Allegheny Highlands Today

The Martinsburg VA Medical Center, subsidiary 613GE in Petersburg, West Virginia, scheduled 999 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, 988 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.9%) and 11 appointments (1.1%) 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
613	Martinsburg	20,690	18,677	2,013
613GG	Frederick	3,561	3,371	190
613GC	Stephens City	3,224	3,114	110
613GB	Hagerstown	3,122	2,989	133
613GF	Harrisonburg	1,897	1,883	14
613GA	Cumberland	1,857	1,768	89
613GE	Petersburg	999	988	11
613GD	Franklin	143	143	0
613BU	Martinsburg	79	76	3

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration