Central Montana Times

The VA Montana Health Care System, subsidiary 436GM in Lewistown, Montana, scheduled 177 pending appointments during the period ending September 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 173 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.7%) and four appointments (2.3%) 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 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	14,154	12,051	2,103
436GC	Missoula	5,991	5,888	103
436GH	Billings	5,050	4,154	896
436GF	Kalispell	4,624	4,476	148
436GN	Billings	4,236	3,873	363
436GB	Great Falls	3,325	3,171	154
436GA	Anaconda	1,461	1,437	24
436GD	Bozeman	1,298	1,229	69
436QA	Hamilton	1,218	1,205	13
436QC	Helena	725	673	52
436HC	Havre	379	326	53
436A4	Miles City CLC	258	256	2
436GK	Glendive	220	219	1
436GL	Cut Bank	208	206	2
436GI	Glasgow	195	193	2
436GM	Lewistown	177	173	4
436QB	Plentywood	20	18	2

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration