Northwoods Reporter

The VA Minneapolis Health Care System, subsidiary 618GM in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, scheduled 867 pending appointments during the period ending August 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 721 had a wait time of 30 days or less (83.2%) and 146 appointments (16.8%) 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	53,974	44,156	9,818
618BY	Superior	6,740	5,641	1,099
618GI	Ramsey	4,890	4,056	834
618GE	Chippewa Falls	3,556	3,163	393
618GD	Maplewood	2,102	1,944	158
618GG	Rochester	1,685	1,636	49
618GN	Mankato	1,507	1,430	77
618GJ	Shakopee	1,184	1,153	31
618GM	Rice Lake	867	721	146
618GK	Albert Lea	723	648	75
618GB	Hibbing	715	651	64
618GA	St. James	530	501	29
618GH	Hayward	433	403	30
618QB	Ely	162	123	39
618GL	Minneapolis	121	121	0
618QA	Fort Snelling	42	42	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration