Hill Country Chronicle

The VA South Texas Health Care System in San Antonio Texas scheduled 156,186 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 141,934 had a wait time of 30 days or less (90.87%) and 14,252 appointments (9.13%) 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)	55,214	48,698	6,516
Kerrville, TX	12,192	11,274	918
San Antonio, TX - VADOM	106	105	1
San Antonio Eckert Road, TX (Frank M. Tejeda)	15,596	15,030	566
Unknown	5	5	0
Victoria, TX	2,634	2,616	18
South Bexar County, TX	4,508	4,438	70
Beeville, TX	304	298	6
San Antonio Woodcock Drive, TX	14,609	14,480	129
New Braunfels, TX	5,487	5,390	97
Seguin, TX	1,192	1,182	10
North Central Federal, TX	11,121	10,626	495
Balcones Heights, TX	9,570	9,205	365
Shavano Park, TX	4,546	4,499	47
San Antonio SARRTP	15	15	0
Data Point, TX	17,143	12,141	5,002