Manatee Review

The VA Bay Pines Health Care System, subsidiary 516GD in Bradenton, Florida, scheduled 12,819 pending appointments during the period ending July 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 11,705 had a wait time of 30 days or less (91.3%) and 1,114 appointments (8.7%) 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
516	Bay Pines	73,965	63,944	10,021
516BZ	Cape Coral	40,017	37,451	2,566
516GD	Bradenton	12,819	11,705	1,114
516GA	Sarasota	10,133	9,695	438
516GE	Port Charlotte	8,513	7,714	799
516GF	Naples	6,792	6,348	444
516GC	Palm Harbor	6,383	6,324	59
516GH	Sebring	3,962	3,945	17
516GB	St. Petersburg	2,471	2,457	14

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration