Union County Review

The VA New Jersey Health Care System, subsidiary 561GB in Elizabeth, New Jersey scheduled 469 pending appointments during the period ending May 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 465 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99.2%) and four appointments (0.9%) 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
561	East Orange	23,615	20,541	3,074
561BZ	Brick	14,281	13,797	484
561A4	Lyons	12,280	10,527	1,753
561GD	Hackensack	5,478	5,391	87
561GI	Tinton Falls	4,093	3,996	97
561GA	Hamilton	1,312	1,306	6
561GH	Morristown	1,158	1,143	15
561GF	Piscataway	1,104	1,075	29
561GE	Jersey City	906	901	5
561GJ	Paterson	869	860	9
561GK	Sussex	769	763	6
561GB	Elizabeth	469	465	4

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration