Waterloo Times

The VA Iowa City Health Care System, subsidiary 636GH in Waterloo, Iowa scheduled 2,736 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, 2,542 had a wait time of 30 days or less (92.9%) and 194 appointments (7.1%) 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 who 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	19,849	17,370	2,479
636GF	Davenport	7,541	7,148	393
636GN	Cedar Rapids	3,704	3,598	106
636GW	Coralville	3,590	3,490	100
636QJ	Iowa City	3,374	2,890	484
636GH	Waterloo	2,736	2,542	194
636GS	Ottumwa	2,538	2,528	10
636GG	Quincy	2,387	2,300	87
636GI	Galesburg	2,252	2,181	71
636GJ	Dubuque	2,143	2,016	127
636GT	Sterling	932	890	42
636GU	Decorah	875	861	14
636QG	Iowa City	308	163	145
636QI	Davenport	266	259	7
636QC	Cedar Rapids	67	67	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration