KC Reporter

The Kansas City VA Medical Center, subsidiary 589JF in Kansas City, Missouri, scheduled 9,360 pending appointments during the period ending September 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 9,026 had a wait time of 30 days or less (96.4%) and 334 appointments (3.6%) 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
589	Kansas City	46,176	43,211	2,965
589JF	Kansas City	9,360	9,026	334
589G1	Warrensburg	4,167	4,112	55
589JC	Shawnee	3,329	3,308	21
589GB	Belton	2,707	2,660	47
589GD	Nevada	1,663	1,662	1
589JB	Excelsior Springs	1,412	1,396	16
589GC	Paola	829	817	12
589QA	Overland Park	681	679	2
589GZ	Cameron	667	659	8

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration