NE Iowa News

The VA Iowa City Health Care System, subsidiary 636GU in Decorah, Iowa, scheduled 661 pending appointments during the period ending December 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 585 had a wait time of 30 days or less (88.5%) and 76 appointments (11.5%) 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	15,960	12,503	3,457
636GF	Davenport	7,070	6,686	384
636GN	Cedar Rapids	2,405	2,254	151
636GW	Coralville	2,370	2,294	76
636GG	Quincy	2,327	2,217	110
636GS	Ottumwa	2,051	2,012	39
636GH	Waterloo	2,038	1,840	198
636QJ	Iowa City	1,990	1,606	384
636GJ	Dubuque	1,847	1,521	326
636GI	Galesburg	1,519	1,423	96
636GT	Sterling	739	700	39
636GU	Decorah	661	585	76
636QI	Davenport	243	241	2
636QG	Iowa City	90	53	37
636QC	Cedar Rapids	19	18	1

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration