Luzerne Times

The Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center, subsidiary 693 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, scheduled 30,568 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, 28,612 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.6%) and 1,956 appointments (6.4%) 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
693	Wilkes-Barre	30,568	28,612	1,956
693B4	Allentown	8,142	7,582	560
693GB	Williamsport	2,907	2,810	97
693GA	Sayre	1,670	1,600	70
693QA	Honesdale	878	865	13
693GG	Bangor	712	704	8
693GF	Berwick	398	373	25
693GC	Tobyhanna	236	232	4

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration