Housatonic Valley News

The VA Connecticut Health Care System, subsidiary 689GE in Danbury, Connecticut, scheduled 356 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, 309 had a wait time of 30 days or less (86.8%) and 47 appointments (13.2%) 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
689	West Haven	33,412	29,581	3,831
689A4	Newington	23,640	20,662	2,978
689HC	New London	1,278	1,249	29
689GA	Waterbury	835	812	23
689GB	Stamford	774	766	8
689GC	Willimantic	454	440	14
689GE	Danbury	356	309	47
689QA	West Haven	250	243	7
689GD	Winsted	168	164	4

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration