NW Valley Times

The VA Phoenix Health Care System, subsidiary 644GA in Surprise, Arizona, scheduled 11,753 pending appointments during the period ending November 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 11,497 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.8%) and 256 appointments (2.2%) 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
644	Phoenix	64,909	56,092	8,817
644BY	Gilbert	23,854	22,591	1,263
644GA	Surprise	11,753	11,497	256
644GH	Phoenix	9,653	9,398	255
644GC	Phoenix	5,228	5,012	216
644GE	Phoenix	4,520	4,454	66
644GG	Scottsdale	2,942	2,809	133
644GB	Show Low	1,220	1,102	118
644GD	Payson	523	515	8
644GF	Globe	438	434	4

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration