WC New Mexico News

The VA New Mexico Health Care System, subsidiary 501GD in Gallup, New Mexico scheduled 1,327 pending appointments during the period ending April 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 1,065 had a wait time of 30 days or less (80.3%) and 262 appointments (19.7%) 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
501	Albuquerque	56,869	46,847	10,022
501GM	Rio Rancho	4,779	4,311	468
501GK	Santa Fe	2,431	2,338	93
501GB	Farmington	2,431	2,294	137
501GJ	Durango	1,773	1,756	17
501GI	Alamogordo	1,562	1,486	76
501GA	Artesia	1,414	1,360	54
501GD	Gallup	1,327	1,065	262
501GE	Espanola	977	749	228
501G2	Las Vegas	910	880	30
501GN	Taos	813	772	41
501GC	Silver City	739	706	33
501GH	Truth or Consequences	625	615	10
501HB	Raton	75	72	3

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration