Smoky Mountain Today

The Mountain Home VA Medical Center, subsidiary 621GI in Sevierville, Tennessee, scheduled 4,579 pending appointments during the period ending July 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 4,336 had a wait time of 30 days or less (94.7%) and 243 appointments (5.3%) 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 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	55,221	50,710	4,511
621BY	Knoxville	17,827	17,318	509
621GI	Sevierville	4,579	4,336	243
621GJ	Bristol	3,308	3,276	32
621GG	Morristown	2,424	2,409	15
621GC	Norton	2,009	2,002	7
621GA	Rogersville	1,727	1,711	16
621GK	LaFollette	1,702	1,694	8
621QE	Knoxville	803	802	1
621QA	Jonesville	450	444	6
621QD	Knoxville	424	422	2
621QB	Marion	399	378	21
621QC	Vansant	220	219	1
621BU	Mountain Home	65	65	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration