East Panhandle News

The North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System reported that 102 patients newly enrolled in its benefits program requested appointments but had not received one during the period ending April 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

During that same time frame, the system scheduled 223,427 pending appointments across its 24 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
Gainesville, FL (Malcom Randall)	49,038	44,672	4,366
Lake City, FL	13,573	12,355	1,218
Jacksonville 1, FL	35,489	31,594	3,895
Valdosta, GA	4,559	4,455	104
Ocala, FL	9,471	9,117	354
Saint Augustine, FL	8,383	8,242	141
Tallahassee, FL (Sergeant Ernest I. Boots Thomas)	22,614	21,686	928
Lecanto, FL	2	2	0
The Villages, FL	25,640	24,466	1,174
St. Marys, GA	3,554	3,457	97
Marianna, FL	2,645	2,633	12
Palatka, FL	2,965	2,938	27
Waycross, GA	3,079	3,039	40
Perry, FL	557	556	1
Gainesville 1-16th Street, FL	54	54	0
Gainesville 2-98th Street, FL	698	658	40
Gainesville 3-64th Street (C), FL	560	202	358
Gainesville 4-64th Street (O), FL	5,685	5,518	167
Gainesville 5-64th Street (D), FL	4,145	4,008	137
Gainesville 6-23rd Avenue, FL	33	16	17
Jacksonville Southpoint, FL	11,978	11,209	769
Ocala West, FL	3,922	3,626	296
Jacksonville 2, FL	10,663	10,152	511
Lake City Commerce Drive, FL	4,120	4,104	16

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration