South Maine News

The VA Maine Health Care System, subsidiary 402GD in Saco, Maine scheduled 1,838 pending appointments during the period ending February 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 1,725 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.9%) and 113 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 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
402	Augusta	40,090	37,487	2,603
402HB	Bangor	13,299	12,659	640
402GE	Lewiston	4,320	4,037	283
402HC	Portland	3,294	3,148	146
402GD	Saco	1,838	1,725	113
402GA	Caribou	1,083	1,020	63
402GC	Rumford	717	692	25
402GB	Calais	660	644	16
402GF	Lincoln	391	366	25
402HL	Bingham	274	267	7
402QA	Fort Kent	32	32	0
402QB	Houlton	21	20	1

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration