North Chester Today

The Coatesville VA Medical Center, subsidiary 542GE in Spring City, Pennsylvania, scheduled 2,115 pending appointments during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 2,082 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.4%) and 33 appointments (1.6%) 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.

However, the Government Accountability Office released a report in July 2019 cautinging 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 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
542	Coatesville	11,605	10,617	988
542GA	Newtown Square	2,318	2,282	36
542GE	Spring City	2,115	2,082	33
542BU	Coatesville	24	24	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration