Forest Country News

The Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, subsidiary 580BZ in Lufkin, Texas, scheduled 8,612 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, 8,183 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95%) and 429 appointments (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
580	Houston	84,622	80,303	4,319
580GD	Conroe	10,768	10,539	229
580BY	Beaumont	9,607	9,453	154
580GE	Katy	9,505	9,344	161
580GH	Tomball	8,625	8,428	197
580BZ	Lufkin	8,612	8,183	429
580GJ	Texas City	8,430	8,319	111
580GG	Richmond	6,074	6,021	53
580GF	Lake Jackson	2,832	2,822	10
580GC	Galveston	1,827	1,825	2

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration