Columbia News

The Harry S. Truman Memorial VA Hospital, subsidiary 589GX in Mexico, Missouri, scheduled 2,096 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, 2,065 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.5%) and 31 appointments (1.5%) 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
589A4	Columbia	49,683	43,461	6,222
589G8	Jefferson City	6,124	5,764	360
589GF	Fort Leonard Wood	3,608	3,462	146
589JD	Marshfield	3,361	3,091	270
589GH	Osage Beach	2,564	2,494	70
589JA	Sedalia	2,121	2,117	4
589GE	Kirksville	2,110	2,098	12
589GX	Mexico	2,096	2,065	31
589GY	St. James	2,091	1,775	316
589BX	Columbia	13	13	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration