Health Benefits Assistant

This position is for a Health Benefits Assistant (HBA), located within the Eligibility & Enrollment section of Erie VA Medical Center. The HBA reports to the Supervisor of Enrollment & Eligibility, subordinate to the Chief of Business Operations. This position is to perform adjudication of a final federal VHA benefit entitlement (with or without financial liabilities) in conjunction with process procedures defined by the Health Eligibility and Enrollment Division (EED).

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/21/2026. 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: 1) Interviews patients applying for medical benefits and entering demographics, insurance, and income information in to Databases. 2) Verifies eligibility/entitlement benefits for all applicants. 3) Actively listens to customers through demonstrating respect and concern for customer concerns. 4) Acquires Primary Team assignment utilizing internal appointment request systems. and 5) Monitors enrolled patient database information on a regular basis for updates to health insurance data and income assessments, .

OR, Education:

Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have four (4) years of education 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. (TRANSCRIPTS

REQUIRED

).

OR, Combination:

Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of 6 months specialized experience and 3 years of education above the high school level.

NOTE:

Only education beyond the second year can be used in combination with specialized experience to qualify for this grade. 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/ .