SW New Mexico News

The VA New Mexico Health Care System in Albuquerque New Mexico scheduled 73,060 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending April 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 61,189 had a wait time of 30 days or less (83.75%) and 11,871 appointments (16.25%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported 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 cautioning 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.

Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, told the House Veterans Affairs Committee new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

The VA explains 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 don’t have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Albuquerque, NM (Raymond G. Murphy)	54,114	43,769	10,345
Las Vegas, NM	848	838	10
Artesia, NM	1,225	1,185	40
Farmington, NM	2,405	2,253	152
Silver City, NM	612	585	27
Gallup, NM	1,202	1,017	185
Espanola, NM	955	696	259
Truth or Consequences, NM	567	540	27
Alamogordo, NM	1,517	1,448	69
Durango, CO	1,704	1,685	19
Santa Fe, NM	2,428	2,327	101
Northwest Metro, NM	4,685	4,080	605
Taos, NM	758	731	27
Raton, NM	40	35	5