Dubuque Times

The VA Iowa City Health Care System, subsidiary 636GJ in Dubuque, Iowa, scheduled 1,701 pending appointments during the period ending August 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 1,429 had a wait time of 30 days or less (84%) and 272 appointments (16%) 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
636A8	Iowa City	18,502	14,338	4,164
636GF	Davenport	7,279	6,885	394
636GN	Cedar Rapids	2,485	2,424	61
636GW	Coralville	2,245	2,191	54
636GG	Quincy	2,233	2,146	87
636GS	Ottumwa	2,050	2,038	12
636GH	Waterloo	1,844	1,705	139
636GI	Galesburg	1,737	1,699	38
636QJ	Iowa City	1,724	993	731
636GJ	Dubuque	1,701	1,429	272
636GT	Sterling	620	519	101
636GU	Decorah	527	498	29
636QI	Davenport	254	254	0
636QC	Cedar Rapids	34	34	0
636QG	Iowa City	2	0	2

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration