Passaic Today

The VA New Jersey Health Care System, subsidiary 561GJ in Paterson, New Jersey, scheduled 749 pending appointments during the period ending August 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 739 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.7%) and 10 appointments (1.3%) 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 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	18,891	15,888	3,003
561A4	Lyons	9,855	7,500	2,355
561BZ	Brick	9,842	9,430	412
561GD	Hackensack	3,690	3,673	17
561GI	Tinton Falls	3,046	3,007	39
561GH	Morristown	900	893	7
561GF	Piscataway	841	824	17
561GA	Hamilton	802	795	7
561GJ	Paterson	749	739	10
561GE	Jersey City	697	695	2
561GK	Sussex	586	569	17
561GB	Elizabeth	127	126	1

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration