Waterloo Times

The VA Iowa City Health Care System, subsidiary 636GH in Waterloo, Iowa, scheduled 1,719 pending appointments during the period ending September 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 1,626 had a wait time of 30 days or less (94.6%) and 93 appointments (5.4%) 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	17,423	13,738	3,685
636GF	Davenport	6,908	6,530	378
636GG	Quincy	2,266	2,189	77
636GN	Cedar Rapids	2,124	2,017	107
636GS	Ottumwa	2,030	2,014	16
636GW	Coralville	1,936	1,891	45
636QJ	Iowa City	1,721	1,138	583
636GH	Waterloo	1,719	1,626	93
636GJ	Dubuque	1,587	1,375	212
636GI	Galesburg	1,515	1,488	27
636GT	Sterling	591	521	70
636GU	Decorah	555	519	36
636QI	Davenport	217	216	1
636QG	Iowa City	54	22	32
636QC	Cedar Rapids	18	18	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration