Niagara Leader

The VA Western New York at Buffalo Health Care System, subsidiary 528GD in Niagara Falls, New York scheduled 1,680 pending appointments during the period ending April 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 1,633 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.2%) and 47 appointments (2.8%) 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
528	Buffalo	47,703	44,316	3,387
528A4	Batavia	7,291	7,164	127
528GB	Jamestown	1,870	1,810	60
528GR	Olean	1,838	1,810	28
528GQ	Lackawanna	1,694	1,573	121
528GD	Niagara Falls	1,680	1,633	47
528GC	Dunkirk	1,657	1,646	11
528GK	Lockport	1,235	1,072	163
528QA	Buffalo	114	113	1
528QB	Packard	44	44	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration