Hill Country Chronicle

The VA South Texas Health Care System in San Antonio Texas scheduled 193,209 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 178,665 had a wait time of 30 days or less (92.47%) and 14,544 appointments (7.53%) 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)	75,374	68,145	7,229
Kerrville, TX	14,666	14,199	467
San Antonio, TX - VADOM	129	129	0
San Antonio Eckert Road, TX (Frank M. Tejeda)	20,347	19,745	602
Unknown	5	5	0
Victoria, TX	2,983	2,966	17
South Bexar County, TX	5,212	5,101	111
Beeville, TX	314	305	9
San Antonio Woodcock Drive, TX	14,725	14,607	118
New Braunfels, TX	4,635	4,499	136
Seguin, TX	1,083	1,081	2
North Central Federal, TX	13,500	13,189	311
Balcones Heights, TX	8,731	8,649	82
Shavano Park, TX	5,514	5,469	45
San Antonio SARRTP	92	85	7
Data Point, TX	25,899	20,491	5,408