Hill Country Chronicle

The VA South Texas Health Care System in San Antonio Texas scheduled 158,651 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 141,572 had a wait time of 30 days or less (89.23%) and 17,079 appointments (10.77%) 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)	54,775	47,748	7,027
Kerrville, TX	12,254	10,712	1,542
San Antonio, TX - VADOM	66	64	2
San Antonio Eckert Road, TX (Frank M. Tejeda)	17,231	16,790	441
Victoria, TX	2,684	2,646	38
South Bexar County, TX	4,591	4,497	94
Beeville, TX	239	216	23
San Antonio Woodcock Drive, TX	15,573	15,427	146
New Braunfels, TX	5,329	5,305	24
Seguin, TX	1,201	1,196	5
North Central Federal, TX	10,119	9,808	311
Balcones Heights, TX	6,937	6,681	256
Shavano Park, TX	4,959	4,885	74
San Antonio SARRTP	7	7	0
Data Point, TX	20,609	13,532	7,077