Mohawk Valley Times

The Albany Stratton VA Medical Center, subsidiary 528G6 in Fonda, New York, scheduled 1,095 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, 1,088 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99.4%) and seven appointments (0.6%) 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
528A8	Albany	25,773	23,303	2,470
528GT	Glens Falls	3,157	3,091	66
528GZ	Kingston	1,807	1,795	12
528GW	Schenectady	1,706	1,663	43
528GY	Clifton Park	1,529	1,521	8
528GV	Plattsburgh	1,308	1,252	56
528G6	Fonda	1,095	1,088	7
528GX	Troy	998	986	12
528G7	Catskill	778	755	23
528G2	Westport	460	455	5
528G3	Bainbridge	414	407	7
528QK	Saranac Lake	371	350	21

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration