NE New York Today

The Albany Stratton VA Medical Center, subsidiary 528GV in Plattsburgh, New York, scheduled 1,805 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, 1,775 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.3%) and 30 appointments (1.7%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported 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.

However, the Government Accountability Office released a report in July 2019 cautinging 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 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
528A8	Albany	31,336	28,791	2,545
528GT	Glens Falls	3,079	2,974	105
528GV	Plattsburgh	1,805	1,775	30
528GZ	Kingston	1,796	1,758	38
528GW	Schenectady	1,661	1,626	35
528GY	Clifton Park	1,647	1,604	43
528G6	Fonda	1,194	1,190	4
528GX	Troy	979	971	8
528G2	Westport	885	874	11
528G3	Bainbridge	632	623	9
528G7	Catskill	468	438	30
528QK	Saranac Lake	382	359	23

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration