Hill Country Chronicle

The VA South Texas Health Care System in San Antonio Texas scheduled 172,121 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 158,318 had a wait time of 30 days or less (91.98%) and 13,803 appointments (8.02%) 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)	57,622	49,991	7,631
Kerrville, TX	15,982	15,235	747
San Antonio, TX - VADOM	50	50	0
San Antonio Eckert Road, TX (Frank M. Tejeda)	16,384	15,745	639
Unknown	47	47	0
Victoria, TX	3,076	3,033	43
South Bexar County, TX	4,293	4,223	70
San Antonio Woodcock Drive, TX	15,428	15,173	255
New Braunfels, TX	5,630	5,434	196
Seguin, TX	1,234	1,223	11
North Central Federal, TX	12,450	12,144	306
Balcones Heights, TX	16,308	15,767	541
Shavano Park, TX	4,447	4,338	109
San Antonio SARRTP	13	13	0
Data Point, TX	16,905	13,783	3,122