River Valley Today

The VA Maine Health Care System, subsidiary 402HL in Bingham, Maine scheduled 270 pending appointments during the period ending November 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 255 had a wait time of 30 days or less (94.4%) and 15 appointments (5.6%) 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	38,066	35,162	2,904
402HB	Bangor	12,722	12,101	621
402GE	Lewiston	3,766	3,581	185
402HC	Portland	3,101	2,908	193
402GD	Saco	1,873	1,691	182
402GA	Caribou	965	939	26
402GC	Rumford	713	652	61
402GB	Calais	474	455	19
402GF	Lincoln	314	294	20
402HL	Bingham	270	255	15
402QA	Fort Kent	32	32	0
402QB	Houlton	18	18	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration