Nola Reporter

The VA Southeast Louisiana Health Care System, subsidiary 629 in New Orleans, Louisiana, scheduled 44,811 pending appointments during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 39,174 had a wait time of 30 days or less (87.4%) and 5,637 appointments (12.6%) 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
629	New Orleans	44,811	39,174	5,637
629BY	Baton Rouge	8,606	8,144	462
629GB	Hammond	5,259	5,120	139
629GC	Slidell	3,953	3,869	84
629GA	Houma	2,202	2,189	13
629QA	Baton Rouge	1,738	1,688	50
629GD	Reserve	1,456	1,454	2
629GF	Bogalusa	1,293	1,288	5
629GE	Franklin	835	816	19

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration