South Utah News

The VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, subsidiary 660GG in St. George, Utah, scheduled 1,540 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, 1,423 had a wait time of 30 days or less (92.4%) and 117 appointments (7.6%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported 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.

However, the Government Accountability Office released a report in July 2019 cautinging 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 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	38,053	34,362	3,691
660GB	Ogden	2,059	1,814	245
660QA	Idaho Falls	2,003	1,834	169
660GA	Pocatello	1,888	1,730	158
660GG	St. George	1,540	1,423	117
660GE	Orem	1,205	1,048	157
660GJ	West Valley City	1,037	989	48
660GD	Roosevelt	613	596	17
660QB	Price	43	37	6
660GK	Elko	41	35	6

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration