NE New Mexico News

The VA New Mexico Health Care System, subsidiary 501HB in Raton, New Mexico scheduled 437 pending appointments during the period ending February 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 431 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.6%) and six appointments (1.4%) 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	68,523	59,410	9,113
501GM	Rio Rancho	5,343	4,919	424
501GK	Santa Fe	2,655	2,566	89
501GB	Farmington	2,623	2,406	217
501GJ	Durango	1,731	1,710	21
501GA	Artesia	1,729	1,632	97
501GI	Alamogordo	1,635	1,557	78
501GD	Gallup	1,375	1,119	256
501G2	Las Vegas	983	951	32
501GE	Espanola	966	789	177
501GN	Taos	914	857	57
501GC	Silver City	880	854	26
501GH	Truth or Consequences	879	868	11
501HB	Raton	437	431	6

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration