Key West Reporter

The VA Miami Health Care System, subsidiary 546GE in Key Largo, Florida, scheduled 727 pending appointments during the period ending September 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 588 had a wait time of 30 days or less (80.9%) and 139 appointments (19.1%) 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
546	Miami	47,422	40,172	7,250
546BZ	Sunrise	26,446	24,488	1,958
546GC	Homestead	4,479	4,280	199
546GF	Hollywood	3,012	2,871	141
546GD	Pembroke Pines	2,644	2,563	81
546GH	Deerfield Beach	1,766	1,758	8
546GB	Key West	1,397	1,388	9
546GE	Key Largo	727	588	139
546GA	Miami	73	72	1

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration