North Michigan News

The Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center, subsidiary 655GD in Alpena, Michigan, scheduled 1,427 pending appointments during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 1,341 had a wait time of 30 days or less (94%) and 86 appointments (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
655	Saginaw	15,451	12,754	2,697
655QA	Saginaw Barnard Road	2,573	2,527	46
655GB	Traverse City	2,057	1,889	168
655GC	Oscoda	1,819	1,791	28
655GF	Bad Axe	1,577	1,541	36
655GE	Clare	1,509	1,427	82
655GD	Alpena	1,427	1,341	86
655GG	Cadillac	1,170	1,030	140
655GA	Gaylord	964	887	77
655GI	Grayling	545	413	132
655GH	Mackinaw City	362	357	5

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration