San Joaquin Times

The VA Palo Alto Health Care System, subsidiary 640HA in Stockton, California scheduled 3,312 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, 2,352 had a wait time of 30 days or less (71%) and 960 appointments (29%) 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
640	Palo Alto	22,852	19,995	2,857
640A4	Livermore	8,672	6,889	1,783
640HC	Monterey	6,623	5,603	1,020
640BY	San Jose	4,820	3,695	1,125
640HB	Modesto	3,838	2,955	883
640HA	Stockton	3,312	2,352	960
640A0	Menlo Park	2,136	1,878	258
640GB	Sonora	1,409	992	417
640GC	Fremont	887	788	99
640GA	Capitola	320	205	115

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration