SW Iowa Times

The VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System, subsidiary 636GP in Shenandoah, Iowa, scheduled 714 pending appointments during the period ending November 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 662 had a wait time of 30 days or less (92.7%) and 52 appointments (7.3%) 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	36,124	32,084	4,040
636A4	Grand Island	10,463	9,830	633
636A5	Lincoln	7,913	6,508	1,405
636GL	Bellevue	3,771	3,359	412
636GA	Norfolk	1,098	1,040	58
636GB	North Platte	952	899	53
636GQ	Holdrege	828	810	18
636GP	Shenandoah	714	662	52
636QA	Omaha Dorcas Street	73	71	2
636BX	Omaha	9	9	0
636BW	Grand Island	3	3	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration