Rockland Reporter

The VA Hudson Valley Health Care System New York scheduled 11,961 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending December 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 11,230 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.89%) and 731 appointments (6.11%) 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
Montrose, NY (Franklin Delano Roosevelt)	2,521	2,402	119
Castle Point, NY	6,356	5,906	450
New City, NY	723	678	45
Carmel, NY	460	446	14
Goshen, NY	567	539	28
Port Jervis, NY	420	401	19
Monticello, NY	355	320	35
Poughkeepsie, NY	375	360	15
Eastern Dutchess, NY	101	95	6