Sumter Times

The North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System, subsidiary 573GI in The Villages, Florida scheduled 30,160 pending appointments in October compared to 28,488 during the same period last year, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments this October, 28,770 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.4%) and 1,390 appointments (4.6%) 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 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 do not have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System - 573GI Appointments Scheduled in October 2019 vs. October 2018

Facility Code	Location	Total Appointments Scheduled in October 2019	Total Appointments Scheduled in October 2018	Percent change in number of appointments
573	Gainesville	56,939	57,048	-0.2%
573A4	Lake City	18,134	21,172	-14.3%
573BY	Jacksonville	42,953	41,254	4.1%
573GA	Valdosta	4,995	4,328	15.4%
573GD	Ocala	9,748	9,887	-1.4%
573GF	Tallahassee	26,567	25,341	4.8%
573GG	Lecanto	5	9,095	-99.9%
573GI	The Villages	30,160	28,488	5.9%
573GJ	St. Marys	3,929	4,644	-15.4%
573GK	Marianna	3,064	2,571	19.2%
573GL	Palatka	3,282	3,630	-9.6%
573GM	Waycross	3,209	2,403	33.5%
573GN	Perry	619	561	10.3%
573QC	Gainesville	1,677	1,172	43.1%
573QD	Gainesville	6,727	5,758	16.8%
573QE	Gainesville	5,225	5,120	2.1%
573QF	Gainesville	25	28	-10.7%
573QH	Ocala	5,094	5,284	-3.6%
573QJ	Jacksonville	11,434	10,382	10.1%

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration