Nola Reporter

The VA Southeast Louisiana Health Care System ranked 45th among VA health care systems with 66,204 pending appointments across its nine locations during the period ending Sep. 1, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported 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 cautioning 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.

Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, told the House Veterans Affairs Committee new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

The VA explains that when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to one of eight priority groups, with those 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.

Rank	Health Care System	Total Pending Appointments Scheduled
1	Orlando VAMC	195,150
2	North Florida/South Georgia VA HCS	189,666
3	Tennessee Valley HCS	166,175
4	VA Bay Pines HCS	164,281
5	Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC	156,978
6	VA North Texas HCS	156,908
7	VA South Texas HCS	155,093
8	James A. Haley VA Hospital	154,986
9	VA Central Texas HCS	153,187
10	W. G. Hefner VA MC	151,158
11	Michael E. DeBakey VAMC	144,789
12	VA Atlanta HCS	136,196
13	VA Caribbean HCS	122,707
14	VA Phoenix HCS	118,248
15	VA Loma Linda HCS	107,610
16	Hunter Holmes McGuire Richmond VAMC	106,865
17	Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn VAMC	103,962
18	Durham VAMC	99,027
19	VA Northern California HCS	98,552
20	VA Central Arkansas HCS	97,055
21	Birmingham VAMC	95,052
22	Fayetteville VAMC	93,525
23	West Palm Beach VAMC	93,295
24	Mountain Home VAMC	89,952
25	VA Greater Los Angeles HCS	88,043
26	VA Southern Nevada HCS	87,971
27	VA Miami HCS	87,966
28	VA Gulf Coast Veterans HCS	85,696
29	Ralph H. Johnson VAMC	82,986
30	Oklahoma City VAMC	79,443
31	Milwaukee VAMC	77,843
32	VA Minneapolis HCS	77,155
33	Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital	76,386
34	VA Eastern Colorado HCS	74,954
35	VA Long Beach HCS	74,597
36	Hampton VAMC	73,883
37	Robley Rex VAMC	73,781
38	Harry S. Truman Memorial VA Hospital	71,379
39	Kansas City VAMC	70,991
40	VA Southern Arizona HCS	69,941
41	VA New Mexico HCS	69,136
42	Syracuse VAMC	69,089
43	VA Pittsburgh HCS	68,459
44	Memphis VAMC	68,215
45	VA Southeast Louisiana HCS	66,204
46	Salem VAMC	66,176
47	Philadelphia VAMC	66,168
48	Lebanon VAMC	66,103
49	VA Boston HCS	62,597
50	VA Connecticut HCS	59,689
51	John D. Dingell VAMC	59,643
52	VA of the Ozarks HCS	59,380
53	Providence VAMC	59,302
54	Richard L. Roudebush VAMC	58,913
55	VA San Diego HCS	58,569
56	VA Ann Arbor HCS	58,517
57	Muskogee VAMC	57,538
58	VA Central Alabama HCS	57,043
59	Portland VAMC	56,424
60	Dayton VAMC	56,171
61	Overton Brooks VAMC	55,760
62	Cincinnati VAMC	55,358
63	Montgomery VAMC	55,234
64	Carl Vinson VAMC	54,362
65	Charlie Norwood VAMC	53,617
66	Chalmers P. Wylie Ambulatory VA HCS	53,557
67	VA Northern Indiana HCS	53,111
68	Charles George VAMC	53,103
69	VA Nebraska-Western Iowa HCS	52,238
70	VA Western New York at Buffalo HCS	50,102
71	St. Louis, MO VAMC	49,219
72	Battle Creek VAMC	48,976
73	VA Eastern Kansas HCS	48,638
74	Marion VAMC	48,337
75	VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend HCS	47,695
76	VA New Jersey HCS	46,038
77	Wilkes-Barre VAMC	45,511
78	Hershel 'Woody' Williams VAMC	45,055
79	Robert J. Dole VAMC	44,199
80	VA Montana HCS	43,540
81	VA Puget Sound HCS	42,960
82	VA Maryland HCS	41,756
83	VA Salt Lake City HCS	41,541
84	VA El Paso HCS	41,495
85	VA Amarillo HCS	41,317
86	VA Iowa City HCS	40,664
87	James E. Van Zandt Altoona VAMC	40,409
88	VA Alexandria HCS	39,245
89	Albany Stratton VAMC	39,231
90	VA Maine HCS	38,825
91	Jesse Brown VAMC	37,839
92	Washington DC VAMC	35,998
93	VA Pacific Islands HCS	35,301
94	San Francisco VAMC	34,860
95	VA St. Cloud HCS	34,788
96	VA Palo Alto HCS	34,351
97	Martinsburg VAMC	33,900
98	Louis A. Johnson VAMC	33,678
99	VA Sierra Nevada HCS	31,370
100	Wilmington VAMC	30,879
101	VA Illiana HCS	29,427
102	Lexington VAMC	28,985
103	VA NY Harbor HCS	28,357
104	Aleda E. Lutz VAMC	27,765
105	Fargo VAMC	27,329
106	Madison VA Hospital	27,264
107	VA Central California HCS	27,252
108	Sioux Falls VAMC	26,889
109	Chillicothe VAMC	26,866
110	VA Central Iowa HCS	26,610
111	Erie VAMC	26,090
112	Roseburg VAMC	26,014
113	Poplar Bluff VAMC	25,364
114	Northport Affairs VAMC	25,003
115	Tomah VAMC	24,515
116	White River Junction VAMC	23,992
117	Manchester VAMC	23,819
118	VA Central Western Massachusetts HCS	23,625
119	Bath VAMC	23,613
120	VA Butler HCS	22,724
121	James J. Peters VAMC	21,976
122	James A. Lovell Federal HCS	21,278
123	Boise VAMC	20,524
124	Beckley VAMC	20,460
125	VA Northern Arizona HCS	19,994
126	VA Black Hills HCS	17,176
127	Tuscaloosa VAMC	16,174
128	Coatesville VAMC	15,444
129	Cheyenne VAMC	14,911
130	Spokane VAMC	14,780
131	VA West Texas HCS	13,532
132	VA Hudson Valley HCS	13,350
133	Oscar G. Johnson VAMC	12,684
134	Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VAMC	11,026
135	Grand Junction VAMC	9,789
136	Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital	9,323
137	Sheridan VAMC	6,506
138	VA Alaska HCS	4,864
139	Southern Oregon HCS	4,408

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration