South Omaha Times

The VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System, subsidiary 636GL in Bellevue, Nebraska scheduled 3,882 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, 3,737 had a wait time of 30 days or less (96.3%) and 145 appointments (3.7%) 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
636	Omaha	43,085	39,394	3,691
636A4	Grand Island	11,326	11,077	249
636A5	Lincoln	9,153	8,404	749
636GL	Bellevue	3,882	3,737	145
636GA	Norfolk	1,240	1,181	59
636GB	North Platte	1,157	1,092	65
636GQ	Holdrege	978	959	19
636GP	Shenandoah	864	827	37
636QA	Omaha Dorcas Street	178	178	0
636BX	Omaha	25	25	0
636BW	Grand Island	17	17	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration