South Utah News

The VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, subsidiary 660GG in St. George, Utah scheduled 2,473 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, 2,402 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.1%) and 71 appointments (2.9%) 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
660	Salt Lake City	54,112	49,581	4,531
660GB	Ogden	5,577	5,446	131
660QA	Idaho Falls	3,495	3,301	194
660GA	Pocatello	3,346	3,042	304
660GJ	West Valley City	2,833	2,703	130
660GG	St. George	2,473	2,402	71
660GE	Orem	2,222	2,157	65
660QC	South Ogden	860	752	108
660GD	Roosevelt	206	201	5
660QB	Price	170	163	7
660GK	Elko	139	120	19
660MA	IDES Hill AFB	30	30	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration