Central Montana Times

The VA Montana Health Care System Montana scheduled 46,414 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 41,887 had a wait time of 30 days or less (90.25%) and 4,527 appointments (9.75%) 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	14,844	12,835	2,009
Miles City, MT	317	264	53
Anaconda, MT	1,768	1,733	35
Great Falls, MT	2,699	2,459	240
Missoula, MT (David J. Thatcher)	6,878	6,575	303
Bozeman, MT	1,557	1,508	49
Kalispell, MT	5,146	4,890	256
Billings Majestic Lane, MT (Benjamin Charles Steele)	5,736	5,102	634
Glasgow, MT	118	112	6
Glendive, MT	145	134	11
Cut Bank, MT	101	89	12
Lewistown, MT	436	378	58
Billings Spring Creek Lane, MT (Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow)	3,717	3,154	563
Havre, MT (Merril Lundman)	259	196	63
IDES Malmstrom AFB	1	1	0
Hamilton, MT	1,268	1,223	45
Plentywood, MT	19	17	2
Helena, MT	1,405	1,217	188