Palm Coast Times

The North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System reported that 21 patients newly enrolled in its benefits program requested appointments but had not received one during the period ending December 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

During that same time frame, the system scheduled 266,784 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)	59,327	55,012	4,315
Lake City, FL	18,246	17,036	1,210
Jacksonville 1, FL	42,833	37,616	5,217
Valdosta, GA	5,120	5,020	100
Ocala, FL	9,901	9,622	279
Saint Augustine, FL	9,326	8,833	493
Tallahassee, FL (Sergeant Ernest I. Boots Thomas)	26,752	25,574	1,178
Lecanto, FL	4	4	0
The Villages, FL	31,064	29,503	1,561
St. Marys, GA	4,001	3,864	137
Marianna, FL	3,108	3,093	15
Palatka, FL	3,393	3,354	39
Waycross, GA	3,221	3,166	55
Perry, FL	601	600	1
Gainesville 1-16th Street, FL	80	80	0
Gainesville 2-98th Street, FL	1,156	1,088	68
Gainesville 3-64th Street (C), FL	1,793	996	797
Gainesville 4-64th Street (O), FL	6,977	6,809	168
Gainesville 5-64th Street (D), FL	4,921	4,588	333
Gainesville 6-23rd Avenue, FL	30	30	0
Jacksonville Southpoint, FL	14,407	13,479	928
Ocala West, FL	5,108	4,670	438
Jacksonville 2, FL	11,452	10,859	593
Lake City Commerce Drive, FL	3,963	3,956	7

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration