Economist

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
$84,546.00 - $109,908.00 / yr
remote work
United States
Sep 27, 2023
Duties Identifies, plans, participates in, executes, and completes in-depth economic studies and modeling related to Medicare Part B drugs and biologicals and the Medicare Prescription Drug benefit (Part D). Serves as subject matter expert in developing and implementing methodologies for analyzing Medicare Part B drug and Part D related data, health indicators and detailed data that describes services provided the Medicare beneficiaries. Responds to requests for conceptual and statistical analyses, particularly in the areas of health insurance coverage, health behaviors and health status, and medical expenditures. Provides review and guidance on methodologies applied, analysis assumptions used, policy issues, and analysis results. Interprets data and prepares briefing material and reports on issues for use by CMS, the Executive Branch, Congress, and the media. Communicates economic analysis and assessment results comprehensively at the appropriate level for an audience. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen or National to apply for this position. You will be subject to a background and suitability investigation. This is a remote position; however, the position reports to a CMS Office on a periodic basis. Requirements to report to the office will vary and can be discussed at the time of interview. Qualifications ALL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS MUST BE MET BY THE CLOSING DATE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. Your resume must include detailed information as it relates to the responsibilities and specialized experience for this position. Evidence of copying and pasting directly from the vacancy announcement without clearly documenting supplemental information to describe your experience will result in an ineligible rating. This will prevent you from receiving further consideration. In order to qualify for the GS-13, you must meet the following: You must demonstrate in your resume at least one year (52 weeks) of qualifying specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal government, obtained in either the private or public sector, to include: (1) Applying principles and theories of applied economic or econometric methods and techniques to analyze and evaluate health care programs, items, or services, such as prescription drugs; AND (2) Developing or conducting studies of the cost, use, or outcomes of health care programs, items, or services, such as prescription drugs to provide written documentation on findings; AND (3) Analyzing, monitoring, or evaluating markets for prescription drugs or other medical items and services. 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; religious; 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. Education Education Requirement: In addition to meeting the qualification requirements, all candidates must have the following educational requirements: Degree: economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus. OR Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Examples of qualifying experience include: individual economic research assignments requiring planning, information assembly, analysis and evaluation, conclusions and report preparation; supervisory or project coordination assignments involving a staff of professional economists, and requiring the evaluation and interpretation of economic information; or teaching assignments in a college or university that included both class instruction in economics subjects and one of the following (1) personal research that produced evidence of results, (2) direction of graduate theses in economics, or (3) service as a consultant or advisor on technical economics problems. Experience in related fields that did not involve the use and understanding of economic principles and theories may not be used as qualifying experience for these positions. Special attention on this point should be given to certain types of work that may or may not have provided professional economic experience. The following examples of work require special care in such determinations: economic statistics; industrial surveys; management of individual business enterprises, including farms; industrial planning; writing or editorial work in economic subjects; and financial market analysis. TRANSCRIPTS are required to verify satisfactory completion of the educational requirement listed above. Failure to submit a copy of your transcripts at the time of application WILL result in an ineligible rating. Please see "Required Documents" section below for what documentation is required at the time of application. Click the following link to view the occupational questionnaire: Additional information Bargaining Unit Position: Yes, American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923 Tour of Duty: Flexible Recruitment/Relocation Incentive: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure: Not Required This position will be in direct support of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. This Act increases healthcare spending by nearly $100 billion, mainly by extending the American Rescue Plan's temporarily-expanded Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits for an additional three years, through 2025. The bill will also allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, implement improvements to Medicare Part D including a benefit redesign and new manufacturer discount program, impose inflation rebates for Part B and Part D drugs, and other miscellaneous changes in Part B and Part D to improve the affordability of prescription drugs. To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce Executive Order 14043 Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a federal job announcement includes the requirement to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to Executive Order 14043, that requirement does not currently apply. Positions with vaccination requirements under authority(ies) separate and distinct from Executive Order 14043 will be clearly identified. HHS may continue to require documentation of proof of vaccination to ensure compliance with those policies. Health and safety protocols remain in effect, in accordance with CDC guidance and the Safer Federal Workforce Task force. Consistent with current guidance, workplace safety protocols will no longer vary based on vaccination status or otherwise depend on the availability of vaccination information. Therefore, to the extent a job announcement states that HHS may request information regarding the vaccination status of selected applicants for the purposes of implementing workplace safety protocols, this statement does not currently apply. Remote-Out Positions at CMS: This is a remote position; however, the position reports to a CMS Office on a periodic basis (e.g. 1-2 times per year). Requirements to report to the office will vary and can be discussed at the time of interview. As such, your pay will be based on your home address. For more information on locality and pay scales, please . Your worksite must be within the United States and you must adhere to all regulations and policies regarding remote work at CMS and in the federal government, including the signing of a remote work agreement. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced federal employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit the required documentation and be rated well-qualified for this vacancy. . A well-qualified applicant is one whose knowledge, skills and abilities clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements of the position. Additional information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at . A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. . Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered. Required Documents The following documents are REQUIRED: 1. Resume showing relevant experience; cover letter optional. Your resume must indicate your citizenship and if you are registered for Selective Service if you are a male born after 12/31/59. Your resume must also list your work experience and education (if applicable) including the start and end dates (mm/yyyy) of each employment along with the number of hours worked per week. For work in the Federal service, you must include the series and grade level for the position(s). Your resume will be used to validate your responses to the assessment tool(s). For resume and application tips visit: 2. CMS Required Documents (e.g., SF-50, DD-214, SF-15, etc.). Required documents may be necessary to be considered for this vacancy announcement. . Failure to provide the required documentation WILL result in an ineligible rating OR non-consideration. 3. College Transcripts. Since this position requires specific education, you must submit a transcript attesting to your possession of the required education. You may submit an unofficial transcript or a list of college courses completed indicating course titles, credit hours, and grades received. An official transcript is required if you are selected for the position. If selected, you must provide an original document before the final job offer may be extended. If you do not submit a transcript indicating your possession of the required education, you will not be considered for this position. College Transcripts and Foreign Education: Applicants who have completed part or all of their education outside of the U.S. must have their foreign education evaluated by an accredited organization to ensure that the foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the U.S. For a listing of services that can perform this evaluation, visit the website. This list, which may not be all inclusive, is for informational purposes only and does not imply any endorsement of any specific agency. If you are applying for a position for which a state license is issued (e.g., physician, engineer, attorney) possession of a valid and current U.S. professional license by a graduate of a foreign professional school or program is sufficient proof that the foreign education has been determined to be equivalent to the requisite U.S. professional education in that occupational field. PLEASE NOTE: A complete application package includes the online application, resume, transcripts and CMS required documents. Please carefully review the full job announcement to include the "Required Documents" and "How to Apply" sections. Failure to submit the online application, resume, transcripts and CMS required documents, will result in you not being considered for employment. Additional Forms REQUIRED Prior to Appointment: If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an . If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements: 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. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from . Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating. How to Apply Your complete application package, as described in the "Required Documents" section, must be received by 11:59 PM ET on 10/06/2023 to receive consideration. IN DESCRIBING YOUR WORK EXPERIENCE AND/OR EDUCATION, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE OR EDUCATION. We strongly encourage applicants to utilize the USAJOBS resume builder in the creation of resumes. Please ensure EACH work history includes ALL of the following information: Official Position Title (include series and grade if Federal job) Duties (be specific in describing your duties) Employer's name and address Supervisor name and phone number Start and end dates including month and year (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008) Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week) Salary Determining length of general or specialized experience is dependent on the above information and failure to provide ALL of this information WILL result in a finding of ineligible. To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application. Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process. You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: . This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, please send an email to hrinquiries@cms.hhs.gov. The decision to grant reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Commissioned Corps Officers (including Commissioned Corps professionally boarded applicants) who are interested in applying for this position must send their cover letter and professional resume (not PHS Curriculum Vitae) to in lieu of applying through this announcement. The resume should specifically explain how you are qualified for this position and draw specific attention to your skills and experiences that demonstrates these qualifications. Also send any transcripts, licenses or certifications as requested in this announcement. *Please send all documents in 1 PDF file. In the subject line of your e-mail include only the Job Announcement Number. In the body of your e-mail include your current rank name and serial number. Failure to provide this information may impact your consideration for this position. Additional selections* may be made for similar positions across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within the local commuting area(s) of the location identified in this announcement. By applying, you agree to have your application shared with interested selecting official(s) at HHS. Clearance of CTAP/ICTAP will be applied for similar positions across HHS. Agency contact information CMS HR Inquiries Email Address Center for Medicare 7500 Security Blvd Woodlawn, MD 21244 US Next steps Once your online application is submitted, you will receive a confirmation notification by email. Within 30 business days of the closing date, 10/06/2023, you may check your status online by logging into your USAJOBS account (). We will update your status after each key stage in the application process has been completed. Fair & Transparent The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.