Akron Reporter

The Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center in Cleveland reported that 32 patients newly enrolled in its benefits program requested appointments but had not received one during the period ending December 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

During that same time frame, the system scheduled 199,396 pending appointments across its 18 healthcare facilities.

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 or better to 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.

At a hearing before the House Veterans Affairs Committee after the report was released, Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, said new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

The VA explains on its website that when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to 1 of 8 priority groups, with those who need immediate care due to service-related disabilities placed in higher priority groups. Veterans who don’t have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Cleveland, OH (Louis Stokes Cleveland)	62,609	59,064	3,545
Canton, OH	16,613	16,029	584
Youngstown, OH	11,786	11,403	383
Lorain, OH	10,855	10,744	111
Sandusky, OH	7,496	7,256	240
Mansfield, OH (David F. Winder)	13,387	13,133	254
McCafferty, OH	1,286	1,264	22
Lake County, OH	11,004	10,736	268
Akron, OH	18,636	17,755	881
East Liverpool, OH	4,510	4,468	42
Warren, OH	3,923	3,785	138
New Philadelphia, OH	4,581	4,486	95
Ravenna, OH	5,573	5,268	305
Parma, OH	25,303	23,444	1,859
Cleveland Superior Avenue, OH	55	46	9
Summit County, OH	3	3	0
Cleveland Euclid Avenue, OH	1,044	1,038	6
Cuyahoga County 4, OH - Mobile	373	327	46

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration