Hill Country Chronicle

The VA South Texas Health Care System in San Antonio Texas scheduled 173,094 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending April 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 164,807 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.21%) and 8,287 appointments (4.79%) 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.

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 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 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)	65,263	60,542	4,721
Kerrville, TX	13,359	13,090	269
San Antonio, TX - VADOM	117	117	0
San Antonio-Eckert Road, TX (Frank M. Tejeda)	19,104	18,774	330
Victoria, TX	2,891	2,839	52
South Bexar County, TX	4,682	4,611	71
Beeville, TX	251	250	1
San Antonio-NW 410, TX	13,626	13,525	101
New Braunfels, TX	2,960	2,939	21
Seguin, TX	829	825	4
North Central Federal, TX	11,869	11,478	391
Balcones Heights, TX	8,187	8,114	73
Shavano Park, TX	5,248	5,228	20
San Antonio SARRTP	77	74	3
Data Point, TX	24,631	22,401	2,230