Hill Country Chronicle

The VA South Texas Health Care System in San Antonio reported that 50 patients newly enrolled in its benefits program requested appointments but had not received one during the period ending December 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

During that same time frame, the system scheduled 183,276 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)	68,708	62,187	6,521
Kerrville, TX	14,770	14,149	621
San Antonio, TX - VADOM	154	151	3
San Antonio Eckert Road, TX (Frank M. Tejeda)	19,523	18,854	669
Victoria, TX	2,987	2,960	27
South Bexar County, TX	5,064	5,004	60
Beeville, TX	267	263	4
San Antonio Woodcock Drive, TX	14,470	14,367	103
New Braunfels, TX	4,377	4,359	18
Seguin, TX	1,048	1,046	2
North Central Federal, TX	13,127	12,932	195
Balcones Heights, TX	8,611	8,565	46
Shavano Park, TX	5,479	5,466	13
San Antonio SARRTP	102	83	19
Data Point, TX	24,589	19,012	5,577

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration