NW Missouri Times

The VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System, subsidiary 589GI in St. Joseph, Missouri, scheduled 2,500 pending appointments during the period ending August 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 2,371 had a wait time of 30 days or less (94.8%) and 129 appointments (5.2%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

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 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 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.

The VA explains on its website that 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 do not have service-connected disabilities and earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Facility Code	Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
589A5	Topeka	22,649	18,829	3,820
589A6	Leavenworth	18,525	15,986	2,539
589GR	Junction City	2,798	2,482	316
589GI	St. Joseph	2,500	2,371	129
589GJ	Kansas City	1,138	1,042	96
589JE	Platte City	926	761	165
589GU	Lawrence	587	551	36
589GV	Fort Scott	533	530	3
589GM	Chanute	296	296	0
589GP	Garnett	142	139	3
589MA	Ft. Riley DES Clinic	20	20	0
589BU	Leavenworth	4	4	0
589MD	IDES Fort Leavenworth	1	1	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration