WC New Mexico News

The VA New Mexico Health Care System in Albuquerque New Mexico scheduled 66,915 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending January 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 57,562 had a wait time of 30 days or less (86.02%) and 9,353 appointments (13.98%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported 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 cautioning 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.

Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, told the House Veterans Affairs Committee new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

The VA explains 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 don’t have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Las Vegas, NM	955	944	11
Artesia, NM	712	687	25
Farmington, NM	200	180	20
Farmington, NM	2,234	2,155	79
Silver City, NM	144	124	20
Gallup, NM	554	548	6
Espanola, NM	802	543	259
Truth or Consequences, NM	549	540	9
Alamogordo, NM	1,528	1,496	32
Durango, CO	1,128	1,114	14
Santa Fe, NM	2,031	1,940	91
Northwest Metro, NM	2,700	2,541	159
Taos, NM	465	454	11
Raton, NM	6	6	0