Northwoods Reporter

The VA Minneapolis Health Care System, subsidiary 618GM in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, scheduled 863 pending appointments during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 776 had a wait time of 30 days or less (89.9%) and 87 appointments (10.1%) 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 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	52,427	44,041	8,386
618BY	Superior	6,300	5,322	978
618GI	Ramsey	4,704	3,828	876
618GE	Chippewa Falls	3,158	2,929	229
618GD	Maplewood	2,168	1,903	265
618GG	Rochester	2,026	1,930	96
618GN	Mankato	1,356	1,321	35
618GJ	Shakopee	1,027	996	31
618GM	Rice Lake	863	776	87
618GK	Albert Lea	689	656	33
618GB	Hibbing	676	650	26
618GA	St. James	586	553	33
618GH	Hayward	428	424	4
618QB	Ely	176	134	42
618GL	Minneapolis	154	154	0
618QA	Fort Snelling	81	81	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration