East Hudson Valley News

The VA Hudson Valley Health Care System, subsidiary 620GB in Carmel, New York, scheduled 939 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, 791 had a wait time of 30 days or less (84.2%) and 148 appointments (15.8%) 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
620A4	Wappingers Falls	6,278	5,402	876
620	Montrose	2,712	2,381	331
620GD	Goshen	1,433	1,350	83
620GA	New City	1,091	1,057	34
620GB	Carmel	939	791	148
620GG	Poughkeepsie	872	825	47
620GE	Port Jervis	814	765	49
620GF	Monticello	582	476	106
620GH	Pine Plains	243	175	68

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration