Key West Reporter

The VA Miami Health Care System, subsidiary 546GB in Key West, Florida, scheduled 1,381 pending appointments during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 1,368 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99.1%) and 13 appointments (0.9%) 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	50,730	42,231	8,499
546BZ	Sunrise	27,393	25,431	1,962
546GC	Homestead	4,423	4,196	227
546GF	Hollywood	2,658	2,518	140
546GD	Pembroke Pines	2,536	2,448	88
546GH	Deerfield Beach	1,752	1,741	11
546GB	Key West	1,381	1,368	13
546GE	Key Largo	687	532	155
546GA	Miami	70	70	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration