NE Atlanta News

The VA Atlanta Health Care System reported that 14 patients newly enrolled in its benefits program requested appointments but had not received one during the period ending February 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

During that same time frame, the system scheduled 218,068 pending appointments across its 16 healthcare facilities.

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 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.

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 don’t have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Atlanta, GA	87,403	80,462	6,941
Fort McPherson, GA	19,875	18,389	1,486
Oakwood, GA	11,444	11,180	264
Austell, GA	3,890	3,881	9
Stockbridge, GA	9,192	9,142	50
Lawrenceville, GA	11,000	10,876	124
Newnan, GA	7,187	7,136	51
Blairsville, GA	3,867	3,788	79
Carrollton, GA (Trinka Davis Village)	8,899	8,198	701
Rome, GA	3,132	3,109	23
Northeast Cobb County, GA	3,814	3,703	111
East Point, GA	448	427	21
Henderson Mill, GA	2,235	2,225	10
Fulton County, GA	111	106	5
Gwinnett County, GA	4,495	4,471	24
Atlanta North Arcadia Avenue, GA	40,034	35,060	4,974

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration