East New Mexico News

The VA New Mexico Health Care System, subsidiary 501GA in Artesia, New Mexico, scheduled 1,169 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, 1,145 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98%) and 24 appointments (2.1%) 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
501	Albuquerque	52,554	43,770	8,784
501GM	Rio Rancho	4,156	3,589	567
501GK	Santa Fe	2,532	2,441	91
501GB	Farmington	2,165	2,025	140
501GJ	Durango	1,545	1,520	25
501GI	Alamogordo	1,504	1,438	66
501GD	Gallup	1,212	1,087	125
501GA	Artesia	1,169	1,145	24
501G2	Las Vegas	973	966	7
501GE	Espanola	888	465	423
501GH	Truth or Consequences	733	706	27
501GN	Taos	716	698	18
501GC	Silver City	315	299	16
501HB	Raton	53	51	2

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration