Athens Reporter

The VA Atlanta Health Care System reported that 26 patients newly enrolled in its benefits program requested appointments but had not received one during the period ending September 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

During that same time frame, the system scheduled 214,254 pending appointments across its 16 healthcare facilities.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported that wait times for new appointments at VA health care facilities were similar or better to wait times at private-sector providers between 2014 and 2017.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), however, released a report in July 2019 that cautioned that 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.

At a hearing before the House Veterans Affairs Committee after the report was released, Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, said new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

The VA explains on its website that when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to 1 of 8 priority groups, with those who 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.

Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Atlanta, GA	85,479	79,279	6,200
Fort McPherson, GA	19,955	18,801	1,154
Oakwood, GA	10,802	10,593	209
Austell, GA	5,277	5,248	29
Stockbridge, GA	9,963	9,907	56
Lawrenceville, GA	10,408	10,305	103
Newnan, GA	7,629	7,601	28
Blairsville, GA	4,226	4,199	27
Carrollton, GA (Trinka Davis Village)	8,207	7,895	312
Rome, GA	3,036	2,980	56
Northeast Cobb County, GA	2,945	2,838	107
East Point, GA	380	366	14
Henderson Mill, GA	1,903	1,893	10
Fulton County, GA	198	190	8
Gwinnett County, GA	4,325	4,299	26
Atlanta North Arcadia Avenue, GA	39,521	34,919	4,602

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration