Central Montana Times

The VA Montana Health Care System, subsidiary 436GM in Lewistown, Montana scheduled 481 pending appointments during the period ending January 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 421 had a wait time of 30 days or less (87.5%) and 60 appointments (12.5%) 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	16,084	14,291	1,793
436GC	Missoula	7,188	6,940	248
436GH	Billings	6,784	6,142	642
436GF	Kalispell	5,411	5,246	165
436GN	Billings	4,170	3,863	307
436GB	Great Falls	2,691	2,503	188
436GA	Anaconda	1,806	1,737	69
436GD	Bozeman	1,719	1,654	65
436QC	Helena	1,608	1,353	255
436QA	Hamilton	1,304	1,267	37
436GM	Lewistown	481	421	60
436A4	Miles City CLC	349	334	15
436HC	Havre	295	253	42
436GK	Glendive	254	226	28
436GL	Cut Bank	195	182	13
436GI	Glasgow	181	178	3
436QB	Plentywood	37	35	2

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration