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 | Orlando VAMC | 198,949 |
2 | North Florida/South Georgia VA HCS | 180,165 |
3 | VA Bay Pines HCS | 172,363 |
4 | Tennessee Valley HCS | 171,601 |
5 | VA North Texas HCS | 169,347 |
6 | VA Central Texas HCS | 169,162 |
7 | W. G. Hefner VA MC | 168,842 |
8 | Michael E. DeBakey VAMC | 168,025 |
9 | VA Atlanta HCS | 167,537 |
10 | James A. Haley VA Hospital | 167,446 |
11 | VA South Texas HCS | 159,280 |
12 | Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC | 149,520 |
13 | VA Caribbean HCS | 131,970 |
14 | Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn VAMC | 125,129 |
15 | Durham VAMC | 120,720 |
16 | VA Phoenix HCS | 120,146 |
17 | VA Loma Linda HCS | 117,824 |
18 | Hunter Holmes McGuire Richmond VAMC | 117,202 |
19 | Birmingham VAMC | 105,464 |
20 | West Palm Beach VAMC | 104,557 |
21 | Fayetteville VAMC | 102,738 |
22 | VA Central Arkansas HCS | 102,081 |
23 | VA Northern California HCS | 100,548 |
24 | VA Gulf Coast Veterans HCS | 98,193 |
25 | Ralph H. Johnson VAMC | 94,042 |
26 | VA Southern Nevada HCS | 93,873 |
27 | VA Greater Los Angeles HCS | 93,497 |
28 | Mountain Home VAMC | 92,716 |
29 | VA Miami HCS | 90,993 |
30 | Milwaukee VAMC | 90,119 |
31 | Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital | 86,362 |
32 | Oklahoma City VAMC | 84,631 |
33 | VA Minneapolis HCS | 84,260 |
34 | VA Southern Arizona HCS | 81,234 |
35 | Hampton VAMC | 80,985 |
36 | Philadelphia VAMC | 80,216 |
37 | VA Eastern Colorado HCS | 79,335 |
38 | Syracuse VAMC | 77,080 |
39 | VA Southeast Louisiana HCS | 76,730 |
40 | Memphis VAMC | 76,354 |
41 | VA Long Beach HCS | 73,493 |
42 | Lebanon VAMC | 73,253 |
43 | Kansas City VAMC | 71,971 |
44 | Robley Rex VAMC | 71,913 |
45 | VA New Mexico HCS | 70,726 |
46 | Salem VAMC | 69,996 |
47 | Charles George VAMC | 69,520 |
48 | Harry S. Truman Memorial VA Hospital | 69,246 |
49 | VA Boston HCS | 69,086 |
50 | VA Pittsburgh HCS | 68,542 |
51 | VA San Diego HCS | 68,220 |
52 | VA Connecticut HCS | 66,902 |
53 | VA of the Ozarks HCS | 66,694 |
54 | VA Ann Arbor HCS | 62,766 |
55 | Providence VAMC | 62,634 |
56 | VA New Jersey HCS | 62,389 |
57 | Portland VAMC | 62,168 |
58 | Overton Brooks VAMC | 61,502 |
59 | John D. Dingell VAMC | 61,421 |
60 | Charlie Norwood VAMC | 61,145 |
61 | Muskogee VAMC | 60,936 |
62 | Richard L. Roudebush VAMC | 60,842 |
63 | Montgomery VAMC | 60,272 |
64 | VA Central Alabama HCS | 59,759 |
65 | Cincinnati VAMC | 59,588 |
66 | St. Louis, MO VAMC | 59,150 |
67 | VA Northern Indiana HCS | 58,762 |
68 | Carl Vinson VAMC | 56,334 |
69 | VA Western New York at Buffalo HCS | 56,135 |
70 | Chalmers P. Wylie Ambulatory VA HCS | 56,093 |
71 | VA Salt Lake City HCS | 56,049 |
72 | Wilkes-Barre VAMC | 53,044 |
73 | Dayton VAMC | 53,030 |
74 | Marion VAMC | 50,386 |
75 | VA Eastern Kansas HCS | 50,309 |
76 | VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend HCS | 49,329 |
77 | VA Puget Sound HCS | 49,055 |
78 | Battle Creek VAMC | 48,315 |
79 | VA El Paso HCS | 47,223 |
80 | VA Nebraska-Western Iowa HCS | 47,025 |
81 | VA Iowa City HCS | 46,585 |
82 | Hershel 'Woody' Williams VAMC | 46,215 |
83 | Albany Stratton VAMC | 43,932 |
84 | VA Maine HCS | 43,332 |
85 | VA Maryland HCS | 43,244 |
86 | VA Alexandria HCS | 43,204 |
87 | VA Montana HCS | 42,528 |
88 | Robert J. Dole VAMC | 42,447 |
89 | VA Amarillo HCS | 42,314 |
90 | Jesse Brown VAMC | 40,276 |
91 | James E. Van Zandt Altoona VAMC | 40,048 |
92 | Wilmington VAMC | 39,480 |
93 | VA Pacific Islands HCS | 39,172 |
94 | Martinsburg VAMC | 38,350 |
95 | San Francisco VAMC | 35,420 |
96 | Louis A. Johnson VAMC | 35,032 |
97 | VA St. Cloud HCS | 34,485 |
98 | Northport Affairs VAMC | 34,447 |
99 | VA Sierra Nevada HCS | 34,334 |
100 | Washington DC VAMC | 34,333 |
101 | Aleda E. Lutz VAMC | 33,227 |
102 | Bath VAMC | 32,007 |
103 | Manchester VAMC | 31,909 |
104 | White River Junction VAMC | 30,830 |
105 | VA Central California HCS | 30,674 |
106 | VA Illiana HCS | 30,501 |
107 | VA Central Western Massachusetts HCS | 29,806 |
108 | Chillicothe VAMC | 28,818 |
109 | Roseburg VAMC | 28,710 |
110 | Madison VA Hospital | 28,582 |
111 | Poplar Bluff VAMC | 27,326 |
112 | VA Palo Alto HCS | 27,115 |
113 | Erie VAMC | 27,112 |
114 | Tomah VAMC | 27,088 |
115 | Boise VAMC | 26,313 |
116 | VA NY Harbor HCS | 26,100 |
117 | Lexington VAMC | 25,730 |
118 | James J. Peters VAMC | 24,750 |
119 | Fargo VAMC | 23,735 |
120 | VA Northern Arizona HCS | 23,598 |
121 | VA Butler HCS | 23,313 |
122 | Sioux Falls VAMC | 22,694 |
123 | James A. Lovell Federal HCS | 22,485 |
124 | Beckley VAMC | 21,307 |
125 | VA Central Iowa HCS | 20,503 |
126 | Coatesville VAMC | 18,334 |
127 | Tuscaloosa VAMC | 18,172 |
128 | VA Hudson Valley HCS | 17,740 |
129 | VA Black Hills HCS | 16,419 |
130 | Spokane VAMC | 15,453 |
131 | VA West Texas HCS | 14,918 |
132 | Cheyenne VAMC | 13,941 |
133 | Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VAMC | 12,675 |
134 | Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital | 10,870 |
135 | Grand Junction VAMC | 9,847 |
136 | Oscar G. Johnson VAMC | 9,333 |
137 | Sheridan VAMC | 6,877 |
138 | Southern Oregon HCS | 5,367 |
139 | VA Alaska HCS | 3,471 |
ORGANIZATIONS IN THIS STORY
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