Mohawk Valley Times

The Albany Stratton VA Medical Center, subsidiary 528QK in Saranac Lake, NY scheduled 382 pending appointments in February compared to 394 the previous month, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 359 had a wait time of 30 days or less (94%) and 23 appointments (6%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported 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 cautioning 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.

Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, told the Veterans Affairs Committee new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

The VA explains on its website 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 don’t have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Facility Code	Location	Total Appointments Scheduled in February	Total Appointments Scheduled in January	Percent change in number of appointments
528A8	Albany, New York	31,336	29,809	5.1%
528G2	Westport, New York	885	457	93.7%
528G3	Bainbridge, New York	632	567	11.5%
528G6	Fonda, New York	1,194	1,065	12.1%
528G7	Catskill, New York	468	556	-15.8%
528GT	Glens Falls, New York	3,079	3,099	-0.6%
528GV	Plattsburgh, New York	1,805	1,570	15%
528GW	Schenectady, New York	1,661	1,651	0.6%
528GX	Troy, New York	979	960	2%
528GY	Clifton Park, New York	1,647	1,587	3.8%
528GZ	Kingston, New York	1,796	1,774	1.2%
528QK	Saranac Lake, New York	382	394	-3%

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration