Clay Reporter

The Kansas City VA Medical Center, subsidiary 589JB in Excelsior Springs, Missouri scheduled 833 pending appointments during the period ending January 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 811 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.4%) and 22 appointments (2.6%) 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 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
589	Kansas City	52,480	50,422	2,058
589JF	Kansas City	8,998	8,828	170
589G1	Warrensburg	4,151	4,115	36
589JC	Shawnee	2,835	2,812	23
589GB	Belton	2,164	2,150	14
589GD	Nevada	1,768	1,757	11
589JB	Excelsior Springs	833	811	22
589GC	Paola	828	820	8
589QA	Overland Park	721	721	0
589HK	Kansas City	387	384	3
589GZ	Cameron	387	379	8
589MC	IDES Whiteman AFB	10	10	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration