Las Vegas City Wire

The VA Southern Nevada Health Care System, subsidiary 593GG in Las Vegas, Nevada, scheduled 5,643 pending appointments during the period ending November 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 5,391 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.5%) and 252 appointments (4.5%) 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
593	North Las Vegas	61,078	44,715	16,363
593GD	Las Vegas	10,763	9,907	856
593GE	Las Vegas	10,357	9,504	853
593GF	Southwest Las Vegas	8,980	8,424	556
593GG	Las Vegas	5,643	5,391	252
593GC	Pahrump	2,039	1,990	49
593GH	Laughlin	1,308	1,252	56
593QC	West Cheyenne	216	202	14

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration