ABQ Times

The VA New Mexico Health Care System in Albuquerque reported that 18 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 87,689 pending appointments across its 15 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
Albuquerque, NM (Raymond G. Murphy)	65,692	56,430	9,262
Las Vegas, NM	958	935	23
Artesia, NM	1,750	1,681	69
Farmington, NM	2,658	2,355	303
Silver City, NM	768	744	24
Gallup, NM	1,274	952	322
Espanola, NM	807	708	99
Truth or Consequences, NM	906	894	12
Alamogordo, NM	1,633	1,535	98
Durango, CO	1,587	1,566	21
Santa Fe, NM	2,817	2,746	71
Northwest Metro, NM	5,349	4,923	426
Taos, NM	924	876	48
Raton, NM	566	559	7

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration