Capital District Times

The Albany Stratton VA Medical Center, subsidiary 528GX in Troy, New York, scheduled 962 pending appointments during the period ending July 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 950 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.8%) and 12 appointments (1.3%) 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
528A8	Albany	28,153	24,932	3,221
528GT	Glens Falls	3,219	3,119	100
528GZ	Kingston	1,953	1,938	15
528GW	Schenectady	1,668	1,594	74
528GV	Plattsburgh	1,595	1,508	87
528GY	Clifton Park	1,513	1,498	15
528G6	Fonda	1,097	1,090	7
528G7	Catskill	1,048	1,016	32
528GX	Troy	962	950	12
528QK	Saranac Lake	499	459	40
528G2	Westport	481	463	18
528G3	Bainbridge	366	333	33

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration