NC Wisconsin News

The Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center, subsidiary 585GB in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, scheduled 697 pending appointments during the period ending August 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 660 had a wait time of 30 days or less (94.7%) and 37 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 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	8,836	7,200	1,636
585HA	Marquette	995	932	63
585GB	Rhinelander	697	660	37
585GA	Hancock	490	459	31
585HB	Sault Saint Marie	427	398	29
585GC	Menominee	401	373	28
585GF	Manistique	356	342	14
585GD	Ironwood	275	249	26

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration