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 | Orlando VAMC | 195,150 |
2 | North Florida/South Georgia VA HCS | 189,666 |
3 | Tennessee Valley HCS | 166,175 |
4 | VA Bay Pines HCS | 164,281 |
5 | Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC | 156,978 |
6 | VA North Texas HCS | 156,908 |
7 | VA South Texas HCS | 155,093 |
8 | James A. Haley VA Hospital | 154,986 |
9 | VA Central Texas HCS | 153,187 |
10 | W. G. Hefner VA MC | 151,158 |
11 | Michael E. DeBakey VAMC | 144,789 |
12 | VA Atlanta HCS | 136,196 |
13 | VA Caribbean HCS | 122,707 |
14 | VA Phoenix HCS | 118,248 |
15 | VA Loma Linda HCS | 107,610 |
16 | Hunter Holmes McGuire Richmond VAMC | 106,865 |
17 | Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn VAMC | 103,962 |
18 | Durham VAMC | 99,027 |
19 | VA Northern California HCS | 98,552 |
20 | VA Central Arkansas HCS | 97,055 |
21 | Birmingham VAMC | 95,052 |
22 | Fayetteville VAMC | 93,525 |
23 | West Palm Beach VAMC | 93,295 |
24 | Mountain Home VAMC | 89,952 |
25 | VA Greater Los Angeles HCS | 88,043 |
26 | VA Southern Nevada HCS | 87,971 |
27 | VA Miami HCS | 87,966 |
28 | VA Gulf Coast Veterans HCS | 85,696 |
29 | Ralph H. Johnson VAMC | 82,986 |
30 | Oklahoma City VAMC | 79,443 |
31 | Milwaukee VAMC | 77,843 |
32 | VA Minneapolis HCS | 77,155 |
33 | Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital | 76,386 |
34 | VA Eastern Colorado HCS | 74,954 |
35 | VA Long Beach HCS | 74,597 |
36 | Hampton VAMC | 73,883 |
37 | Robley Rex VAMC | 73,781 |
38 | Harry S. Truman Memorial VA Hospital | 71,379 |
39 | Kansas City VAMC | 70,991 |
40 | VA Southern Arizona HCS | 69,941 |
41 | VA New Mexico HCS | 69,136 |
42 | Syracuse VAMC | 69,089 |
43 | VA Pittsburgh HCS | 68,459 |
44 | Memphis VAMC | 68,215 |
45 | VA Southeast Louisiana HCS | 66,204 |
46 | Salem VAMC | 66,176 |
47 | Philadelphia VAMC | 66,168 |
48 | Lebanon VAMC | 66,103 |
49 | VA Boston HCS | 62,597 |
50 | VA Connecticut HCS | 59,689 |
51 | John D. Dingell VAMC | 59,643 |
52 | VA of the Ozarks HCS | 59,380 |
53 | Providence VAMC | 59,302 |
54 | Richard L. Roudebush VAMC | 58,913 |
55 | VA San Diego HCS | 58,569 |
56 | VA Ann Arbor HCS | 58,517 |
57 | Muskogee VAMC | 57,538 |
58 | VA Central Alabama HCS | 57,043 |
59 | Portland VAMC | 56,424 |
60 | Dayton VAMC | 56,171 |
61 | Overton Brooks VAMC | 55,760 |
62 | Cincinnati VAMC | 55,358 |
63 | Montgomery VAMC | 55,234 |
64 | Carl Vinson VAMC | 54,362 |
65 | Charlie Norwood VAMC | 53,617 |
66 | Chalmers P. Wylie Ambulatory VA HCS | 53,557 |
67 | VA Northern Indiana HCS | 53,111 |
68 | Charles George VAMC | 53,103 |
69 | VA Nebraska-Western Iowa HCS | 52,238 |
70 | VA Western New York at Buffalo HCS | 50,102 |
71 | St. Louis, MO VAMC | 49,219 |
72 | Battle Creek VAMC | 48,976 |
73 | VA Eastern Kansas HCS | 48,638 |
74 | Marion VAMC | 48,337 |
75 | VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend HCS | 47,695 |
76 | VA New Jersey HCS | 46,038 |
77 | Wilkes-Barre VAMC | 45,511 |
78 | Hershel 'Woody' Williams VAMC | 45,055 |
79 | Robert J. Dole VAMC | 44,199 |
80 | VA Montana HCS | 43,540 |
81 | VA Puget Sound HCS | 42,960 |
82 | VA Maryland HCS | 41,756 |
83 | VA Salt Lake City HCS | 41,541 |
84 | VA El Paso HCS | 41,495 |
85 | VA Amarillo HCS | 41,317 |
86 | VA Iowa City HCS | 40,664 |
87 | James E. Van Zandt Altoona VAMC | 40,409 |
88 | VA Alexandria HCS | 39,245 |
89 | Albany Stratton VAMC | 39,231 |
90 | VA Maine HCS | 38,825 |
91 | Jesse Brown VAMC | 37,839 |
92 | Washington DC VAMC | 35,998 |
93 | VA Pacific Islands HCS | 35,301 |
94 | San Francisco VAMC | 34,860 |
95 | VA St. Cloud HCS | 34,788 |
96 | VA Palo Alto HCS | 34,351 |
97 | Martinsburg VAMC | 33,900 |
98 | Louis A. Johnson VAMC | 33,678 |
99 | VA Sierra Nevada HCS | 31,370 |
100 | Wilmington VAMC | 30,879 |
101 | VA Illiana HCS | 29,427 |
102 | Lexington VAMC | 28,985 |
103 | VA NY Harbor HCS | 28,357 |
104 | Aleda E. Lutz VAMC | 27,765 |
105 | Fargo VAMC | 27,329 |
106 | Madison VA Hospital | 27,264 |
107 | VA Central California HCS | 27,252 |
108 | Sioux Falls VAMC | 26,889 |
109 | Chillicothe VAMC | 26,866 |
110 | VA Central Iowa HCS | 26,610 |
111 | Erie VAMC | 26,090 |
112 | Roseburg VAMC | 26,014 |
113 | Poplar Bluff VAMC | 25,364 |
114 | Northport Affairs VAMC | 25,003 |
115 | Tomah VAMC | 24,515 |
116 | White River Junction VAMC | 23,992 |
117 | Manchester VAMC | 23,819 |
118 | VA Central Western Massachusetts HCS | 23,625 |
119 | Bath VAMC | 23,613 |
120 | VA Butler HCS | 22,724 |
121 | James J. Peters VAMC | 21,976 |
122 | James A. Lovell Federal HCS | 21,278 |
123 | Boise VAMC | 20,524 |
124 | Beckley VAMC | 20,460 |
125 | VA Northern Arizona HCS | 19,994 |
126 | VA Black Hills HCS | 17,176 |
127 | Tuscaloosa VAMC | 16,174 |
128 | Coatesville VAMC | 15,444 |
129 | Cheyenne VAMC | 14,911 |
130 | Spokane VAMC | 14,780 |
131 | VA West Texas HCS | 13,532 |
132 | VA Hudson Valley HCS | 13,350 |
133 | Oscar G. Johnson VAMC | 12,684 |
134 | Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VAMC | 11,026 |
135 | Grand Junction VAMC | 9,789 |
136 | Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital | 9,323 |
137 | Sheridan VAMC | 6,506 |
138 | VA Alaska HCS | 4,864 |
139 | Southern Oregon HCS | 4,408 |