Crawford Times

The Erie VA Medical Center, subsidiary 562GA in Meadville, Pennsylvania, scheduled 2,822 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, 2,705 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.9%) and 117 appointments (4.2%) 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 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
562	Erie	16,466	13,658	2,808
562GA	Meadville	2,822	2,705	117
562GE	Warren	2,631	2,532	99
562GD	Franklin	1,943	1,926	17
562GB	Ashtabula	1,861	1,819	42
562GC	Bradford	367	358	9

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration