Chico Times

The VA Northern California Health Care System, subsidiary 612GG in Chico, California, scheduled 9,398 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, 8,960 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.3%) and 438 appointments (4.7%) 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
612A4	Sacramento	41,560	35,257	6,303
612GF	Martinez	20,174	17,213	2,961
612GH	McClellan Park	16,628	14,905	1,723
612B4	Redding	9,889	9,073	816
612GG	Chico	9,398	8,960	438
612GE	Mare Island	6,345	5,724	621
612BY	Oakland	4,456	3,788	668
612BY	Oakland	4,456	3,788	668
612QC	Cypress Avenue	3,257	2,741	516
612GD	Fairfield	2,982	2,558	424
612GI	Yuba City	1,812	1,781	31
612QB	Oakland	1,090	1,060	30
612GJ	Yreka	504	491	13
612QD	Howe Road	265	258	7

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration