Hill Country Chronicle

The VA South Texas Health Care System in San Antonio Texas scheduled 170,929 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending June 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 161,460 had a wait time of 30 days or less (94.46%) and 9,469 appointments (5.54%) 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)	63,514	58,708	4,806
Kerrville, TX	13,345	12,967	378
San Antonio, TX - VADOM	93	92	1
San Antonio-Eckert Road, TX (Frank M. Tejeda)	18,561	18,192	369
Victoria, TX	3,077	3,049	28
South Bexar County, TX	4,417	4,329	88
Beeville, TX	264	262	2
San Antonio-NW 410, TX	13,976	13,895	81
New Braunfels, TX	3,155	3,143	12
Seguin, TX	913	913	0
North Central Federal, TX	12,061	11,751	310
Balcones Heights, TX	7,835	7,741	94
Shavano Park, TX	5,335	5,322	13
San Antonio SARRTP	132	120	12
Data Point, TX	24,251	20,976	3,275