Central Montana Times

The VA Montana Health Care System, subsidiary 436GB in Great Falls, Montana, scheduled 3,020 pending appointments during the period ending December 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 2,946 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.6%) and 74 appointments (2.5%) 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 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	13,130	11,354	1,776
436GC	Missoula	5,763	5,659	104
436GH	Billings	4,884	4,175	709
436GF	Kalispell	4,529	4,462	67
436GN	Billings	4,066	3,817	249
436GB	Great Falls	3,020	2,946	74
436GA	Anaconda	1,318	1,291	27
436GD	Bozeman	1,173	1,134	39
436QA	Hamilton	1,168	1,152	16
436QC	Helena	532	495	37
436HC	Havre	406	396	10
436GI	Glasgow	255	251	4
436GL	Cut Bank	248	246	2
436GK	Glendive	246	243	3
436A4	Miles City CLC	229	224	5
436GM	Lewistown	189	183	6
436QB	Plentywood	24	24	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration