Hill Country Chronicle

The VA South Texas Health Care System in San Antonio Texas scheduled 192,097 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 178,619 had a wait time of 30 days or less (92.98%) and 13,478 appointments (7.02%) 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)	76,593	70,375	6,218
Kerrville, TX	14,599	14,126	473
San Antonio, TX - VADOM	112	111	1
San Antonio Eckert Road, TX (Frank M. Tejeda)	20,684	20,096	588
Unknown	5	5	0
Victoria, TX	2,928	2,910	18
South Bexar County, TX	5,091	4,999	92
Beeville, TX	324	312	12
San Antonio Woodcock Drive, TX	14,825	14,721	104
New Braunfels, TX	4,742	4,627	115
Seguin, TX	1,086	1,085	1
North Central Federal, TX	11,290	11,044	246
Balcones Heights, TX	8,645	8,567	78
Shavano Park, TX	5,559	5,514	45
San Antonio SARRTP	89	77	12
Data Point, TX	25,525	20,050	5,475