Clay Reporter

The Kansas City VA Medical Center, subsidiary 589JB in Excelsior Springs, Missouri scheduled 1,061 pending appointments during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 1,008 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95%) and 53 appointments (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 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	55,470	53,648	1,822
589JF	Kansas City	9,947	9,731	216
589G1	Warrensburg	4,480	4,444	36
589JC	Shawnee	3,301	3,282	19
589GB	Belton	2,439	2,409	30
589GD	Nevada	1,767	1,763	4
589JB	Excelsior Springs	1,061	1,008	53
589QA	Overland Park	972	970	2
589GC	Paola	877	871	6
589GZ	Cameron	671	652	19
589HK	Kansas City	140	139	1

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration