Bloomington Leader

The Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center, subsidiary 583QA in Bloomington, Indiana, scheduled 341 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, 334 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98%) and seven appointments (2.1%) 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
583	Indianapolis	45,127	41,102	4,025
583GB	Bloomington	4,448	4,237	211
583GD	Indianapolis West	2,534	2,190	344
583GF	Edinburgh	1,168	1,039	129
583GE	West Lafayette	1,011	975	36
583GA	Terre Haute	782	777	5
583GG	Shelbyville	762	684	78
583QE	Cold Spring Road	589	589	0
583QD	Indianapolis YMCA	488	434	54
583QC	Terre Haute	484	475	9
583GC	Martinsville	410	409	1
583QA	Bloomington	341	334	7
583QB	Indianapolis Meridian Street	1	1	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration