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.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), however, released a report in July 2019 cautioning 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.
Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, told the House Veterans Affairs Committee new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.
The VA explains that when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to one of eight priority groups, with those need immediate care due to service-related disabilities placed in higher priority groups. Veterans who don’t have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.
Rank | Health Care System | Total Pending Appointments Scheduled |
---|---|---|
1 | North Florida/South Georgia VA HCS | 266,735 |
2 | Orlando VAMC | 239,660 |
3 | VA Atlanta HCS | 217,846 |
4 | James A. Haley VA Hospital | 215,100 |
5 | VA Bay Pines HCS | 205,197 |
6 | W. G. Hefner VA MC | 202,111 |
7 | VA Central Texas HCS | 201,910 |
8 | VA North Texas HCS | 200,944 |
9 | Michael E. DeBakey VAMC | 199,977 |
10 | Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC | 197,625 |
11 | Tennessee Valley HCS | 195,986 |
12 | VA South Texas HCS | 185,008 |
13 | VA Caribbean HCS | 159,335 |
14 | Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn VAMC | 157,755 |
15 | VA Loma Linda HCS | 147,557 |
16 | VA Phoenix HCS | 146,661 |
17 | Durham VAMC | 139,921 |
18 | Hunter Holmes McGuire Richmond VAMC | 138,385 |
19 | Fayetteville VAMC | 133,879 |
20 | VA Northern California HCS | 127,757 |
21 | VA Southern Nevada HCS | 126,895 |
22 | VA Central Arkansas HCS | 123,850 |
23 | Ralph H. Johnson VAMC | 122,442 |
24 | Birmingham VAMC | 122,113 |
25 | West Palm Beach VAMC | 120,261 |
26 | VA Gulf Coast Veterans HCS | 118,937 |
27 | VA Greater Los Angeles HCS | 118,799 |
28 | Oklahoma City VAMC | 115,670 |
29 | Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital | 113,828 |
30 | VA Minneapolis HCS | 112,713 |
31 | St. Louis, MO VAMC | 110,985 |
32 | VA Miami HCS | 109,943 |
33 | VA Pittsburgh HCS | 106,970 |
34 | VA Southeast Louisiana HCS | 106,373 |
35 | VA Eastern Colorado HCS | 104,762 |
36 | Milwaukee VAMC | 104,642 |
37 | Mountain Home VAMC | 104,185 |
38 | VA Long Beach HCS | 102,456 |
39 | Philadelphia VAMC | 99,644 |
40 | VA New Jersey HCS | 99,089 |
41 | VA Southern Arizona HCS | 97,010 |
42 | VA San Diego HCS | 96,302 |
43 | VA Boston HCS | 95,698 |
44 | Hampton VAMC | 94,263 |
45 | Portland VAMC | 93,220 |
46 | Chalmers P. Wylie Ambulatory VA HCS | 93,036 |
47 | Charles George VAMC | 92,742 |
48 | Syracuse VAMC | 91,970 |
49 | VA Connecticut HCS | 91,922 |
50 | Robley Rex VAMC | 88,329 |
51 | VA New Mexico HCS | 87,689 |
52 | Lebanon VAMC | 86,864 |
53 | Memphis VAMC | 86,620 |
54 | VA Ann Arbor HCS | 86,305 |
55 | Cincinnati VAMC | 81,830 |
56 | Harry S. Truman Memorial VA Hospital | 81,810 |
57 | John D. Dingell VAMC | 81,365 |
58 | Salem VAMC | 80,617 |
