Luzerne Times

The Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center, subsidiary 693 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, scheduled 31,587 pending appointments during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 29,638 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.8%) and 1,949 appointments (6.2%) 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 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	31,587	29,638	1,949
693B4	Allentown	7,809	7,261	548
693GB	Williamsport	3,219	3,052	167
693GA	Sayre	1,708	1,600	108
693QA	Honesdale	885	879	6
693GG	Bangor	661	653	8
693GF	Berwick	642	610	32
693GC	Tobyhanna	184	179	5

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration