Chico Times

The VA Northern California Health Care System, subsidiary 612GG in Chico, California scheduled 7,514 pending appointments during the period ending April 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 7,064 had a wait time of 30 days or less (94%) and 450 appointments (6%) 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 who 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	36,434	32,715	3,719
612GF	Martinez	16,944	14,857	2,087
612GH	McClellan Park	16,685	15,431	1,254
612B4	Redding	8,671	7,966	705
612GG	Chico	7,514	7,064	450
612BY	Oakland	5,513	4,888	625
612GE	Mare Island	4,674	4,481	193
612GD	Fairfield	3,851	3,603	248
612QC	Cypress Avenue	2,780	2,364	416
612GI	Yuba City	1,997	1,935	62
612QB	Oakland	1,286	1,187	99
612GJ	Yreka	368	318	50
612QA	Cohasset	4	3	1

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration