Redding Today

The VA Northern California Health Care System, subsidiary 612GJ in Yreka, California, scheduled 414 pending appointments during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 371 had a wait time of 30 days or less (89.6%) and 43 appointments (10.4%) 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
612A4	Sacramento	34,713	29,299	5,414
612GF	Martinez	16,212	13,856	2,356
612GH	McClellan Park	14,857	12,597	2,260
612GG	Chico	7,975	7,563	412
612B4	Redding	7,937	6,804	1,133
612GE	Mare Island	5,028	4,573	455
612QC	Cypress Avenue	3,461	2,565	896
612BY	Oakland	2,976	2,512	464
612GD	Fairfield	2,448	2,099	349
612QB	Oakland	1,968	1,883	85
612GI	Yuba City	1,774	1,709	65
612GJ	Yreka	414	371	43

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration