Northwoods Reporter

The VA Minneapolis Health Care System, subsidiary 618GM in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, scheduled 1,025 pending appointments during the period ending November 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 942 had a wait time of 30 days or less (91.9%) and 83 appointments (8.1%) 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	54,472	46,128	8,344
618BY	Superior	6,611	5,685	926
618GI	Ramsey	5,403	4,296	1,107
618GE	Chippewa Falls	3,043	2,825	218
618GD	Maplewood	2,698	2,331	367
618GG	Rochester	2,029	1,990	39
618GN	Mankato	1,453	1,398	55
618GJ	Shakopee	1,039	1,003	36
618GM	Rice Lake	1,025	942	83
618GB	Hibbing	712	688	24
618GK	Albert Lea	645	628	17
618GA	St. James	579	531	48
618GH	Hayward	402	387	15
618GL	Minneapolis	189	189	0
618QB	Ely	157	129	28
618QA	Fort Snelling	99	99	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration