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 January 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

During that same time frame, the system scheduled 197,625 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)	61,046	57,127	3,919
Canton, OH	16,246	15,670	576
Youngstown, OH	11,753	11,351	402
Lorain, OH	10,912	10,733	179
Sandusky, OH	7,439	7,193	246
Mansfield, OH (David F. Winder)	12,968	12,713	255
McCafferty, OH	1,369	1,332	37
Lake County, OH	10,941	10,597	344
Akron, OH	19,089	18,005	1,084
East Liverpool, OH	4,531	4,466	65
Warren, OH	3,999	3,851	148
New Philadelphia, OH	4,722	4,634	88
Ravenna, OH	5,403	5,112	291
Parma, OH	25,386	23,515	1,871
Cleveland Superior Avenue, OH	43	31	12
Summit County, OH	4	3	1
Cleveland Euclid Avenue, OH	1,081	1,073	8
Cuyahoga County 4, OH - Mobile	344	294	50

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration