Central Montana Times

The VA Montana Health Care System, subsidiary 436GM in Lewistown, Montana, scheduled 211 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, 201 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.3%) and 10 appointments (4.7%) 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	14,117	12,386	1,731
436GC	Missoula	6,204	6,058	146
436GH	Billings	5,432	4,667	765
436GF	Kalispell	4,690	4,603	87
436GN	Billings	4,368	4,074	294
436GB	Great Falls	3,316	3,208	108
436GA	Anaconda	1,464	1,440	24
436GD	Bozeman	1,343	1,291	52
436QA	Hamilton	1,232	1,218	14
436QC	Helena	708	680	28
436HC	Havre	419	398	21
436GI	Glasgow	276	272	4
436A4	Miles City CLC	274	272	2
436GL	Cut Bank	260	258	2
436GK	Glendive	255	248	7
436GM	Lewistown	211	201	10
436QB	Plentywood	28	27	1

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration