Northwoods Reporter

The VA Minneapolis Health Care System, subsidiary 618GM in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, scheduled 1,633 pending appointments during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 1,561 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.6%) and 72 appointments (4.4%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported 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.

However, the Government Accountability Office released a report in July 2019 cautinging 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 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	68,903	60,727	8,176
618BY	Superior	8,798	7,968	830
618GI	Ramsey	5,689	4,428	1,261
618GE	Chippewa Falls	4,033	3,864	169
618GG	Rochester	2,816	2,765	51
618GD	Maplewood	2,618	2,341	277
618GD	Maplewood	2,618	2,341	277
618GJ	Shakopee	1,880	1,831	49
618GB	Hibbing	1,634	1,560	74
618GM	Rice Lake	1,633	1,561	72
618GN	Mankato	1,393	1,357	36
618GA	St. James	545	534	11
618GK	Albert Lea	407	399	8
618GH	Hayward	229	222	7
618GL	Minneapolis	222	220	2
618QB	Ely	216	209	7
618QA	Fort Snelling	115	115	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration