North Michigan News

The Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center, subsidiary 655GI in Grayling, Michigan, scheduled 493 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, 427 had a wait time of 30 days or less (86.6%) and 66 appointments (13.4%) 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	15,708	13,427	2,281
655QA	Saginaw Barnard Road	2,617	2,574	43
655GB	Traverse City	2,349	2,156	193
655GC	Oscoda	1,955	1,924	31
655GF	Bad Axe	1,632	1,619	13
655GE	Clare	1,463	1,372	91
655GD	Alpena	1,338	1,259	79
655GG	Cadillac	1,063	998	65
655GA	Gaylord	931	822	109
655GI	Grayling	493	427	66
655GH	Mackinaw City	390	366	24

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration