NW Valley Times

The VA Phoenix Health Care System, subsidiary 644GA in Surprise, Arizona scheduled 9,606 pending appointments during the period ending May 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 9,405 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.9%) and 201 appointments (2.1%) 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 who 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
644	Phoenix	61,391	51,476	9,915
644BY	Gilbert	21,695	20,587	1,108
644GH	Phoenix	10,235	10,115	120
644GA	Surprise	9,606	9,405	201
644GE	Phoenix	5,472	5,336	136
644GC	Phoenix	4,503	4,330	173
644GG	Scottsdale	3,133	2,999	134
644GB	Show Low	1,808	1,759	49
644GD	Payson	604	570	34
644GF	Globe	561	542	19

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration