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 that when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to one of eight priority groups, with those 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.
Rank | Health Care System | Total Pending Appointments Scheduled |
---|---|---|
1 | North Florida/South Georgia VA HCS | 268,673 |
2 | Orlando VAMC | 248,377 |
3 | VA Atlanta HCS | 219,037 |
4 | James A. Haley VA Hospital | 217,301 |
5 | VA North Texas HCS | 210,259 |
6 | W. G. Hefner VA MC | 209,567 |
7 | Michael E. DeBakey VAMC | 206,343 |
8 | VA Bay Pines HCS | 205,760 |
9 | VA Central Texas HCS | 205,238 |
10 | Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC | 201,917 |
11 | Tennessee Valley HCS | 198,886 |
12 | VA South Texas HCS | 194,353 |
13 | Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn VAMC | 163,523 |
14 | VA Caribbean HCS | 160,773 |
15 | VA Loma Linda HCS | 151,700 |
16 | VA Phoenix HCS | 149,573 |
17 | Fayetteville VAMC | 144,769 |
18 | Durham VAMC | 142,758 |
19 | Hunter Holmes McGuire Richmond VAMC | 140,525 |
20 | VA Northern California HCS | 132,908 |
21 | VA Southern Nevada HCS | 131,164 |
22 | VA Central Arkansas HCS | 127,554 |
23 | Ralph H. Johnson VAMC | 124,672 |
24 | VA Greater Los Angeles HCS | 123,885 |
25 | Birmingham VAMC | 123,094 |
26 | West Palm Beach VAMC | 122,531 |
27 | VA Gulf Coast Veterans HCS | 120,157 |
28 | VA Minneapolis HCS | 118,343 |
29 | Oklahoma City VAMC | 118,169 |
30 | Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital | 117,130 |
31 | St. Louis, MO VAMC | 114,098 |
32 | VA Miami HCS | 112,729 |
33 | VA Eastern Colorado HCS | 108,454 |
34 | VA Southeast Louisiana HCS | 108,389 |
35 | VA Pittsburgh HCS | 108,239 |
36 | Mountain Home VAMC | 106,229 |
37 | Milwaukee VAMC | 105,146 |
38 | VA Long Beach HCS | 104,013 |
39 | Philadelphia VAMC | 102,437 |
40 | VA New Jersey HCS | 100,697 |
41 | Hampton VAMC | 99,700 |
42 | VA San Diego HCS | 99,100 |
43 | Portland VAMC | 99,028 |
44 | VA Southern Arizona HCS | 98,325 |
45 | VA Boston HCS | 98,205 |
46 | Syracuse VAMC | 95,930 |
47 | VA Connecticut HCS | 95,299 |
48 | Chalmers P. Wylie Ambulatory VA HCS | 95,232 |
49 | Charles George VAMC | 94,205 |
50 | Robley Rex VAMC | 90,677 |
51 | Lebanon VAMC | 90,280 |
52 | VA Ann Arbor HCS | 89,370 |
53 | VA New Mexico HCS | 89,319 |
54 | Memphis VAMC | 88,961 |
55 | VA Puget Sound HCS | 84,869 |
56 | Cincinnati VAMC | 83,967 |
57 | John D. Dingell VAMC | 83,877 |
58 | Harry S. Truman Memorial VA Hospital | 83,671 |
59 | Richard L. Roudebush VAMC | 82,687 |
60 | Salem VAMC | 81,833 |
61 | Kansas City VAMC | 81,125 |
62 | Charlie Norwood VAMC | 79,289 |
63 | Providence VAMC | 78,911 |
64 | VA Western New York at Buffalo HCS | 75,876 |
65 | VA Salt Lake City HCS | 75,463 |
66 | VA of the Ozarks HCS | 75,331 |
67 | VA Central Alabama HCS | 74,457 |
68 | Wilkes-Barre VAMC | 73,373 |
69 | VA Nebraska-Western Iowa HCS | 71,905 |
70 | Dayton VAMC | 71,820 |
71 | VA Maryland HCS | 71,513 |
72 | Washington DC VAMC | 71,309 |
73 | Carl Vinson VAMC | 70,788 |
74 | VA Northern Indiana HCS | 70,247 |
75 | Jesse Brown VAMC | 70,176 |
76 | Montgomery VAMC | 70,079 |
77 | Muskogee VAMC | 69,136 |
78 | Overton Brooks VAMC | 68,133 |
79 | VA Maine HCS | 67,187 |
80 | Martinsburg VAMC | 62,128 |
81 | Battle Creek VAMC | 61,359 |
82 | VA El Paso HCS | 61,346 |
83 | VA Eastern Kansas HCS | 61,238 |
84 | VA NY Harbor HCS | 60,478 |
85 | VA Palo Alto HCS | 60,437 |
86 | VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend HCS | 58,777 |
87 | San Francisco VAMC | 58,706 |
88 | Marion VAMC | 58,182 |
89 | Hershel 'Woody' Williams VAMC | 57,995 |
90 | Albany Stratton VAMC | 57,293 |
91 | Northport Affairs VAMC | 56,648 |
92 | VA Iowa City HCS | 55,955 |
93 | Bath VAMC | 53,252 |
94 | Wilmington VAMC | 52,500 |
95 | VA Alexandria HCS | 52,001 |
96 | VA Montana HCS | 51,559 |
97 | Robert J. Dole VAMC | 51,494 |
98 | VA Amarillo HCS | 49,657 |
99 | VA St. Cloud HCS | 49,538 |
100 | VA Central Western Massachusetts HCS | 48,990 |
101 | Aleda E. Lutz VAMC | 48,498 |
102 | VA Pacific Islands HCS | 47,713 |
103 | Manchester VAMC | 45,636 |
104 | Louis A. Johnson VAMC | 45,282 |
105 | VA Central California HCS | 44,797 |
106 | James E. Van Zandt Altoona VAMC | 44,713 |
107 | White River Junction VAMC | 44,286 |
108 | VA Sierra Nevada HCS | 44,138 |
109 | Madison VA Hospital | 43,747 |
110 | Lexington VAMC | 43,440 |
111 | James J. Peters VAMC | 41,835 |
112 | Sioux Falls VAMC | 38,922 |
113 | Chillicothe VAMC | 38,326 |
114 | VA Hudson Valley HCS | 37,611 |
115 | Roseburg VAMC | 37,459 |
116 | Fargo VAMC | 37,350 |
117 | VA Illiana HCS | 36,974 |
118 | Erie VAMC | 36,956 |
119 | Boise VAMC | 36,167 |
120 | James A. Lovell Federal HCS | 36,140 |
121 | VA Central Iowa HCS | 32,383 |
122 | Poplar Bluff VAMC | 31,752 |
123 | Tomah VAMC | 30,880 |
124 | VA Northern Arizona HCS | 29,699 |
125 | Beckley VAMC | 27,295 |
126 | Spokane VAMC | 26,287 |
127 | VA Butler HCS | 26,069 |
128 | Coatesville VAMC | 24,687 |
129 | Cheyenne VAMC | 22,525 |
130 | Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital | 21,867 |
131 | VA West Texas HCS | 20,967 |
132 | Tuscaloosa VAMC | 20,738 |
133 | VA Black Hills HCS | 19,621 |
134 | Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VAMC | 18,702 |
135 | Grand Junction VAMC | 15,499 |
136 | Oscar G. Johnson VAMC | 14,580 |
137 | Southern Oregon HCS | 10,081 |
138 | Sheridan VAMC | 9,866 |
139 | VA Alaska HCS | 8,609 |