Ne Colorado News

The Cheyenne VA Medical Center, subsidiary 442QE in Sterling, Colorado scheduled 131 pending appointments during the period ending February 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 123 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.9%) and eight appointments (6.1%) 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 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
442	Cheyenne	12,075	10,905	1,170
442GD	Loveland	6,326	5,597	729
442GC	Fort Collins	2,679	2,586	93
442GB	Sidney	258	251	7
442QD	Laramie	170	166	4
442QE	Sterling	131	123	8
442QA	Rawlins	123	122	1
442QB	Torrington	81	81	0
442HK	Wheatland	56	56	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration