Elizabethtown Times

The Robley Rex VA Medical Center, subsidiary 603GA in Fort Knox, Kentucky, scheduled 5,403 pending appointments during the period ending July 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 5,351 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99%) and 52 appointments (1%) 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
603	Louisville	37,339	34,599	2,740
603GE	Newburg	7,168	7,057	111
603GC	Shively	5,461	5,321	140
603GA	Fort Knox	5,403	5,351	52
603GD	Stonybrook	5,282	5,187	95
603GF	Clarkson	4,049	3,973	76
603GB	New Albany	2,891	2,844	47
603GG	Scottsburg	2,384	2,364	20
603GH	Carrollton	485	393	92

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration