Southwest Montana News

The VA Montana Health Care System, subsidiary 436QC in Helena, Montana, scheduled 720 pending appointments during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 682 had a wait time of 30 days or less (94.7%) and 38 appointments (5.3%) 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
436	Fort Harrison	14,094	12,233	1,861
436GC	Missoula	6,015	5,901	114
436GH	Billings	5,204	4,424	780
436GF	Kalispell	4,720	4,609	111
436GN	Billings	4,282	3,921	361
436GB	Great Falls	3,385	3,255	130
436GA	Anaconda	1,483	1,454	29
436GD	Bozeman	1,292	1,239	53
436QA	Hamilton	1,192	1,180	12
436QC	Helena	720	682	38
436HC	Havre	402	359	43
436A4	Miles City CLC	289	283	6
436GK	Glendive	247	239	8
436GL	Cut Bank	222	219	3
436GM	Lewistown	210	205	5
436GI	Glasgow	208	203	5
436QB	Plentywood	23	20	3

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration