Mohawk Valley Times

The Albany Stratton VA Medical Center, subsidiary 528G6 in Fonda, New York, scheduled 1,045 pending appointments during the period ending December 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 1,037 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99.2%) and eight appointments (0.8%) 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	27,597	25,381	2,216
528GT	Glens Falls	3,152	3,098	54
528GZ	Kingston	1,803	1,791	12
528GW	Schenectady	1,604	1,582	22
528GY	Clifton Park	1,547	1,528	19
528GV	Plattsburgh	1,254	1,213	41
528G6	Fonda	1,045	1,037	8
528GX	Troy	971	960	11
528G7	Catskill	666	651	15
528G3	Bainbridge	540	528	12
528G2	Westport	437	432	5
528QK	Saranac Lake	409	394	15

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration