Hill Country Chronicle

The VA South Texas Health Care System in San Antonio Texas scheduled 167,594 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending January 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 159,689 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.28%) and 7,905 appointments (4.72%) 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)	62,198	58,217	3,981
Kerrville, TX	13,685	13,205	480
San Antonio, TX - VADOM	45	45	0
San Antonio-Eckert Road, TX (Frank M. Tejeda)	19,041	18,719	322
Victoria, TX	2,843	2,812	31
South Bexar County, TX	4,514	4,454	60
Beeville, TX	271	270	1
San Antonio-NW 410, TX	12,512	12,467	45
New Braunfels, TX	2,452	2,439	13
Seguin, TX	660	660	0
North Central Federal, TX	11,100	10,714	386
Balcones Heights, TX	7,799	7,732	67
Shavano Park, TX	5,240	5,192	48
San Antonio SARRTP	71	64	7
Data Point, TX	25,163	22,699	2,464