Waterloo Times

The VA Iowa City Health Care System Iowa scheduled 41,152 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending July 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 34,885 had a wait time of 30 days or less (84.77%) and 6,267 appointments (15.23%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported 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 cautioning 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.

Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, told the House Veterans Affairs Committee new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

The VA explains 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 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
Iowa City, IA	17,712	13,490	4,222
Quad Cities, IA	7,023	6,655	368
Quincy, IL	2,154	2,043	111
Waterloo, IA	1,919	1,730	189
Galesburg, IL (Lane A. Evans)	1,626	1,561	65
Dubuque, IA	1,600	1,326	274
Cedar Rapids, IA	2,564	2,438	126
Ottumwa, IA	1,938	1,923	15
Sterling, IL	636	530	106
Decorah, IA	478	453	25
Coralville, IA	1,984	1,891	93
Linn County, IA	34	34	0
Davenport, IA	185	185	0
Iowa City South Clinton Street, IA	1,299	626	673