Hill Country Chronicle

The VA South Texas Health Care System in San Antonio reported that 235 patients newly enrolled in its benefits program requested appointments but had not received one during the period ending July 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

During that same time frame, the system scheduled 155,763 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)	53,593	47,050	6,543
Kerrville, TX	12,616	11,082	1,534
San Antonio, TX - VADOM	77	77	0
San Antonio Eckert Road, TX (Frank M. Tejeda)	17,146	16,655	491
Unknown	6	6	0
Victoria, TX	2,483	2,447	36
South Bexar County, TX	4,533	4,414	119
Beeville, TX	169	164	5
San Antonio Woodcock Drive, TX	15,067	14,956	111
New Braunfels, TX	5,460	5,434	26
Seguin, TX	1,229	1,223	6
North Central Federal, TX	10,427	10,021	406
Balcones Heights, TX	6,471	6,257	214
Shavano Park, TX	4,943	4,887	56
San Antonio SARRTP	10	10	0
Data Point, TX	19,570	12,646	6,924

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration