Hill Country Chronicle

The VA South Texas Health Care System in San Antonio Texas scheduled 170,339 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending February 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 162,278 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.27%) and 8,061 appointments (4.73%) 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)	63,722	59,358	4,364
Kerrville, TX	13,740	13,334	406
San Antonio, TX - VADOM	44	44	0
San Antonio-Eckert Road, TX (Frank M. Tejeda)	19,077	18,739	338
Victoria, TX	2,881	2,851	30
South Bexar County, TX	4,547	4,477	70
Beeville, TX	248	247	1
San Antonio-NW 410, TX	13,083	13,008	75
New Braunfels, TX	2,652	2,640	12
Seguin, TX	717	716	1
North Central Federal, TX	11,458	11,077	381
Balcones Heights, TX	7,952	7,864	88
Shavano Park, TX	5,272	5,227	45
San Antonio SARRTP	58	52	6
Data Point, TX	24,888	22,644	2,244