR~

    Based on Education: You must have successfully completed four (4) years above high school in any field for which a
    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 (Transcript or Course Listing is
    required at the time of application).2

    ~OR~

    Based on Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education (beyond the second
    year) and specialized experience3 which may be used to meet total experience requirements. (Transcript or Course
    Listing is required at the time of application).2
    1
     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.
    2
     A transcript or course listing must be submitted if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. See
    Step 3 under "How to Apply" for a description of a course listing. Applications submitted without this information will
    not be considered.
3
 To calculate the combination of education and experience, determine the amount of experience you have as a percentage
of the experience required for the grade level. Then determine the amount of education you have as a percentage of the
education required for the grade level. Only education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level is
qualifying. Add the two percentages; the total percentage must equal at least 100% to qualify for the grade level.

NOTE: Qualification requirements are in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management Qualification Standards
for General Schedule Positions, group Coverage Qualification Standards for Clerical and Administrative Support
Positions, which is available for review at: http://www.opm.gov/qualifications or by contacting Human Resources.

To receive credit for education, all pertinent college transcripts must be submitted with the application package.

APPLICANTS PLEASE NOTE: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S.
Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications (particularly positions with a positive
education requirement.) Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by
accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation at the
following website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html. All education claimed by applicants will be
verified by the appointing agency accordingly.

Background Investigation: Appointment to this position is contingent upon satisfactory completion of the required
background investigation.

Selective Service: To be eligible for Federal employment, male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must certify at
the time of appointment that they have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so
under Selective Service law.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSA’s): Please explain how your experience (including non-paid),
education, training, job related honors and awards indicate you meet the rating factors. All applicants should provide
clear, concise examples that show level of accomplishment or degree to which they possess the KSA’s.
1. Knowledge of the accounts receivable and insurance verification processes.
2. Ability to communicate orally and in writing.
3. A working knowledge in the use of personal computers with experience working with Microsoft Office Suite.
4. Ability to collect, track, and interpret numerical data.
5. Ability to review manuals and establish guidelines.

CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (CTAP) EMPLOYEES: (1) Must be a current VA employee identified
as displaced or surplus serving on a career or career-conditional competitive appointment, or an excepted service
appointment without a time limit. (2) The vacancy is at or below the grade level and with no greater promotion potential
than the position from which you have or may be separated. (3) You are found to be well-qualified. To be considered
well-qualified you must meet the minimum education, experience, suitability and physical requirements. You must also
meet all selective factors, where applicable, and exceed the minimum qualifications of the position for all knowledge,
skills, abilities and other characteristic factors. (4) You must occupy a position in the same local commuting area of the
position for which you are applying. Individuals seeking CTAP must submit a copy of their Reduction in Force (RIF)
separation notice, or Certificate of Expected Separation; a copy of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action, SF-
50B which shows tenure and position occupied; and a copy of our most recent performance rating of record.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION: This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with
disabilities. If you need reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the
servicing Human Resources Office. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case
basis.

HOW TO APPLY: Your completed application must be received at the address below by the closing date of the
announcement in order to receive consideration:
                                             Human Resources Office (05)
                                                3495 Bailey Avenue
                                                Buffalo, NY 14215
Current Permanent VA Western New York Healthcare Employees must submit the following:
  1. VA Form 5-4078;
  2. Written response to the rating factors (use VA Form 5-4676a, “Employee Supplemental Qualifications Statement”
     or plain bond paper);
  3. Copy of College Transcripts, if applicable.

All others must submit the following:
   1. Your choice of: a resume or Optional Application for Federal Employment (OF-612). If you are submitting a
       resume, it MUST include the following:
            A. Announcement Number.
            B. Full legal name and complete mailing address.
            C. Daytime as well as evening telephone numbers, including area code.
                  Country of Citizenship.
            D. Social Security Number.
            E. For experience most relevant to the position, include name and address of employer, job title, starting
                  and ending dates (month and year), average hours worked per week, supervisor’s name and telephone
                  number, and a description of your duties. If the position is (was) with the Federal government, state
                  series and grade or pay level. Indicate if we may contact your current supervisor. Submit current or last
                  Standard Form 50-B, “Notification of Personnel Action.”
            F. For all colleges/universities attended, provide name, location and dates of attendance. You submit a
                  transcript.
            G. Description of training, honors, awards, recognition, license or certification relevant to the position.
    2. OF-306, Declaration for Federal Employment. New regulations require that all applicants for federal employment
        must complete the OF-306; therefore, application materials submitted without this form cannot be processed.
        THIS FORM IS REQUIRED EVEN IF YOU ARE A CURRENT FEDERAL EMPLOYEE.
    3. If you are a Veteran, you must provide a copy of your DD-214 (Member 4 copy preferred).
    4. If you are claiming 10-point veterans’ preference, you must submit the Application for 10-Point Veteran
        Preference (SF-15) with the required documentation.
    5. Current Federal employees must submit a recent SF-50B, “Notification of Personnel Action,” and a copy of most
        recent performance appraisal.
    6. Applicants applying as reinstatements should also submit SF-50B, “Notification of Personnel Action,” reflecting
        their prior status.
    7. Applicants must complete the supplemental qualification statement that will be included in the application
        package.

INCOMPLETE APPLICATION PACKAGES: Failure to submit a complete application package, as stated in the
announcement, will result in your application not being rated.

NO POSTAGE PAID ENVELOPE: Applications mailed using government postage and/or internal federal government
mail systems are in violation of VA and postal regulations will not be accepted.

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: Shavone Northington in Human Resources at 716-862-6008.

INTERVIEWS: Any interviews that may be conducted for this position will use the Performance Based Interviewing
(PBI) process. Further information is available at www.va.gov/pbi.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY: Selection for this position will be based solely on merit without regard to
race, color, religion, age, gender, national origin, political affiliation, disability, sexual orientation, marital or family status
or other differences.