Northwoods Reporter

The VA Minneapolis Health Care System, subsidiary 618GH in Hayward, Wisconsin scheduled 323 pending appointments during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 320 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99.1%) and three appointments (0.9%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

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 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 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.

The VA explains on its website that when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to one of eight priority groups, with those who need immediate care due to service-related disabilities placed in higher priority groups. Veterans who do not have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Facility Code	Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
618	Minneapolis	72,325	66,638	5,687
618BY	Superior	8,816	8,031	785
618GI	Ramsey	8,787	8,523	264
618GE	Chippewa Falls	3,869	3,020	849
618GD	Maplewood	2,979	2,785	194
618GG	Rochester	2,826	2,590	236
618GN	Mankato	1,957	1,922	35
618GJ	Shakopee	1,766	1,700	66
618GB	Hibbing	1,274	1,173	101
618GM	Rice Lake	1,052	812	240
618GK	Albert Lea	627	609	18
618GH	Hayward	323	320	3
618GL	Minneapolis	255	253	2
618GA	St. James	229	222	7
618QA	Fort Snelling	185	185	0
618QB	Ely	130	128	2

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration