SW Mississippi News

The Montgomery VA Medical Center, subsidiary 586GE in Natchez, Mississippi scheduled 1,384 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, 1,375 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99.4%) and nine appointments (0.7%) 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
586	Jackson	48,084	45,323	2,761
586GD	Hattiesburg	6,174	5,992	182
586QB	Dogwood View Parkway	3,289	2,994	295
586GB	Meridian	2,993	2,983	10
586GG	McComb	2,162	2,145	17
586GC	Greenville	2,072	2,050	22
586GA	Kosciusko	2,056	2,028	28
586GF	Columbus	1,747	1,733	14
586GE	Natchez	1,384	1,375	9
586QC	Lakeland Drive	2	2	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration