Nola Reporter

The VA Southeast Louisiana Health Care System ranked 34th among VA health care systems with 77,575 pending appointments across its nine locations during the period ending Dec. 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	208,955
2	North Florida/South Georgia VA HCS	204,284
3	VA Bay Pines HCS	173,501
4	Tennessee Valley HCS	172,093
5	James A. Haley VA Hospital	170,488
6	VA North Texas HCS	170,432
7	Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC	166,658
8	VA Central Texas HCS	162,574
9	VA South Texas HCS	160,076
10	W. G. Hefner VA MC	156,969
11	Michael E. DeBakey VAMC	156,052
12	VA Atlanta HCS	139,208
13	VA Caribbean HCS	125,041
14	VA Phoenix HCS	118,434
15	VA Loma Linda HCS	113,053
16	VA Northern California HCS	106,731
17	Fayetteville VAMC	106,244
18	Hunter Holmes McGuire Richmond VAMC	105,289
19	VA Southern Nevada HCS	101,175
20	Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn VAMC	101,053
21	Birmingham VAMC	100,408
22	Durham VAMC	95,213
23	VA Central Arkansas HCS	94,943
24	West Palm Beach VAMC	94,787
25	VA Miami HCS	92,137
26	Mountain Home VAMC	92,131
27	VA Greater Los Angeles HCS	90,369
28	Oklahoma City VAMC	87,644
29	Ralph H. Johnson VAMC	85,984
30	VA Long Beach HCS	81,450
31	VA Gulf Coast Veterans HCS	80,690
32	Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital	78,307
33	VA Minneapolis HCS	77,896
34	VA Southeast Louisiana HCS	77,575
35	Robley Rex VAMC	76,797
36	Milwaukee VAMC	75,290
37	VA Eastern Colorado HCS	74,549
38	VA Southern Arizona HCS	74,213
39	Harry S. Truman Memorial VA Hospital	73,774
40	VA Pittsburgh HCS	70,685
41	Memphis VAMC	70,608
42	Syracuse VAMC	70,600
43	Hampton VAMC	70,193
44	Kansas City VAMC	69,486
45	Salem VAMC	67,621
46	VA Boston HCS	66,499
47	Lebanon VAMC	66,244
48	VA San Diego HCS	64,531
49	VA New Mexico HCS	63,680
50	Richard L. Roudebush VAMC	62,588
51	VA of the Ozarks HCS	60,002
52	VA Connecticut HCS	59,709
53	VA Ann Arbor HCS	59,211
54	Philadelphia VAMC	59,027
55	VA Nebraska-Western Iowa HCS	58,727
56	Muskogee VAMC	58,608
57	John D. Dingell VAMC	58,247
58	Montgomery VAMC	58,069
59	Dayton VAMC	57,487
60	Carl Vinson VAMC	57,224
61	Providence VAMC	56,266
62	Cincinnati VAMC	56,179
63	Charlie Norwood VAMC	55,848
64	Overton Brooks VAMC	55,592
65	Portland VAMC	55,541
66	VA Central Alabama HCS	54,214
67	St. Louis, MO VAMC	52,212
68	VA Northern Indiana HCS	51,355
69	Chalmers P. Wylie Ambulatory VA HCS	51,194
70	VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend HCS	50,745
71	VA New Jersey HCS	50,102
72	VA Eastern Kansas HCS	49,863
73	VA Western New York at Buffalo HCS	49,173
74	Charles George VAMC	49,167
75	Battle Creek VAMC	48,378
76	Marion VAMC	48,362
77	Wilkes-Barre VAMC	47,821
78	VA Puget Sound HCS	47,494
79	Hershel 'Woody' Williams VAMC	46,710
80	Robert J. Dole VAMC	44,307
81	VA Maryland HCS	43,784
82	Jesse Brown VAMC	43,351
83	VA Salt Lake City HCS	42,790
84	VA Palo Alto HCS	42,682
85	Washington DC VAMC	42,572
86	VA Amarillo HCS	42,339
87	James E. Van Zandt Altoona VAMC	41,710
88	VA Iowa City HCS	41,329
89	VA Montana HCS	41,180
90	Albany Stratton VAMC	41,025
91	VA El Paso HCS	40,724
92	VA Maine HCS	40,186
93	VA Alexandria HCS	38,219
94	Martinsburg VAMC	35,894
95	San Francisco VAMC	35,176
96	VA St. Cloud HCS	34,257
97	VA Sierra Nevada HCS	34,048
98	Louis A. Johnson VAMC	33,924
99	VA NY Harbor HCS	33,669
100	Lexington VAMC	33,511
101	VA Pacific Islands HCS	33,320
102	Wilmington VAMC	31,223
103	VA Illiana HCS	30,604
104	Aleda E. Lutz VAMC	29,939
105	Chillicothe VAMC	28,474
106	Sioux Falls VAMC	28,292
107	Bath VAMC	28,177
108	Fargo VAMC	27,951
109	VA Central Iowa HCS	27,722
110	Roseburg VAMC	27,237
111	VA Central California HCS	27,009
112	Northport Affairs VAMC	27,005
113	Erie VAMC	26,988
114	Poplar Bluff VAMC	25,697
115	Madison VA Hospital	24,936
116	White River Junction VAMC	24,895
117	James J. Peters VAMC	24,858
118	Boise VAMC	24,711
119	Tomah VAMC	23,849
120	VA Central Western Massachusetts HCS	23,699
121	VA Butler HCS	23,652
122	Manchester VAMC	22,981
123	James A. Lovell Federal HCS	22,383
124	Beckley VAMC	21,653
125	VA Northern Arizona HCS	21,008
126	Tuscaloosa VAMC	18,729
127	VA Black Hills HCS	17,433
128	VA Hudson Valley HCS	16,126
129	Coatesville VAMC	14,451
130	VA West Texas HCS	13,800
131	Cheyenne VAMC	12,979
132	Oscar G. Johnson VAMC	12,595
133	Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VAMC	12,218
134	Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital	10,947
135	Grand Junction VAMC	9,376
136	Sheridan VAMC	6,277
137	VA Alaska HCS	5,733
138	Southern Oregon HCS	4,824
139	Spokane VAMC	3,665

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration