A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported wait times for new appointments at VA health care facilities were similar to or better than wait times at private-sector providers between 2014 and 2017.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), however, released a report in July 2019 cautioning the VA’s data-tracking system only captures part of the appointment process and fails to account for the time that it takes the VA to enroll veterans in its health benefits program.
Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, told the House Veterans Affairs Committee new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.
The VA explains that when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to one of eight priority groups, with those need immediate care due to service-related disabilities placed in higher priority groups. Veterans who don’t have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.
Rank | Health Care System | Total Pending Appointments Scheduled |
---|---|---|
1 | North Florida/South Georgia VA HCS | 267,416 |
2 | Orlando VAMC | 243,255 |
3 | VA Atlanta HCS | 218,068 |
4 | James A. Haley VA Hospital | 216,221 |
5 | VA North Texas HCS | 207,630 |
6 | VA Bay Pines HCS | 207,402 |
7 | W. G. Hefner VA MC | 205,246 |
8 | Michael E. DeBakey VAMC | 204,523 |
9 | VA Central Texas HCS | 204,044 |
10 | Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC | 201,039 |
11 | Tennessee Valley HCS | 199,111 |
12 | VA South Texas HCS | 191,176 |
13 | Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn VAMC | 160,218 |
14 | VA Caribbean HCS | 159,645 |
15 | VA Loma Linda HCS | 149,590 |
16 | VA Phoenix HCS | 149,409 |
17 | Fayetteville VAMC | 141,704 |
18 | Durham VAMC | 141,284 |
19 | Hunter Holmes McGuire Richmond VAMC | 140,167 |
20 | VA Northern California HCS | 130,656 |
21 | VA Southern Nevada HCS | 128,547 |
22 | VA Central Arkansas HCS | 127,331 |
23 | Ralph H. Johnson VAMC | 123,586 |
24 | Birmingham VAMC | 122,621 |
25 | West Palm Beach VAMC | 122,374 |
26 | VA Greater Los Angeles HCS | 121,588 |
27 | VA Gulf Coast Veterans HCS | 119,806 |
28 | Oklahoma City VAMC | 117,699 |
29 | VA Minneapolis HCS | 115,727 |
30 | Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital | 115,442 |
31 | VA Miami HCS | 112,936 |
32 | St. Louis, MO VAMC | 112,366 |
33 | VA Pittsburgh HCS | 107,635 |
34 | VA Southeast Louisiana HCS | 107,143 |
35 | VA Eastern Colorado HCS | 106,603 |
36 | Mountain Home VAMC | 105,747 |
37 | Milwaukee VAMC | 105,305 |
38 | VA Long Beach HCS | 102,971 |
39 | Philadelphia VAMC | 101,656 |
40 | VA New Jersey HCS | 100,365 |
41 | VA Southern Arizona HCS | 97,503 |
42 | VA Boston HCS | 97,257 |
43 | Hampton VAMC | 97,179 |
44 | VA San Diego HCS | 97,174 |
45 | Portland VAMC | 96,743 |
46 | VA Connecticut HCS | 95,219 |
47 | Chalmers P. Wylie Ambulatory VA HCS | 94,236 |
48 | Syracuse VAMC | 94,188 |
49 | Charles George VAMC | 93,807 |
50 | VA New Mexico HCS | 90,673 |
51 | Robley Rex VAMC | 89,425 |
52 | Lebanon VAMC | 88,584 |
53 | VA Ann Arbor HCS | 88,521 |
54 | Memphis VAMC | 87,031 |
55 | John D. Dingell VAMC | 83,309 |
56 | Richard L. Roudebush VAMC | 82,987 |
57 | VA Puget Sound HCS | 82,851 |
58 | Cincinnati VAMC | 82,724 |
59 | Harry S. Truman Memorial VA Hospital | 82,311 |
60 | Salem VAMC | 80,908 |
61 | Charlie Norwood VAMC | 79,623 |
62 | Providence VAMC | 78,855 |
63 | Kansas City VAMC | 77,853 |
64 | VA Western New York at Buffalo HCS | 74,841 |
65 | VA Central Alabama HCS | 74,280 |
66 | VA Salt Lake City HCS | 73,353 |
67 | VA of the Ozarks HCS | 73,263 |
68 | Wilkes-Barre VAMC | 71,435 |
69 | Dayton VAMC | 71,283 |
70 | VA Nebraska-Western Iowa HCS | 70,657 |
71 | VA Maryland HCS | 70,199 |
72 | VA Northern Indiana HCS | 69,781 |
73 | Montgomery VAMC | 69,777 |
74 | Washington DC VAMC | 69,332 |
75 | Carl Vinson VAMC | 69,302 |
76 | Jesse Brown VAMC | 69,231 |
77 | Overton Brooks VAMC | 68,662 |
78 | Muskogee VAMC | 67,646 |
79 | VA Maine HCS | 66,019 |
80 | Martinsburg VAMC | 61,183 |
81 | VA El Paso HCS | 60,593 |
82 | VA Eastern Kansas HCS | 60,464 |
83 | Battle Creek VAMC | 60,310 |
84 | VA NY Harbor HCS | 59,276 |
85 | VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend HCS | 58,135 |
86 | VA Palo Alto HCS | 57,809 |
87 | Marion VAMC | 57,765 |
88 | Hershel 'Woody' Williams VAMC | 56,963 |
89 | San Francisco VAMC | 56,405 |
90 | Northport Affairs VAMC | 56,273 |
91 | Albany Stratton VAMC | 55,913 |
92 | VA Iowa City HCS | 54,369 |
93 | VA Alexandria HCS | 53,191 |
94 | Wilmington VAMC | 52,047 |
95 | Bath VAMC | 51,821 |
96 | VA Montana HCS | 51,611 |
97 | Robert J. Dole VAMC | 50,969 |
98 | VA St. Cloud HCS | 49,695 |
99 | VA Central Western Massachusetts HCS | 48,775 |
100 | VA Amarillo HCS | 48,572 |
101 | VA Pacific Islands HCS | 47,272 |
102 | Aleda E. Lutz VAMC | 46,866 |
103 | Louis A. Johnson VAMC | 45,199 |
104 | Manchester VAMC | 44,940 |
105 | James E. Van Zandt Altoona VAMC | 44,001 |
106 | VA Central California HCS | 43,614 |
107 | White River Junction VAMC | 43,505 |
108 | Madison VA Hospital | 43,460 |
109 | Lexington VAMC | 43,128 |
110 | VA Sierra Nevada HCS | 43,126 |
111 | James J. Peters VAMC | 41,372 |
112 | Sioux Falls VAMC | 38,565 |
113 | Chillicothe VAMC | 37,657 |
114 | Roseburg VAMC | 37,290 |
115 | VA Illiana HCS | 36,802 |
116 | Erie VAMC | 36,543 |
117 | Fargo VAMC | 36,460 |
118 | VA Hudson Valley HCS | 35,950 |
119 | Boise VAMC | 35,350 |
120 | James A. Lovell Federal HCS | 35,331 |
121 | VA Central Iowa HCS | 32,192 |
122 | Poplar Bluff VAMC | 30,931 |
123 | Tomah VAMC | 30,342 |
124 | VA Northern Arizona HCS | 29,371 |
125 | Beckley VAMC | 26,797 |
126 | VA Butler HCS | 26,092 |
127 | Coatesville VAMC | 24,346 |
128 | Spokane VAMC | 24,171 |
129 | Cheyenne VAMC | 21,899 |
130 | Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital | 21,776 |
131 | VA West Texas HCS | 21,443 |
132 | Tuscaloosa VAMC | 20,794 |
133 | VA Black Hills HCS | 19,333 |
134 | Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VAMC | 18,266 |
135 | Grand Junction VAMC | 15,289 |
136 | Oscar G. Johnson VAMC | 14,459 |
137 | Southern Oregon HCS | 10,109 |
138 | Sheridan VAMC | 9,714 |
139 | VA Alaska HCS | 8,275 |
ORGANIZATIONS IN THIS STORY
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