59 | Richard L. Roudebush VAMC | 79,774 |
60 | Charlie Norwood VAMC | 77,132 |
61 | VA Puget Sound HCS | 76,652 |
62 | Kansas City VAMC | 75,562 |
63 | Providence VAMC | 75,392 |
64 | VA Western New York at Buffalo HCS | 74,495 |
65 | VA Central Alabama HCS | 74,323 |
66 | VA Salt Lake City HCS | 71,894 |
67 | VA of the Ozarks HCS | 71,535 |
68 | Montgomery VAMC | 69,712 |
69 | Wilkes-Barre VAMC | 69,681 |
70 | VA Nebraska-Western Iowa HCS | 69,414 |
71 | Dayton VAMC | 69,408 |
72 | Carl Vinson VAMC | 69,277 |
73 | VA Northern Indiana HCS | 67,995 |
74 | Overton Brooks VAMC | 67,830 |
75 | Jesse Brown VAMC | 67,390 |
76 | VA Maryland HCS | 66,393 |
77 | Washington DC VAMC | 66,096 |
78 | Muskogee VAMC | 65,743 |
79 | VA Maine HCS | 63,181 |
80 | VA El Paso HCS | 60,028 |
81 | Martinsburg VAMC | 58,925 |
82 | Battle Creek VAMC | 58,629 |
83 | VA Eastern Kansas HCS | 57,547 |
84 | Marion VAMC | 57,065 |
85 | Hershel 'Woody' Williams VAMC | 57,058 |
86 | VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend HCS | 56,643 |
87 | VA NY Harbor HCS | 56,393 |
88 | San Francisco VAMC | 55,244 |
89 | Albany Stratton VAMC | 55,242 |
90 | VA Palo Alto HCS | 54,622 |
91 | Northport Affairs VAMC | 53,604 |
92 | VA Iowa City HCS | 53,172 |
93 | VA Alexandria HCS | 51,986 |
94 | Bath VAMC | 51,355 |
95 | Wilmington VAMC | 50,860 |
96 | VA Montana HCS | 50,557 |
97 | Robert J. Dole VAMC | 50,363 |
98 | VA Amarillo HCS | 48,776 |
99 | Louis A. Johnson VAMC | 48,619 |
100 | VA St. Cloud HCS | 47,985 |
101 | VA Central Western Massachusetts HCS | 47,459 |
102 | VA Pacific Islands HCS | 46,656 |
103 | Aleda E. Lutz VAMC | 46,365 |
104 | James E. Van Zandt Altoona VAMC | 43,059 |
105 | Madison VA Hospital | 43,003 |
106 | Manchester VAMC | 42,817 |
107 | VA Central California HCS | 42,615 |
108 | White River Junction VAMC | 42,572 |
109 | Lexington VAMC | 42,161 |
110 | VA Sierra Nevada HCS | 41,407 |
111 | James J. Peters VAMC | 40,215 |
112 | Sioux Falls VAMC | 37,314 |
113 | Roseburg VAMC | 37,179 |
114 | Chillicothe VAMC | 36,191 |
115 | VA Illiana HCS | 35,653 |
116 | Erie VAMC | 35,465 |
117 | Fargo VAMC | 34,426 |
118 | James A. Lovell Federal HCS | 34,277 |
119 | Boise VAMC | 34,039 |
120 | VA Hudson Valley HCS | 33,307 |
121 | VA Central Iowa HCS | 31,143 |
122 | Poplar Bluff VAMC | 29,896 |
123 | Tomah VAMC | 29,306 |
124 | VA Northern Arizona HCS | 27,739 |
125 | Beckley VAMC | 26,001 |
126 | VA Butler HCS | 25,562 |
127 | Spokane VAMC | 24,381 |
128 | Coatesville VAMC | 23,658 |
129 | Cheyenne VAMC | 21,487 |
130 | VA West Texas HCS | 21,136 |
131 | Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital | 20,925 |
132 | Tuscaloosa VAMC | 20,232 |
133 | VA Black Hills HCS | 19,089 |
134 | Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VAMC | 17,468 |
135 | Grand Junction VAMC | 14,989 |
136 | Oscar G. Johnson VAMC | 13,845 |
137 | Southern Oregon HCS | 10,140 |
138 | Sheridan VAMC | 9,663 |
139 | VA Alaska HCS | 7,893 |