Hillsborough Sun

The Manchester VA Medical Center, subsidiary 608 in Manchester, New Hampshire, scheduled 20,317 pending appointments during the period ending December 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 17,832 had a wait time of 30 days or less (87.8%) and 2,485 appointments (12.2%) 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
608	Manchester	20,317	17,832	2,485
608HA	Tilton	850	799	51
608GD	Conway	637	577	60
608GC	Somersworth	624	499	125
608GA	Portsmouth	553	487	66

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration