Hill Country Chronicle

The VA South Texas Health Care System in San Antonio Texas scheduled 172,327 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 163,804 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.05%) and 8,523 appointments (4.95%) 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)	64,650	59,787	4,863
Kerrville, TX	13,683	13,319	364
San Antonio, TX - VADOM	61	61	0
San Antonio-Eckert Road, TX (Frank M. Tejeda)	18,977	18,621	356
Victoria, TX	2,850	2,811	39
South Bexar County, TX	4,636	4,574	62
Beeville, TX	247	246	1
San Antonio-NW 410, TX	13,351	13,260	91
New Braunfels, TX	2,817	2,802	15
Seguin, TX	760	756	4
North Central Federal, TX	11,705	11,299	406
Balcones Heights, TX	8,148	8,070	78
Shavano Park, TX	5,334	5,284	50
San Antonio SARRTP	71	64	7
Data Point, TX	25,037	22,850	2,187