East Twin Cities

The VA Minneapolis Health Care System Minnesota scheduled 87,984 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending May 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 72,632 had a wait time of 30 days or less (82.55%) and 15,352 appointments (17.45%) 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.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), however, released a report in July 2019 cautioning 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.

Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, told the House Veterans Affairs Committee new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

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 don’t have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Minneapolis, MN	59,609	48,148	11,461
Twin Ports, WI	7,525	6,441	1,084
St. James, MN	396	353	43
Hibbing, MN	955	794	161
Maplewood, MN	2,264	1,958	306
Chippewa Valley, WI	4,149	3,250	899
Rochester, MN	1,900	1,832	68
Hayward, WI	424	377	47
Northwest Metro, MN	5,869	5,113	756
Shakopee, MN	1,365	1,303	62
Albert Lea, MN	566	458	108
Minneapolis Harmon Place, MN	97	97	0
Rice Lake, WI	805	650	155
Mankato, MN (Lyle C. Pearson)	1,915	1,768	147
Ely, MN	145	90	55