Central Montana Times

The VA Montana Health Care System, subsidiary 436GM in Lewistown, Montana scheduled 576 pending appointments during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 534 had a wait time of 30 days or less (92.7%) and 42 appointments (7.3%) 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	15,865	14,342	1,523
436GH	Billings	7,626	7,071	555
436GC	Missoula	7,133	6,985	148
436GF	Kalispell	5,688	5,505	183
436GN	Billings	3,477	3,169	308
436GB	Great Falls	3,395	3,268	127
436GD	Bozeman	1,797	1,724	73
436GA	Anaconda	1,703	1,669	34
436QC	Helena	1,575	1,370	205
436QA	Hamilton	1,315	1,269	46
436GM	Lewistown	576	534	42
436HC	Havre	352	337	15
436A4	Miles City CLC	328	313	15
436GK	Glendive	273	245	28
436GL	Cut Bank	232	229	3
436GI	Glasgow	190	188	2
436QB	Plentywood	27	24	3
436MA	IDES Malmstrom AFB	2	2	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration