West NY News

The VA Western New York at Buffalo Health Care System, subsidiary 528GB in Jamestown, New York, scheduled 1,654 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, 1,627 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.4%) and 27 appointments (1.6%) 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
528	Buffalo	37,462	34,921	2,541
528A4	Batavia	4,191	3,980	211
528GB	Jamestown	1,654	1,627	27
528GC	Dunkirk	1,520	1,505	15
528GQ	Lackawanna	1,361	1,330	31
528GD	Niagara Falls	1,093	1,064	29
528GK	Lockport	1,082	1,033	49
528GR	Olean	701	692	9
528QA	Buffalo	67	67	0
528QB	Packard	42	41	1

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration