Santa Fe Standard

The VA New Mexico Health Care System in Albuquerque New Mexico scheduled 84,656 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending June 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 75,611 had a wait time of 30 days or less (89.32%) and 9,045 appointments (10.68%) 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)	62,674	54,902	7,772
Las Vegas, NM	876	861	15
Artesia, NM	1,439	1,402	37
Farmington, NM	2,209	2,048	161
Silver City, NM	851	819	32
Gallup, NM	1,232	1,194	38
Espanola, NM	914	861	53
Truth or Consequences, NM	1,076	1,059	17
Alamogordo, NM	1,495	1,273	222
Durango, CO	1,956	1,915	41
Santa Fe, NM	3,064	2,918	146
Northwest Metro, NM	5,460	5,039	421
Taos, NM	907	855	52
Raton, NM	502	464	38
IDES Kirtland AFB	1	1	0