Housatonic Valley News

The VA Connecticut Health Care System, subsidiary 689GE in Danbury, Connecticut, scheduled 319 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, 308 had a wait time of 30 days or less (96.6%) and 11 appointments (3.5%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported 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.

However, the Government Accountability Office released a report in July 2019 cautinging 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 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	37,851	33,764	4,087
689A4	Newington	24,737	23,081	1,656
689HC	New London	1,784	1,752	32
689GC	Willimantic	626	612	14
689GA	Waterbury	601	595	6
689QA	West Haven	562	547	15
689GB	Stamford	401	397	4
689GE	Danbury	319	308	11
689GD	Winsted	165	163	2

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration