River Valley Today

The VA Maine Health Care System, subsidiary 402HL in Bingham, Maine scheduled 269 pending appointments during the period ending December 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 256 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.2%) and 13 appointments (4.8%) 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
402	Augusta	37,815	35,053	2,762
402HB	Bangor	12,940	12,268	672
402GE	Lewiston	3,878	3,653	225
402HC	Portland	3,223	3,027	196
402GD	Saco	1,872	1,689	183
402GA	Caribou	854	836	18
402GC	Rumford	758	678	80
402GB	Calais	554	533	21
402HL	Bingham	269	256	13
402GF	Lincoln	238	214	24
402QA	Fort Kent	51	51	0
402QB	Houlton	20	20	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration