Program Support Assistant

Summary

Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (FHCC) in North Chicago - Illinois is a VA and DoD dually integrated healthcare center providing care services to Veterans - Active-Duty Military Personnel - and their beneficiaries - including outpatient pediatric services. The primary purpose of this position is to serve as an Office of Community Care (OCC) Coordinator.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 10/16/2026. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: 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-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5 level. 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: GS-5 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: Strong communication and interpersonal skills to coordinate with staff across clinical and administrative areas. Detailed knowledge of privacy - confidentiality - and data protection laws including HIPAA - the Privacy Act - and VA information security policies. Familiarity with VA performance improvement principles - safety practices - infection control standards - and equipment use in a healthcare setting. Coordinate meeting logistics - prepare agendas - manage correspondence - and maintain time-sensitive documents with minimal supervision. -OR- Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed full 4-year course of study - above high school - leading to a bachelor's degree in a field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal pre-requisite. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation -OR- Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have equivalent combination of successfully completed post-high school education and specialized experience directly related to the work of the position as outlined above that meets the requirements of the position. NOTE: If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify - a copy of your transcript is required. GS-6 Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience at the GS-5 level that equipped you with the knowledge - skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the Program Support Assistant position - and that is typically in or related to the duties of this position. Specialized experience includes: Strong communication and interpersonal skills to coordinate with staff across clinical and administrative areas. Detailed knowledge of privacy - confidentiality - and data protection laws including HIPAA - the Privacy Act - and VA information security policies. Familiarity with VA performance improvement principles - safety practices - infection control standards - and equipment use in a healthcare setting. Coordinate meeting logistics - prepare agendas - manage correspondence - and maintain time-sensitive documents with minimal supervision. Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel - Word - Outlook) - SharePoint - and VA systems such as VistA - VATAS - BMS - and HR Smart - with the ability to extract and compile operational data. Working with scheduling systems - time and leave policies for Title 5 and Title 38 employees - and the ability to reconcile complex schedules with varied tours - pay entitlements - and leave statuses. Data entry - document formatting - proofreading - and written communication using VA standards and terminology. 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/.

Duties

• Duties: The incumbent provides administrative care coordination support to clinicians and other administrative and/other professional staff for purposes of coordinating Non-VA medical care for veterans when inpatient and outpatient - and their VA provider has deemed such care necessary
• The OCC program requires administrative scheduling and appointment coordination for diagnostic testing - and referral appointments for many clinical services
• This position is responsible for checking eligibility determination for Non-VA medical care in accordance to the MISSION Act - for generating authorizations of pre-authorized medical care
• Works closely with the Community Care Nurse Coordinator to ensure proper authorizations are issued - and appropriate correspondence are sent to vendors
• Incumbent acts as a liaison between the veteran and the vendors with regard to OCC section and VA clinical services and/or primary care services
• Obtains requested medical records including reports - x-rays - labs - and any pertinent information required to complete referrals in the FederalElectronic Health Record (FEHR) or applicable software system
• Ensures all necessary components and documentation are distributed to appropriate services at the private institution where service will be provided
• Collaborates with OCC nurse to prioritize requested procedure based on urgency (stat and routine) - combat veteran status and compensationand pension exams in accordance to policy
• The incumbent is responsible for the coordination of all administrative information between the professional staff and veterans
• This includes updating and verifying demographic information - data entry - administratively managing referral requests - making and notifying the patient of his/her scheduled appointment with the outside provider(s)
• The incumbent is responsible for generating correspondence to the veterans and various providers and managing all received correspondence related to care
• The incumbent appropriately processes authorizations based on eligibility
• Performs assignments involving different processes - complexity - or methods in varying sequence
• Applies policies and procedures in resolving non-reoccurring problems
• The incumbent reviews and determines veteran's eligibility for specialty programs in the VA Community Care Program and appropriately processes their authorization
• He/She discusses eligibility for programs or specific claims with vendors - veterans - and/or service officers
• Serves as the point of contact for designated community care claim needs - providing information for Payment Operation and Management when authorizations are required for outstanding claims
• Ensures the community care network is appropriate for selection and including timely scheduling
• Explains the VA's mandate to collect insurance information to veterans - their families - and other eligible patients
• Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory - qualification - and performance requirements are met
• Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level
• Work Schedule: 0730-1600 Monday-Friday Compressed/Flexible: N/A Telework: This position may be authorized for telework
• Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant/PD06498A