Hill Country Chronicle

The VA South Texas Health Care System in San Antonio reported that 52 patients newly enrolled in its benefits program requested appointments but had not received one during the period ending January 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

During that same time frame, the system scheduled 185,008 pending appointments across its 16 healthcare facilities.

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 or better to 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.

At a hearing before the House Veterans Affairs Committee after the report was released, Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, said new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

The VA explains on its website that when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to 1 of 8 priority groups, with those who 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.

Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
San Antonio, TX (Audie L. Murphy)	70,128	63,143	6,985
Kerrville, TX	14,881	14,232	649
San Antonio, TX - VADOM	116	116	0
San Antonio Eckert Road, TX (Frank M. Tejeda)	19,270	18,581	689
Unknown	5	5	0
Victoria, TX	3,075	3,037	38
South Bexar County, TX	5,107	5,022	85
Beeville, TX	281	275	6
San Antonio Woodcock Drive, TX	14,500	14,376	124
New Braunfels, TX	4,505	4,473	32
Seguin, TX	1,068	1,064	4
North Central Federal, TX	13,237	12,907	330
Balcones Heights, TX	8,484	8,424	60
Shavano Park, TX	5,443	5,423	20
San Antonio SARRTP	95	86	9
Data Point, TX	24,813	19,243	5,570

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration