Northwoods Reporter

The VA Minneapolis Health Care System, subsidiary 618GM in Rice Lake, Wisconsin scheduled 811 pending appointments during the period ending June 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 640 had a wait time of 30 days or less (78.9%) and 171 appointments (21.1%) 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	56,953	45,690	11,263
618BY	Superior	7,349	6,188	1,161
618GI	Ramsey	5,592	4,825	767
618GE	Chippewa Falls	3,987	3,164	823
618GD	Maplewood	2,100	1,839	261
618GN	Mankato	1,814	1,658	156
618GG	Rochester	1,794	1,755	39
618GJ	Shakopee	1,299	1,244	55
618GB	Hibbing	828	706	122
618GM	Rice Lake	811	640	171
618GK	Albert Lea	662	522	140
618GA	St. James	429	387	42
618GH	Hayward	405	355	50
618QB	Ely	144	81	63
618GL	Minneapolis	93	92	1

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration