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 | 223,427 |
2 | Orlando VAMC | 222,410 |
3 | W. G. Hefner VA MC | 188,315 |
4 | James A. Haley VA Hospital | 186,532 |
5 | Tennessee Valley HCS | 181,752 |
6 | VA Central Texas HCS | 180,538 |
7 | VA Bay Pines HCS | 180,109 |
8 | VA North Texas HCS | 179,667 |
9 | VA Atlanta HCS | 178,524 |
10 | Michael E. DeBakey VAMC | 175,407 |
11 | VA South Texas HCS | 169,544 |
12 | Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC | 167,840 |
13 | VA Caribbean HCS | 142,664 |
14 | Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn VAMC | 141,389 |
15 | VA Loma Linda HCS | 133,544 |
16 | Durham VAMC | 126,763 |
17 | Fayetteville VAMC | 124,443 |
18 | VA Phoenix HCS | 122,936 |
19 | Hunter Holmes McGuire Richmond VAMC | 121,915 |
20 | VA Central Arkansas HCS | 112,183 |
21 | Birmingham VAMC | 110,401 |
22 | VA Northern California HCS | 108,619 |
23 | VA Gulf Coast Veterans HCS | 108,017 |
24 | Ralph H. Johnson VAMC | 107,406 |
25 | West Palm Beach VAMC | 107,244 |
26 | VA Greater Los Angeles HCS | 105,286 |
27 | VA Southern Nevada HCS | 103,902 |
28 | Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital | 99,885 |
29 | Mountain Home VAMC | 98,646 |
30 | Oklahoma City VAMC | 96,318 |
31 | VA Minneapolis HCS | 94,352 |
32 | VA Miami HCS | 92,086 |
33 | VA Eastern Colorado HCS | 90,091 |
34 | VA Pittsburgh HCS | 89,953 |
35 | Milwaukee VAMC | 89,946 |
36 | VA Southeast Louisiana HCS | 88,935 |
37 | Philadelphia VAMC | 87,272 |
38 | Hampton VAMC | 86,856 |
39 | Charles George VAMC | 84,653 |
40 | St. Louis, MO VAMC | 84,425 |
41 | Syracuse VAMC | 83,312 |
42 | Memphis VAMC | 81,470 |
43 | Robley Rex VAMC | 80,712 |
44 | Lebanon VAMC | 79,557 |
45 | VA Southern Arizona HCS | 78,868 |
46 | VA Long Beach HCS | 78,760 |
47 | VA Connecticut HCS | 78,565 |
48 | VA Boston HCS | 78,467 |
49 | VA San Diego HCS | 78,130 |
50 | VA New Mexico HCS | 76,725 |
51 | Chalmers P. Wylie Ambulatory VA HCS | 76,036 |
52 | VA New Jersey HCS | 74,936 |
53 | Kansas City VAMC | 74,397 |
54 | VA Ann Arbor HCS | 72,154 |
55 | Richard L. Roudebush VAMC | 71,904 |
56 | Salem VAMC | 71,407 |
57 | Harry S. Truman Memorial VA Hospital | 70,821 |
58 | Portland VAMC | 70,200 |
59 | Providence VAMC | 69,422 |
60 | Charlie Norwood VAMC | 69,054 |
61 | VA of the Ozarks HCS | 68,963 |
62 | John D. Dingell VAMC | 68,298 |
63 | Cincinnati VAMC | 68,185 |
64 | VA Central Alabama HCS | 65,478 |
65 | VA Western New York at Buffalo HCS | 65,126 |
66 | Montgomery VAMC | 63,562 |
67 | Muskogee VAMC | 63,126 |
68 | VA Northern Indiana HCS | 62,727 |
69 | Overton Brooks VAMC | 62,065 |
70 | Carl Vinson VAMC | 61,726 |
71 | Wilkes-Barre VAMC | 61,464 |
72 | VA Puget Sound HCS | 61,166 |
73 | Dayton VAMC | 60,183 |
74 | VA Salt Lake City HCS | 57,067 |
75 | Jesse Brown VAMC | 54,833 |
76 | VA Nebraska-Western Iowa HCS | 54,807 |
77 | VA El Paso HCS | 53,676 |
78 | Battle Creek VAMC | 53,182 |
79 | Marion VAMC | 52,658 |
80 | VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend HCS | 52,218 |
81 | VA Maine HCS | 52,001 |
82 | Washington DC VAMC | 51,937 |
83 | VA Eastern Kansas HCS | 50,420 |
84 | Hershel 'Woody' Williams VAMC | 50,206 |
85 | VA Maryland HCS | 49,667 |
86 | Albany Stratton VAMC | 49,552 |
87 | Martinsburg VAMC | 48,100 |
88 | VA Iowa City HCS | 47,971 |
89 | VA Alexandria HCS | 46,340 |
90 | VA Amarillo HCS | 45,752 |
91 | VA Montana HCS | 45,285 |
92 | Robert J. Dole VAMC | 45,223 |
93 | Northport Affairs VAMC | 44,451 |
94 | San Francisco VAMC | 43,707 |
95 | Bath VAMC | 43,057 |
96 | Wilmington VAMC | 42,667 |
97 | James E. Van Zandt Altoona VAMC | 41,545 |
98 | VA Pacific Islands HCS | 39,921 |
99 | Aleda E. Lutz VAMC | 39,443 |
100 | VA Central Western Massachusetts HCS | 39,364 |
101 | Louis A. Johnson VAMC | 39,196 |
102 | VA Sierra Nevada HCS | 37,663 |
103 | Manchester VAMC | 37,527 |
104 | VA St. Cloud HCS | 37,249 |
105 | VA Palo Alto HCS | 37,044 |
106 | White River Junction VAMC | 36,081 |
107 | VA Central California HCS | 35,252 |
108 | Lexington VAMC | 34,703 |
109 | Sioux Falls VAMC | 33,819 |
110 | James J. Peters VAMC | 33,584 |
111 | VA NY Harbor HCS | 32,821 |
112 | VA Illiana HCS | 32,691 |
113 | Madison VA Hospital | 32,634 |
114 | Fargo VAMC | 32,009 |
115 | Erie VAMC | 31,316 |
116 | Chillicothe VAMC | 30,131 |
117 | Roseburg VAMC | 30,085 |
118 | James A. Lovell Federal HCS | 29,100 |
119 | Boise VAMC | 28,819 |
120 | VA Central Iowa HCS | 27,134 |
121 | Poplar Bluff VAMC | 26,815 |
122 | VA Hudson Valley HCS | 26,663 |
123 | Tomah VAMC | 25,885 |
124 | VA Northern Arizona HCS | 24,560 |
125 | Beckley VAMC | 23,717 |
126 | VA Butler HCS | 23,438 |
127 | Coatesville VAMC | 21,420 |
128 | Tuscaloosa VAMC | 18,913 |
129 | Spokane VAMC | 18,726 |
130 | Cheyenne VAMC | 17,691 |
131 | VA West Texas HCS | 17,418 |
132 | VA Black Hills HCS | 16,080 |
133 | Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital | 15,907 |
134 | Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VAMC | 15,818 |
135 | Grand Junction VAMC | 10,781 |
136 | Oscar G. Johnson VAMC | 10,507 |
137 | Sheridan VAMC | 8,406 |
138 | Southern Oregon HCS | 6,896 |
139 | VA Alaska HCS | 5,001 |