Huntsville Leader

The Birmingham VA Medical Center, subsidiary 521GA in Huntsville, Alabama, scheduled 19,413 pending appointments during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 18,436 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95%) and 977 appointments (5%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported 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.

However, the Government Accountability Office released a report in July 2019 cautinging 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 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
521	Birmingham	44,030	40,559	3,471
521GA	Huntsville	19,413	18,436	977
521GJ	Birmingham 7th Avenue South	12,462	12,135	327
521QA	Callahan	6,915	6,838	77
521GC	Florence	4,276	4,252	24
521GI	Guntersville	3,795	3,696	99
521GE	Oxford	3,661	3,633	28
521GD	Rainbow City	3,528	3,522	6
521GG	Bessemer	2,984	2,914	70
521GH	Childersburg	2,801	2,788	13
521GF	Jasper	2,088	2,032	56

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration