Morristown Times

The Mountain Home VA Medical Center, subsidiary 621GG in Morristown, Tennessee scheduled 2,568 pending appointments during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 2,558 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99.6%) and 10 appointments (0.4%) 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
621	Mountain Home	62,934	60,671	2,263
621BY	Knoxville	18,216	17,926	290
621GI	Sevierville	4,869	4,775	94
621GJ	Bristol	3,889	3,815	74
621GG	Morristown	2,568	2,558	10
621GC	Norton	2,173	2,157	16
621GK	LaFollette	1,907	1,888	19
621GA	Rogersville	1,899	1,895	4
621QD	Knoxville	1,104	1,071	33
621QE	Knoxville	1,016	1,014	2
621QA	Jonesville	498	498	0
621QB	Marion	386	385	1
621QC	Vansant	247	243	4
621BU	Mountain Home	116	115	1

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration