Northwoods Reporter

The VA Minneapolis Health Care System, subsidiary 618GM in Rice Lake, Wisconsin scheduled 1,040 pending appointments during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 997 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.9%) and 43 appointments (4.1%) 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	80,811	73,673	7,138
618BY	Superior	9,431	8,494	937
618GI	Ramsey	9,215	8,431	784
618GE	Chippewa Falls	4,718	4,001	717
618GD	Maplewood	3,194	3,014	180
618GG	Rochester	2,473	2,424	49
618GN	Mankato	2,152	2,118	34
618GJ	Shakopee	1,797	1,718	79
618GB	Hibbing	1,308	1,259	49
618GM	Rice Lake	1,040	997	43
618GK	Albert Lea	684	644	40
618GH	Hayward	446	419	27
618GL	Minneapolis	349	348	1
618GA	St. James	315	307	8
618QA	Fort Snelling	249	249	0
618QB	Ely	161	157	4

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration