SC Nebraska News

The VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System, subsidiary 636GB in North Platte, Nebraska, scheduled 940 pending appointments during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 852 had a wait time of 30 days or less (90.6%) and 88 appointments (9.4%) 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 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	33,146	29,383	3,763
636A4	Grand Island	9,713	9,336	377
636A5	Lincoln	5,902	5,329	573
636GL	Bellevue	3,588	3,156	432
636GA	Norfolk	1,045	985	60
636GB	North Platte	940	852	88
636GQ	Holdrege	777	753	24
636GP	Shenandoah	621	554	67
636QA	Omaha Dorcas Street	54	54	0
636BX	Omaha	15	15	0
636BW	Grand Island	6	6	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration