Georgia Mountain News

The VA Atlanta Health Care System reported that 77 patients newly enrolled in its benefits program requested appointments but had not received one during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

During that same time frame, the system scheduled 219,037 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	87,391	80,711	6,680
Fort McPherson, GA	19,638	17,900	1,738
Oakwood, GA	11,518	11,230	288
Austell, GA	3,986	3,973	13
Stockbridge, GA	9,011	8,976	35
Lawrenceville, GA	10,860	10,714	146
Newnan, GA	7,139	7,100	39
Blairsville, GA	3,822	3,753	69
Carrollton, GA (Trinka Davis Village)	9,068	8,382	686
Rome, GA	3,122	3,096	26
Northeast Cobb County, GA	4,094	3,970	124
East Point, GA	467	449	18
Henderson Mill, GA	2,407	2,395	12
Fulton County, GA	60	56	4
Gwinnett County, GA	4,432	4,392	40
Atlanta North Arcadia Avenue, GA	40,210	35,282	4,928

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration