South Michigan News

The VA Ann Arbor Health Care System, subsidiary 506GC in Michigan Center, Michigan scheduled 2,295 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, 2,271 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99%) and 24 appointments (1.1%) 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 who 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
506	Ann Arbor	51,455	47,847	3,608
506GA	Toledo	22,290	20,884	1,406
506QB	Ann Arbor	3,158	2,745	413
506GB	Flint	2,866	2,849	17
506GC	Michigan Center	2,295	2,271	24
506QA	Ann Arbor Packard Road	799	774	25

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration