Springs Times

The VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System, subsidiary 554GI in Burlington, Colorado scheduled 489 pending appointments during the period ending December 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 483 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.8%) and six appointments (1.2%) 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 who 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
554	Aurora	49,490	41,586	7,904
554GE	Colorado Springs	26,283	23,230	3,053
554GD	Pueblo	9,316	8,240	1,076
554GC	Golden	8,292	7,490	802
554GB	Aurora	4,524	4,349	175
554GJ	Denver East 9th Avenue	2,218	2,075	143
554QB	Aurora	1,213	936	277
554GG	La Junta	778	769	9
554GF	Alamosa	515	509	6
554GI	Burlington	489	483	6
554GH	Lamar	376	355	21
554QC	Salida	154	146	8
554MA	IDES Fort Carson	93	89	4
554QA	York Street	16	16	0
554A5	Denver	5	5	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration