Central Montana Times

The VA Montana Health Care System, subsidiary 436GM in Lewistown, Montana scheduled 436 pending appointments during the period ending November 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 382 had a wait time of 30 days or less (87.6%) and 54 appointments (12.4%) 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
436	Fort Harrison	15,214	13,137	2,077
436GC	Missoula	7,004	6,723	281
436GH	Billings	5,880	5,259	621
436GF	Kalispell	5,308	5,043	265
436GN	Billings	3,509	3,020	489
436GB	Great Falls	2,791	2,539	252
436GA	Anaconda	1,764	1,716	48
436GD	Bozeman	1,606	1,551	55
436QC	Helena	1,437	1,223	214
436QA	Hamilton	1,271	1,218	53
436GM	Lewistown	436	382	54
436A4	Miles City CLC	322	282	40
436HC	Havre	266	210	56
436GK	Glendive	222	197	25
436GI	Glasgow	176	167	9
436GL	Cut Bank	114	95	19
436QB	Plentywood	35	33	2

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration