River Valley Today

The VA Maine Health Care System, subsidiary 402HL in Bingham, Maine, scheduled 149 pending appointments during the period ending August 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 131 had a wait time of 30 days or less (87.9%) and 18 appointments (12.1%) 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 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	25,812	20,989	4,823
402HB	Bangor	6,034	5,335	699
402GE	Lewiston	2,463	1,824	639
402HC	Portland	2,172	2,026	146
402GD	Saco	934	814	120
402GA	Caribou	367	352	15
402GC	Rumford	365	348	17
402GB	Calais	357	261	96
402HL	Bingham	149	131	18
402GF	Lincoln	110	76	34
402QB	Houlton	12	6	6
402QA	Fort Kent	3	3	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration