Ne Colorado News

The Cheyenne VA Medical Center, subsidiary 442QE in Sterling, Colorado scheduled 104 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, 102 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.1%) and two appointments (1.9%) 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	11,453	10,589	864
442GD	Loveland	6,030	5,328	702
442GC	Fort Collins	2,736	2,634	102
442GB	Sidney	210	189	21
442QD	Laramie	147	147	0
442QA	Rawlins	137	136	1
442QE	Sterling	104	102	2
442QB	Torrington	82	81	1
442HK	Wheatland	56	56	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration