Pasco Reporter

The James A. Haley VA Hospital, subsidiary 673BZ in New Port Richey, Florida, scheduled 14,184 pending appointments during the period ending September 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 14,048 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99%) and 136 appointments (1%) 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
673	Tampa	43,137	40,417	2,720
673QB	Forty Sixth Street South	25,897	25,346	551
673QJ	Tampa	23,579	22,912	667
673BZ	New Port Richey	14,184	14,048	136
673GB	Lakeland	11,366	11,239	127
673GG	Riverview	8,669	8,517	152
673GC	Brooksville	6,753	6,700	53
673QH	Tampa	3,364	3,165	199
673QC	Lakeland	3,126	3,052	74
673GF	Zephyrhills	2,949	2,922	27
673QE	Highway Nineteen	2,204	2,088	116
673QG	New Port Richey	1,086	1,075	11
673QA	Forty Sixth Street North	643	558	85
673QI	Zephyrhills	556	555	1
673QD	New Port Richey	89	85	4
673QF	Tampa	4	4	0
673BV	Tampa	1	1	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration