Central Montana Times

The VA Montana Health Care System Montana scheduled 50,808 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending January 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 46,955 had a wait time of 30 days or less (92.42%) and 3,853 appointments (7.58%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported 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 cautioning 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.

Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, told the House Veterans Affairs Committee new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

The VA explains 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 don’t have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Fort Harrison, MT	16,136	14,387	1,749
Miles City CLC, MT	355	342	13
Anaconda, MT	1,785	1,722	63
Great Falls, MT	2,729	2,549	180
Missoula, MT (David J. Thatcher)	7,214	6,988	226
Bozeman, MT	1,732	1,661	71
Kalispell, MT	5,445	5,284	161
Billings Majestic Lane, MT (Benjamin Charles Steele)	6,704	6,067	637
Glasgow, MT	201	197	4
Glendive, MT	262	231	31
Cut Bank, MT	203	192	11
Lewistown, MT	508	440	68
Billings Spring Creek Lane, MT (Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow)	4,280	3,986	294
Havre, MT (Merril Lundman)	322	277	45
IDES Malmstrom AFB	3	3	0
Hamilton, MT	1,297	1,258	39
Plentywood, MT	39	37	2
Helena, MT	1,593	1,334	259