Southeast Montana News

The VA Montana Health Care System reported that 11 patients newly enrolled in its benefits program requested appointments but had not received one during the period ending June 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

During that same time frame, the system scheduled 42,528 pending appointments across its 18 healthcare facilities.

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 or better to 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.

At a hearing before the House Veterans Affairs Committee after the report was released, Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, said new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

The VA explains on its website that when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to 1 of 8 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
Fort Harrison, MT	13,718	10,142	3,576
Miles City CLC, MT	281	262	19
Anaconda, MT	1,377	1,318	59
Great Falls, MT	3,325	3,166	159
Missoula, MT (David J. Thatcher)	5,871	5,650	221
Bozeman, MT	1,387	1,151	236
Kalispell, MT	4,521	4,325	196
Billings Majestic Lane, MT (Benjamin Charles Steele)	4,623	3,356	1,267
Glasgow, MT	207	158	49
Glendive, MT	215	171	44
Cut Bank, MT	181	178	3
Lewistown, MT	171	166	5
Billings Spring Creek Lane, MT (Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow)	3,990	3,684	306
Havre, MT (Merril Lundman)	344	316	28
Hamilton, MT	1,161	1,130	31
Plentywood, MT	32	28	4
Helena, MT	1,123	1,035	88

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration