South Maine News

The VA Maine Health Care System, subsidiary 402GD in Saco, Maine scheduled 1,465 pending appointments during the period ending May 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 1,284 had a wait time of 30 days or less (87.7%) and 181 appointments (12.4%) 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 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	32,809	26,771	6,038
402HB	Bangor	9,889	8,923	966
402GE	Lewiston	2,989	2,494	495
402HC	Portland	2,712	2,535	177
402GD	Saco	1,465	1,284	181
402GA	Caribou	691	647	44
402GB	Calais	651	512	139
402GC	Rumford	512	451	61
402HL	Bingham	228	200	28
402GF	Lincoln	173	133	40
402QB	Houlton	21	15	6
402QA	Fort Kent	19	18	1

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration