East Hudson Valley News

The VA Hudson Valley Health Care System, subsidiary 620GH in Pine Plains, New York, scheduled 221 pending appointments during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 202 had a wait time of 30 days or less (91.4%) and 19 appointments (8.6%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported 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.

However, the Government Accountability Office released a report in July 2019 cautinging 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 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	10,752	9,829	923
620	Montrose	4,251	3,994	257
620GA	New City	1,393	1,363	30
620GD	Goshen	1,258	1,211	47
620GE	Port Jervis	1,243	1,192	51
620GG	Poughkeepsie	1,000	967	33
620GB	Carmel	892	805	87
620GF	Monticello	611	565	46
620GH	Pine Plains	221	202	19

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration