St. Cloud Sun

The VA Minneapolis Health Care System reported that 183 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 108,744 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
Minneapolis, MN	72,360	66,617	5,743
Twin Ports, WI	8,892	8,077	815
St. James, MN	229	224	5
Hibbing, MN	1,351	1,233	118
Maplewood, MN	3,063	2,850	213
Chippewa Valley, WI	3,804	3,110	694
Rochester, MN	3,051	2,646	405
Hayward, WI	395	387	8
Northwest Metro, MN	9,116	8,787	329
Shakopee, MN	1,915	1,826	89
Albert Lea, MN	762	747	15
Minneapolis Harmon Place, MN	338	336	2
Rice Lake, WI	1,122	829	293
Mankato, MN (Lyle C. Pearson)	2,018	1,978	40
Fort Snelling, MN	213	213	0
Ely, MN	115	112	3

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration