South Utah News

The VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, subsidiary 660GG in St. George, Utah, scheduled 1,365 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, 1,178 had a wait time of 30 days or less (86.3%) and 187 appointments (13.7%) 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
660	Salt Lake City	29,786	27,250	2,536
660GB	Ogden	3,118	3,049	69
660QA	Idaho Falls	2,244	2,083	161
660GA	Pocatello	1,650	1,317	333
660GJ	West Valley City	1,427	1,374	53
660GG	St. George	1,365	1,178	187
660GE	Orem	1,065	982	83
660GD	Roosevelt	473	450	23
660QC	South Ogden	324	317	7
660GK	Elko	51	48	3
660QB	Price	38	28	10

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration