Palm Coast Times

The North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System reported that 20 patients newly enrolled in its benefits program requested appointments but had not received one during the period ending January 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

During that same time frame, the system scheduled 266,735 pending appointments across its 24 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
Gainesville, FL (Malcom Randall)	59,941	55,135	4,806
Lake City, FL	18,106	16,760	1,346
Jacksonville 1, FL	42,924	37,312	5,612
Valdosta, GA	4,960	4,835	125
Ocala, FL	9,935	9,573	362
Saint Augustine, FL	9,412	8,915	497
Tallahassee, FL (Sergeant Ernest I. Boots Thomas)	26,868	25,643	1,225
Lecanto, FL	4	4	0
The Villages, FL	30,868	29,279	1,589
St. Marys, GA	3,958	3,816	142
Marianna, FL	3,078	3,052	26
Palatka, FL	3,363	3,324	39
Waycross, GA	3,304	3,234	70
Perry, FL	624	623	1
Gainesville 1-16th Street, FL	57	56	1
Gainesville 2-98th Street, FL	1,146	1,058	88
Gainesville 3-64th Street (C), FL	1,742	966	776
Gainesville 4-64th Street (O), FL	7,046	6,873	173
Gainesville 5-64th Street (D), FL	4,869	4,499	370
Gainesville 6-23rd Avenue, FL	57	52	5
Jacksonville Southpoint, FL	13,989	12,978	1,011
Ocala West, FL	5,129	4,675	454
Jacksonville 2, FL	11,405	10,791	614
Lake City Commerce Drive, FL	3,950	3,939	11

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration