NE New Mexico News

The VA New Mexico Health Care System, subsidiary 501HB in Raton, New Mexico scheduled 601 pending appointments during the period ending November 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 594 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.8%) and seven appointments (1.2%) 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 who 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
501	Albuquerque	65,200	57,296	7,904
501GM	Rio Rancho	5,534	5,093	441
501GK	Santa Fe	3,070	2,964	106
501GB	Farmington	2,548	2,288	260
501GA	Artesia	1,891	1,850	41
501GJ	Durango	1,628	1,608	20
501GI	Alamogordo	1,568	1,401	167
501GD	Gallup	1,073	836	237
501G2	Las Vegas	962	945	17
501GH	Truth or Consequences	889	881	8
501GN	Taos	863	817	46
501GC	Silver City	812	784	28
501HB	Raton	601	594	7
501GE	Espanola	510	457	53

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration