The VA New Jersey Health Care System ranked 38th among VA health care systems with 102,262 pending appointments across its 12 locations during the period ending Dec. 1, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
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.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), however, released a report in July 2019 cautioning 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.
Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, told the House Veterans Affairs Committee new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.
The VA explains that when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to one of eight priority groups, with those need immediate care due to service-related disabilities placed in higher priority groups. Veterans who don’t have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.
| Rank | Health Care System | Total Pending Appointments Scheduled |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Florida/South Georgia VA HCS | 266,784 |
| 2 | Orlando VAMC | 238,822 |
| 3 | VA Atlanta HCS | 216,525 |
| 4 | James A. Haley VA Hospital | 213,187 |
| 5 | VA North Texas HCS | 203,121 |
| 6 | VA Bay Pines HCS | 202,626 |
| 7 | W. G. Hefner VA MC | 200,795 |
| 8 | Michael E. DeBakey VAMC | 200,237 |
| 9 | VA Central Texas HCS | 199,401 |
| 10 | Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC | 199,396 |
| 11 | Tennessee Valley HCS | 196,679 |
| 12 | VA South Texas HCS | 183,276 |
| 13 | VA Caribbean HCS | 159,457 |
| 14 | Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn VAMC | 157,845 |
| 15 | VA Loma Linda HCS | 149,286 |
| 16 | VA Phoenix HCS | 148,597 |
| 17 | Durham VAMC | 138,930 |
| 18 | Hunter Holmes McGuire Richmond VAMC | 137,896 |
| 19 | Fayetteville VAMC | 136,094 |
| 20 | VA Southern Nevada HCS | 127,560 |
| 21 | VA Northern California HCS | 126,327 |
| 22 | VA Central Arkansas HCS | 123,754 |
| 23 | Birmingham VAMC | 122,634 |
| 24 | Ralph H. Johnson VAMC | 122,288 |
| 25 | West Palm Beach VAMC | 119,410 |
| 26 | VA Gulf Coast Veterans HCS | 118,848 |
| 27 | VA Greater Los Angeles HCS | 116,500 |
| 28 | Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital | 113,594 |
| 29 | Oklahoma City VAMC | 111,176 |
| 30 | VA Minneapolis HCS | 110,733 |
| 31 | VA Miami HCS | 109,030 |
| 32 | VA Pittsburgh HCS | 107,542 |
| 33 | St. Louis, MO VAMC | 107,157 |
| 34 | VA Southeast Louisiana HCS | 106,598 |
| 35 | Mountain Home VAMC | 104,705 |
| 36 | VA Eastern Colorado HCS | 103,762 |
| 37 | VA Long Beach HCS | 103,559 |
| 38 | VA New Jersey HCS | 102,262 |
| 39 | Milwaukee VAMC | 100,073 |
| 40 | Philadelphia VAMC | 99,362 |
| 41 | VA Boston HCS | 96,769 |
| 42 | VA Southern Arizona HCS | 95,981 |
| 43 | VA San Diego HCS | 94,581 |
| 44 | Chalmers P. Wylie Ambulatory VA HCS | 93,578 |
| 45 | Portland VAMC | 93,338 |
| 46 | Charles George VAMC | 92,785 |
| 47 | Hampton VAMC | 92,374 |
| 48 | VA Connecticut HCS | 91,619 |
| 49 | Syracuse VAMC | 91,177 |
| 50 | VA New Mexico HCS | 88,565 |
| 51 | Robley Rex VAMC | 87,449 |
| 52 | Lebanon VAMC | 86,665 |
| 53 | Memphis VAMC | 86,658 |
| 54 | VA Ann Arbor HCS | 85,441 |
| 55 | John D. Dingell VAMC | 82,336 |
| 56 | Harry S. Truman Memorial VA Hospital | 81,576 |
| 57 | Richard L. Roudebush VAMC | 80,951 |
| 58 | Cincinnati VAMC | 80,598 |
| 59 | Salem VAMC | 78,730 |
| 60 | VA Puget Sound HCS | 78,569 |
| 61 | Charlie Norwood VAMC | 78,386 |
| 62 | Providence VAMC | 76,650 |
| 63 | VA Central Alabama HCS | 74,617 |
| 64 | Kansas City VAMC | 74,195 |
| 65 | VA Western New York at Buffalo HCS | 73,787 |
| 66 | Wilkes-Barre VAMC | 71,494 |
| 67 | VA of the Ozarks HCS | 71,381 |
| 68 | VA Salt Lake City HCS | 70,442 |
| 69 | Montgomery VAMC | 69,980 |
| 70 | Carl Vinson VAMC | 69,406 |
| 71 | VA Northern Indiana HCS | 68,537 |
| 72 | Jesse Brown VAMC | 67,683 |
| 73 | VA Nebraska-Western Iowa HCS | 67,647 |
| 74 | Dayton VAMC | 67,287 |
| 75 | VA Maryland HCS | 66,893 |
| 76 | Overton Brooks VAMC | 66,539 |
| 77 | Washington DC VAMC | 66,171 |
| 78 | Muskogee VAMC | 65,496 |
| 79 | VA Maine HCS | 62,472 |
| 80 | VA El Paso HCS | 60,866 |
| 81 | Battle Creek VAMC | 59,119 |
| 82 | Martinsburg VAMC | 58,862 |
| 83 | Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams VAMC | 57,908 |
| 84 | VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend HCS | 57,099 |
| 85 | VA Eastern Kansas HCS | 56,856 |
| 86 | Marion VAMC | 56,239 |
| 87 | VA NY Harbor HCS | 56,203 |
| 88 | Albany Stratton VAMC | 55,892 |
| 89 | VA Palo Alto HCS | 54,869 |
| 90 | San Francisco VAMC | 54,833 |
| 91 | Northport Affairs VAMC | 54,657 |
| 92 | VA Alexandria HCS | 52,763 |
| 93 | VA Iowa City HCS | 52,562 |
| 94 | Bath VAMC | 51,704 |
| 95 | Wilmington VAMC | 51,199 |
| 96 | Robert J. Dole VAMC | 49,661 |
| 97 | Louis A. Johnson VAMC | 49,452 |
| 98 | VA Amarillo HCS | 49,367 |
| 99 | VA Montana HCS | 49,050 |
| 100 | VA St. Cloud HCS | 47,704 |
| 101 | VA Central Western Massachusetts HCS | 47,115 |
| 102 | Aleda E. Lutz VAMC | 46,939 |
| 103 | VA Pacific Islands HCS | 46,379 |
| 104 | James E. Van Zandt Altoona VAMC | 44,248 |
| 105 | Madison VA Hospital | 43,193 |
| 106 | VA Central California HCS | 42,310 |
| 107 | Manchester VAMC | 42,215 |
| 108 | White River Junction VAMC | 42,086 |
| 109 | Lexington VAMC | 42,008 |
| 110 | VA Sierra Nevada HCS | 41,429 |
| 111 | James J. Peters VAMC | 40,915 |
| 112 | Roseburg VAMC | 37,717 |
| 113 | Sioux Falls VAMC | 37,656 |
| 114 | Erie VAMC | 36,527 |
| 115 | Chillicothe VAMC | 35,886 |
| 116 | VA Illiana HCS | 35,549 |
| 117 | Fargo VAMC | 35,158 |
| 118 | Boise VAMC | 34,365 |
| 119 | James A. Lovell Federal HCS | 33,888 |
| 120 | VA Hudson Valley HCS | 33,731 |
| 121 | VA Central Iowa HCS | 31,117 |
| 122 | Poplar Bluff VAMC | 29,473 |
| 123 | Tomah VAMC | 29,369 |
| 124 | VA Northern Arizona HCS | 26,650 |
| 125 | Spokane VAMC | 25,935 |
| 126 | Beckley VAMC | 25,696 |
| 127 | VA Butler HCS | 25,354 |
| 128 | Coatesville VAMC | 23,559 |
| 129 | VA West Texas HCS | 21,272 |
| 130 | Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital | 21,256 |
| 131 | Cheyenne VAMC | 20,955 |
| 132 | Tuscaloosa VAMC | 19,899 |
| 133 | VA Black Hills HCS | 18,576 |
| 134 | Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VAMC | 17,625 |
| 135 | Grand Junction VAMC | 15,035 |
| 136 | Oscar G. Johnson VAMC | 14,196 |
| 137 | Southern Oregon HCS | 9,870 |
| 138 | Sheridan VAMC | 9,264 |
| 139 | VA Alaska HCS | 8,094 |
Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration
