Hill Country Chronicle

The VA South Texas Health Care System in San Antonio Texas scheduled 152,896 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending July 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 136,854 had a wait time of 30 days or less (89.51%) and 16,042 appointments (10.49%) 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)	53,049	46,555	6,494
Kerrville, TX	11,899	10,401	1,498
San Antonio, TX - VADOM	43	43	0
San Antonio Eckert Road, TX (Frank M. Tejeda)	17,047	16,550	497
Unknown	4	4	0
Victoria, TX	2,494	2,466	28
South Bexar County, TX	4,428	4,336	92
Beeville, TX	137	131	6
San Antonio Woodcock Drive, TX	15,143	15,023	120
New Braunfels, TX	5,383	5,335	48
Seguin, TX	1,249	1,242	7
North Central Federal, TX	10,366	9,927	439
Balcones Heights, TX	6,187	5,984	203
Shavano Park, TX	4,887	4,840	47
San Antonio SARRTP	4	4	0
Data Point, TX	18,649	12,097	6,552