Pasco Reporter

The James A. Haley VA Hospital in Tampa reported that seven patients newly enrolled in its benefits program requested appointments but had not received one during the period ending February 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

During that same time frame, the system scheduled 216,221 pending appointments across its 17 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
Tampa, FL (James A. Haley)	60,522	57,165	3,357
Tampa, FL - VADOM	3	3	0
New Port Richey, FL	19,027	18,535	492
Lakeland, FL	13,798	13,615	183
Brooksville, FL	9,088	8,991	97
Zephyrhills, FL	3,417	3,333	84
South Hillsborough, FL	9,867	9,205	662
Forty Sixth Street North, FL	571	567	4
Forty Sixth Street South, FL	33,210	31,663	1,547
West Lakeland, FL	5,063	4,530	533
Deer Park, FL	2,073	1,782	291
Highway Nineteen, FL	3,424	3,248	176
Winners Circle, FL	13	13	0
Little Road, FL	1,330	1,310	20
Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, FL	9,418	9,291	127
Medical View Lane, FL	658	652	6
Hidden River, FL	37,076	35,503	1,573

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration