East Panhandle News

The North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System reported that 46 patients newly enrolled in its benefits program requested an 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 204,780 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)	49,099	44,303	4,796
Lake City, FL	12,456	11,232	1,224
Jacksonville 1, FL	31,816	28,821	2,995
Valdosta, GA	4,270	4,236	34
Ocala, FL	8,362	8,222	140
Saint Augustine, FL	7,762	7,557	205
Tallahassee, FL (Sergeant Ernest I. Boots Thomas)	19,849	18,001	1,848
The Villages, FL	23,783	22,619	1,164
St. Marys, GA	2,689	2,626	63
Marianna, FL	2,114	2,080	34
Palatka, FL	2,585	2,566	19
Waycross, GA	2,736	2,702	34
Perry, FL	555	555	0
Gainesville 1-16th Street, FL	53	51	2
Gainesville 2-98th Street, FL	1,108	980	128
Gainesville 3-64th Street (C), FL	149	109	40
Gainesville 4-64th Street (O), FL	4,738	4,379	359
Gainesville 5-64th Street (D), FL	3,689	3,334	355
Gainesville 6-23rd Avenue, FL	17	14	3
Jacksonville Southpoint, FL	10,843	10,141	702
Ocala West, FL	2,765	2,754	11
Jacksonville 2, FL	7,334	6,672	662
Lake City Commerce Drive, FL	4,163	4,133	30

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration