Polk Times

The James A. Haley VA Hospital in Tampa reported that six 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 168,718 pending appointments across its 17 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
Tampa, FL (James A. Haley)	50,227	46,460	3,767
Tampa, FL - VADOM	3	3	0
New Port Richey, FL	15,216	15,076	140
Lakeland, FL	11,519	11,374	145
Brooksville, FL	7,273	7,155	118
Zephyrhills, FL	3,039	3,006	33
South Hillsborough, FL	9,436	9,139	297
Forty Sixth Street North, FL	862	815	47
Forty Sixth Street South, FL	27,949	26,777	1,172
West Lakeland, FL	3,525	3,453	72
Deer Park, FL	254	253	1
Highway Nineteen, FL	3,060	2,822	238
Winners Circle, FL	4	4	0
Little Road, FL	1,068	1,060	8
Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, FL	2,944	2,851	93
Medical View Lane, FL	591	585	6
Hidden River, FL	24,293	23,697	596

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration