Clay Reporter

The Kansas City VA Medical Center, subsidiary 589JB in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, scheduled 1,376 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, 1,337 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.2%) and 39 appointments (2.8%) 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
589	Kansas City	47,859	44,862	2,997
589JF	Kansas City	9,695	9,297	398
589G1	Warrensburg	4,372	4,324	48
589JC	Shawnee	3,339	3,320	19
589GB	Belton	2,682	2,664	18
589GD	Nevada	1,681	1,679	2
589JB	Excelsior Springs	1,376	1,337	39
589GC	Paola	900	890	10
589GZ	Cameron	722	715	7
589QA	Overland Park	703	700	3

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration