Northwoods Reporter

The VA Minneapolis Health Care System, subsidiary 618GH in Hayward, Wisconsin, scheduled 416 pending appointments during the period ending July 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 356 had a wait time of 30 days or less (85.6%) and 60 appointments (14.4%) 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 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	53,983	43,255	10,728
618BY	Superior	6,967	5,837	1,130
618GI	Ramsey	5,156	4,361	795
618GE	Chippewa Falls	3,768	3,246	522
618GD	Maplewood	1,817	1,649	168
618GG	Rochester	1,743	1,714	29
618GN	Mankato	1,527	1,435	92
618GJ	Shakopee	1,237	1,201	36
618GM	Rice Lake	810	661	149
618GB	Hibbing	705	614	91
618GK	Albert Lea	633	518	115
618GA	St. James	457	423	34
618GH	Hayward	416	356	60
618QB	Ely	156	97	59
618GL	Minneapolis	105	105	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration