Tucson Standard

The VA Southern Arizona Health Care System, subsidiary 678GG in Tucson, Arizona, scheduled 1,906 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, 1,892 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99.3%) and 14 appointments (0.7%) 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
678	Tucson	58,405	52,464	5,941
678GA	Sierra Vista	6,203	5,988	215
678GB	Yuma	4,975	4,955	20
678GF	Tucson	3,183	3,037	146
678GC	Casa Grande	3,039	2,828	211
678GG	Tucson	1,906	1,892	14
678GE	Green Valley	475	467	8
678GD	Safford	459	453	6

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration