Anne Arundel Today

The VA Maryland Health Care System, subsidiary 512GG in Fort Meade, Maryland, scheduled 689 pending appointments during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 631 had a wait time of 30 days or less (91.6%) and 58 appointments (8.4%) 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
512	Baltimore	28,304	23,618	4,686
512A5	Perry Point	5,179	4,858	321
512GD	Baltimore	3,266	3,046	220
512GA	Cambridge	2,591	2,498	93
512GC	Glen Burnie	1,523	1,450	73
512GF	Rosedale	770	747	23
512GG	Fort Meade	689	631	58
512GE	Pocomoke City	593	577	16
512QA	Baltimore West Fayette Street	455	448	7

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration