West Hudson Valley News

The VA Hudson Valley Health Care System, subsidiary 620GE in Port Jervis, New York, scheduled 1,012 pending appointments during the period ending November 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 947 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.6%) and 65 appointments (6.4%) 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
620A4	Wappingers Falls	7,338	6,368	970
620	Montrose	2,780	2,448	332
620GD	Goshen	1,595	1,498	97
620GA	New City	1,374	1,311	63
620GB	Carmel	1,087	931	156
620GE	Port Jervis	1,012	947	65
620GG	Poughkeepsie	969	931	38
620GF	Monticello	629	533	96
620GH	Pine Plains	253	210	43

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration