Weber Times

The VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, subsidiary 660GB in Ogden, Utah scheduled 4,141 pending appointments in May compared to 4,028 during the same period last year, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments this May, 3,958 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.6%) and 183 appointments (4.4%) 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 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 cautioning 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 do not have service-connected disabilities and earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

VA Salt Lake City Health Care System - 660GB Appointments Scheduled in May 2020 vs. May 2019

Facility Code	Location	Total Appointments Scheduled in May 2020	Total Appointments Scheduled in May 2019	Percent change in number of appointments
660	Salt Lake City	39,977	52,403	-23.7%
660GA	Pocatello	2,475	3,229	-23.4%
660GB	Ogden	4,141	4,028	2.8%
660GD	Roosevelt	280	471	-40.6%
660GE	Orem	1,061	1,753	-39.5%
660GG	St. George	1,982	2,251	-12%
660GJ	West Valley City	2,366	2,192	7.9%
660GK	Elko	27	147	-81.6%
660QA	Idaho Falls	3,276	2,245	45.9%
660QB	Price	35	105	-66.7%
660QC	South Ogden	415	689	-39.8%

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration