NE New Mexico News

The VA New Mexico Health Care System, subsidiary 501HB in Raton, New Mexico scheduled 140 pending appointments during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 135 had a wait time of 30 days or less (96.4%) and five appointments (3.6%) 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	67,477	58,292	9,185
501GM	Rio Rancho	5,408	5,017	391
501GK	Santa Fe	2,674	2,593	81
501GB	Farmington	2,572	2,371	201
501GJ	Durango	1,814	1,798	16
501GI	Alamogordo	1,692	1,611	81
501GA	Artesia	1,632	1,551	81
501GD	Gallup	1,404	1,115	289
501GE	Espanola	1,007	825	182
501G2	Las Vegas	981	949	32
501GN	Taos	858	822	36
501GC	Silver City	849	826	23
501GH	Truth or Consequences	811	803	8
501HB	Raton	140	135	5

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration