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 | 202,056 |
2 | North Florida/South Georgia VA HCS | 190,933 |
3 | VA Bay Pines HCS | 168,740 |
4 | Tennessee Valley HCS | 168,388 |
5 | VA North Texas HCS | 160,732 |
6 | Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC | 159,595 |
7 | James A. Haley VA Hospital | 157,746 |
8 | VA Central Texas HCS | 156,277 |
9 | VA South Texas HCS | 155,709 |
10 | W. G. Hefner VA MC | 152,303 |
11 | Michael E. DeBakey VAMC | 146,666 |
12 | VA Atlanta HCS | 140,842 |
13 | VA Caribbean HCS | 123,286 |
14 | VA Phoenix HCS | 118,057 |
15 | VA Loma Linda HCS | 108,835 |
16 | Hunter Holmes McGuire Richmond VAMC | 105,947 |
17 | Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn VAMC | 101,907 |
18 | VA Northern California HCS | 101,603 |
19 | Birmingham VAMC | 96,903 |
20 | Durham VAMC | 95,858 |
21 | VA Central Arkansas HCS | 94,870 |
22 | West Palm Beach VAMC | 94,806 |
23 | Fayetteville VAMC | 94,723 |
24 | Mountain Home VAMC | 92,150 |
25 | VA Miami HCS | 91,630 |
26 | VA Southern Nevada HCS | 91,022 |
27 | VA Greater Los Angeles HCS | 88,841 |
28 | Ralph H. Johnson VAMC | 84,762 |
29 | Oklahoma City VAMC | 81,275 |
30 | VA Gulf Coast Veterans HCS | 79,612 |
31 | Milwaukee VAMC | 78,978 |
32 | VA Long Beach HCS | 78,164 |
33 | Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital | 77,030 |
34 | VA Minneapolis HCS | 76,819 |
35 | Robley Rex VAMC | 75,474 |
36 | VA Eastern Colorado HCS | 75,117 |
37 | Harry S. Truman Memorial VA Hospital | 73,771 |
38 | VA Southern Arizona HCS | 72,779 |
39 | VA Pittsburgh HCS | 71,842 |
40 | Kansas City VAMC | 70,391 |
41 | VA Southeast Louisiana HCS | 70,153 |
42 | Hampton VAMC | 69,841 |
43 | VA New Mexico HCS | 68,621 |
44 | Memphis VAMC | 68,321 |
45 | Syracuse VAMC | 67,925 |
46 | Salem VAMC | 67,558 |
47 | Lebanon VAMC | 65,339 |
48 | VA Boston HCS | 64,452 |
49 | Philadelphia VAMC | 63,827 |
50 | Richard L. Roudebush VAMC | 60,839 |
51 | VA Connecticut HCS | 60,745 |
52 | John D. Dingell VAMC | 60,439 |
53 | VA Ann Arbor HCS | 60,077 |
54 | VA of the Ozarks HCS | 59,799 |
55 | Providence VAMC | 58,716 |
56 | VA San Diego HCS | 58,307 |
57 | Dayton VAMC | 58,086 |
58 | Muskogee VAMC | 57,692 |
59 | Cincinnati VAMC | 56,844 |
60 | VA Central Alabama HCS | 56,190 |
61 | Overton Brooks VAMC | 56,174 |
62 | Montgomery VAMC | 56,142 |
63 | VA Nebraska-Western Iowa HCS | 55,807 |
64 | Carl Vinson VAMC | 55,465 |
65 | Portland VAMC | 54,850 |
66 | VA Northern Indiana HCS | 52,367 |
67 | Charlie Norwood VAMC | 52,353 |
68 | St. Louis, MO VAMC | 51,682 |
69 | Chalmers P. Wylie Ambulatory VA HCS | 51,326 |
70 | Battle Creek VAMC | 50,303 |
71 | Charles George VAMC | 50,197 |
72 | VA Western New York at Buffalo HCS | 50,078 |
73 | VA Eastern Kansas HCS | 49,631 |
74 | Marion VAMC | 49,463 |
75 | VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend HCS | 49,021 |
76 | VA New Jersey HCS | 48,727 |
77 | Wilkes-Barre VAMC | 46,695 |
78 | Hershel 'Woody' Williams VAMC | 46,113 |
79 | Robert J. Dole VAMC | 45,453 |
80 | VA Puget Sound HCS | 45,308 |
81 | VA Montana HCS | 43,988 |
82 | VA Maryland HCS | 43,370 |
83 | VA Amarillo HCS | 43,180 |
84 | VA El Paso HCS | 41,714 |
85 | VA Salt Lake City HCS | 41,642 |
86 | James E. Van Zandt Altoona VAMC | 41,096 |
87 | Jesse Brown VAMC | 40,957 |
88 | VA Iowa City HCS | 40,636 |
89 | VA Maine HCS | 40,117 |
90 | Albany Stratton VAMC | 39,396 |
91 | VA Palo Alto HCS | 39,030 |
92 | VA Alexandria HCS | 38,757 |
93 | Washington DC VAMC | 38,614 |
94 | Martinsburg VAMC | 35,572 |
95 | San Francisco VAMC | 35,034 |
96 | VA Pacific Islands HCS | 34,506 |
97 | Louis A. Johnson VAMC | 34,318 |
98 | VA St. Cloud HCS | 33,908 |
99 | VA NY Harbor HCS | 32,207 |
100 | VA Sierra Nevada HCS | 31,853 |
101 | Lexington VAMC | 31,326 |
102 | Wilmington VAMC | 30,991 |
103 | VA Illiana HCS | 29,813 |
104 | Aleda E. Lutz VAMC | 29,454 |
105 | Sioux Falls VAMC | 28,983 |
106 | Fargo VAMC | 27,923 |
107 | Chillicothe VAMC | 27,765 |
108 | VA Central Iowa HCS | 27,543 |
109 | VA Central California HCS | 27,258 |
110 | Madison VA Hospital | 27,210 |
111 | Erie VAMC | 27,174 |
112 | Northport Affairs VAMC | 26,148 |
113 | Roseburg VAMC | 25,982 |
114 | Poplar Bluff VAMC | 25,770 |
115 | VA Central Western Massachusetts HCS | 25,335 |
116 | Tomah VAMC | 25,244 |
117 | Bath VAMC | 24,870 |
118 | White River Junction VAMC | 24,193 |
119 | James J. Peters VAMC | 24,035 |
120 | VA Butler HCS | 23,379 |
121 | James A. Lovell Federal HCS | 23,365 |
122 | Boise VAMC | 22,826 |
123 | Manchester VAMC | 22,169 |
124 | Beckley VAMC | 20,812 |
125 | VA Northern Arizona HCS | 20,361 |
126 | VA Black Hills HCS | 18,062 |
127 | Tuscaloosa VAMC | 16,113 |
128 | VA Hudson Valley HCS | 14,964 |
129 | Coatesville VAMC | 14,835 |
130 | Spokane VAMC | 14,542 |
131 | Cheyenne VAMC | 14,295 |
132 | VA West Texas HCS | 13,860 |
133 | Oscar G. Johnson VAMC | 13,567 |
134 | Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VAMC | 11,527 |
135 | Grand Junction VAMC | 10,254 |
136 | Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital | 10,104 |
137 | Sheridan VAMC | 6,604 |
138 | VA Alaska HCS | 5,471 |
139 | Southern Oregon HCS | 4,273 |
ORGANIZATIONS IN THIS STORY
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