NC Wisconsin News

The Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center, subsidiary 585GB in Rhinelander, Wisconsin scheduled 873 pending appointments during the period ending January 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 827 had a wait time of 30 days or less (94.7%) and 46 appointments (5.3%) 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
585	Iron Mountain	9,211	8,640	571
585HA	Marquette	1,121	1,079	42
585GB	Rhinelander	873	827	46
585GF	Manistique	658	644	14
585HB	Sault Saint Marie	584	572	12
585GC	Menominee	570	547	23
585GA	Hancock	473	459	14
585GD	Ironwood	355	339	16

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration