NW Kentucky News

The Marion VA Medical Center, subsidiary 657GP in Owensboro, Kentucky scheduled 2,392 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, 2,297 had a wait time of 30 days or less (96%) and 95 appointments (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 who 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
657GJ	Evansville	22,448	21,385	1,063
657A5	Marion	15,147	14,666	481
657GL	Paducah	3,590	3,558	32
657GK	Mount Vernon	2,652	2,649	3
657GT	Carbondale	2,510	2,508	2
657GP	Owensboro	2,392	2,297	95
657GR	Mayfield	2,225	2,211	14
657GM	Effingham	1,606	1,596	10
657GQ	Vincennes	1,026	1,013	13
657GO	Hanson	1,005	1,001	4
657QD	Marion	893	886	7
657GU	Harrisburg	594	564	30
657BW	Marion MH-RRTP	151	151	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration