Akron Reporter

The Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center in Cleveland reported that 21 patients newly enrolled in its benefits program requested appointments but had not received one during the period ending February 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

During that same time frame, the system scheduled 201,039 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)	62,575	59,160	3,415
Canton, OH	16,238	15,812	426
Youngstown, OH	11,690	11,318	372
Lorain, OH	10,968	10,818	150
Sandusky, OH	7,394	7,159	235
Mansfield, OH (David F. Winder)	13,036	12,801	235
McCafferty, OH	1,387	1,334	53
Lake County, OH	11,102	10,800	302
Akron, OH	19,833	18,708	1,125
East Liverpool, OH	4,541	4,480	61
Warren, OH	4,189	4,046	143
New Philadelphia, OH	4,849	4,758	91
Ravenna, OH	5,393	5,127	266
Parma, OH	25,990	24,109	1,881
Cleveland Superior Avenue, OH	34	30	4
Summit County, OH	12	12	0
Cleveland Euclid Avenue, OH	1,049	1,042	7
Cuyahoga County 4, OH - Mobile	378	306	72

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration