Jefferson City News

The Harry S. Truman Memorial VA Hospital, subsidiary 589G8 in Jefferson City, Missouri scheduled 5,735 pending appointments during the period ending February 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 5,623 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.1%) and 112 appointments (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 who 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
589A4	Columbia	56,752	52,750	4,002
589G8	Jefferson City	5,735	5,623	112
589GF	Fort Leonard Wood	4,758	4,258	500
589JD	Marshfield	3,508	3,354	154
589GH	Osage Beach	2,799	2,611	188
589GX	Mexico	2,241	2,204	37
589GE	Kirksville	2,214	2,191	23
589JA	Sedalia	2,155	2,126	29
589GY	St. James	2,137	1,867	270
589BX	Columbia	12	12	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration