SE Ohio Times

The Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center in Cleveland reported that 13 patients newly enrolled in its benefits program requested appointments but had not received one during the period ending September 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

During that same time frame, the system scheduled 202,578 pending appointments across its 18 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
Cleveland, OH (Louis Stokes Cleveland)	64,966	62,235	2,731
Canton, OH	17,123	16,260	863
Youngstown, OH	11,946	11,585	361
Lorain, OH	10,765	10,539	226
Sandusky, OH	7,533	7,301	232
Mansfield, OH (David F. Winder)	13,283	13,085	198
McCafferty, OH	1,245	1,221	24
Lake County, OH	11,065	10,768	297
Akron, OH	18,011	16,820	1,191
East Liverpool, OH	4,298	4,241	57
Warren, OH	3,920	3,645	275
New Philadelphia, OH	4,853	4,731	122
Ravenna, OH	5,698	5,395	303
Parma, OH	26,033	24,029	2,004
Cleveland Superior Avenue, OH	32	31	1
Summit County, OH	5	5	0
Cleveland Euclid Avenue, OH	1,050	1,044	6
Cuyahoga County 4, OH - Mobile	388	336	52

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration