Northwoods Reporter

The VA Minneapolis Health Care System, subsidiary 618GM in Rice Lake, Wisconsin scheduled 1,054 pending appointments during the period ending January 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 937 had a wait time of 30 days or less (88.9%) and 117 appointments (11.1%) 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	76,729	69,347	7,382
618BY	Superior	9,278	8,341	937
618GI	Ramsey	8,586	7,991	595
618GE	Chippewa Falls	4,340	3,375	965
618GD	Maplewood	3,300	3,083	217
618GG	Rochester	2,526	2,479	47
618GN	Mankato	2,049	2,011	38
618GJ	Shakopee	1,726	1,658	68
618GB	Hibbing	1,242	1,195	47
618GM	Rice Lake	1,054	937	117
618GK	Albert Lea	603	573	30
618GL	Minneapolis	326	324	2
618GA	St. James	298	286	12
618GH	Hayward	287	273	14
618QA	Fort Snelling	218	218	0
618QB	Ely	151	146	5

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration