NE Iowa News

The VA Iowa City Health Care System, subsidiary 636GU in Decorah, Iowa, scheduled 728 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, 648 had a wait time of 30 days or less (89%) and 80 appointments (11%) 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
636A8	Iowa City	17,702	13,896	3,806
636GF	Davenport	7,411	7,001	410
636GW	Coralville	2,626	2,562	64
636GN	Cedar Rapids	2,542	2,388	154
636GG	Quincy	2,392	2,320	72
636QJ	Iowa City	2,153	1,750	403
636GS	Ottumwa	2,062	2,031	31
636GH	Waterloo	1,996	1,826	170
636GJ	Dubuque	1,849	1,560	289
636GI	Galesburg	1,731	1,621	110
636GU	Decorah	728	648	80
636GT	Sterling	718	682	36
636QI	Davenport	325	323	2
636QG	Iowa City	52	16	36
636QC	Cedar Rapids	21	21	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration