Aroostook News

The VA Maine Health Care System, subsidiary 402GA in Caribou, Maine, scheduled 483 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, 468 had a wait time of 30 days or less (96.9%) and 15 appointments (3.1%) 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 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
402	Augusta	26,061	21,431	4,630
402HB	Bangor	6,984	5,853	1,131
402GE	Lewiston	2,446	1,984	462
402HC	Portland	2,269	2,072	197
402GD	Saco	1,085	929	156
402GC	Rumford	550	539	11
402GA	Caribou	483	468	15
402GF	Lincoln	157	77	80
402GB	Calais	125	120	5
402QA	Fort Kent	12	11	1
402HL	Bingham	11	10	1
402QB	Houlton	3	3	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration