Chippewa Valley Times

The VA Minneapolis Health Care System reported that 141 patients newly enrolled in its benefits program requested appointments but had not received one during the period ending November 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

During that same time frame, the system scheduled 107,067 pending appointments across its 16 healthcare facilities.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported that wait times for new appointments at VA health care facilities were similar or better to wait times at private-sector providers between 2014 and 2017.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), however, released a report in July 2019 that cautioned that 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.

At a hearing before the House Veterans Affairs Committee after the report was released, Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, said new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

The VA explains on its website that when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to 1 of 8 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
Minneapolis, MN	72,201	66,050	6,151
Twin Ports, WI	8,840	8,018	822
St. James, MN	232	223	9
Hibbing, MN	1,150	1,105	45
Maplewood, MN	3,137	2,977	160
Chippewa Valley, WI	4,064	3,175	889
Rochester, MN	2,589	2,493	96
Hayward, WI	337	326	11
Northwest Metro, MN	8,872	8,545	327
Shakopee, MN	1,607	1,570	37
Albert Lea, MN	550	534	16
Minneapolis Harmon Place, MN	273	270	3
Rice Lake, WI	982	826	156
Mankato, MN (Lyle C. Pearson)	1,989	1,957	32
Fort Snelling, MN	130	130	0
Ely, MN	114	112	2

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration