Program Support Assistant

Veterans Health Administration

North Chicago (IL)

Hybrid

USD 46,000 - 66,000

Full time

3 days ago

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Job summary

Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago, IL is seeking an OCC Coordinator to support non-VA medical care coordination for Veterans.

You will handle scheduling, referrals, eligibility checks, and authorizations, working with VA and private providers in FEHR. The role requires coordinating with clinicians, vendors, and the OCC nurse to prioritize procedures, manage communications, and ensure timely care.

Qualifications

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
Foreign education requires a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency for credit.
This position is with Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs.

Responsibilities

Provide administrative care coordination support to clinicians and staff for coordinating Non-VA medical care for veterans.
Schedule and coordinate diagnostic testing and referral appointments for clinical services.
Check eligibility for Non-VA medical care under the MISSION Act and generate pre-authorizations.
Liaise between veterans and vendors; ensure proper authorizations are issued and correspondence is sent.
Obtain medical records and coordinate with private providers and VA staff for referrals.
Prioritize requested procedures by urgency, veteran status, and exams per policy.
Manage referrals, update demographics, and generate correspondence to veterans and providers.
Process authorizations based on eligibility and maintain communication with stakeholders.

Job description

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

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.

Key Responsibilities

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 Federal Electronic 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 compensation and 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: 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

Requirements & 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/.

Which agency is hiring for this position?

This position is with Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs.

What is the salary for this position?

The posted pay range is $45538 – $65990/yr.

What security clearance is required?

This position requires a Other security clearance.

What is the application deadline?

Applications close on 2026-10-13.

Who is eligible to apply?

This position is open under the 'Fed Internal Search' hiring path.