SC Nebraska News

The VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System, subsidiary 636GQ in Holdrege, Nebraska, scheduled 681 pending appointments during the period ending July 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 632 had a wait time of 30 days or less (92.8%) and 49 appointments (7.2%) 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
636	Omaha	26,671	23,178	3,493
636A4	Grand Island	9,574	9,106	468
636A5	Lincoln	4,873	4,381	492
636GL	Bellevue	2,828	2,538	290
636GA	Norfolk	1,065	886	179
636GB	North Platte	924	768	156
636GQ	Holdrege	681	632	49
636GP	Shenandoah	507	403	104
636QA	Omaha Dorcas Street	34	34	0
636BX	Omaha	2	2	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration