Smoky Mountain Today

The Mountain Home VA Medical Center, subsidiary 621GI in Sevierville, Tennessee, scheduled 4,494 pending appointments during the period ending November 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 4,120 had a wait time of 30 days or less (91.7%) and 374 appointments (8.3%) 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	57,879	54,189	3,690
621BY	Knoxville	17,320	16,775	545
621GI	Sevierville	4,494	4,120	374
621GJ	Bristol	3,055	2,988	67
621GG	Morristown	2,313	2,282	31
621GC	Norton	2,024	2,017	7
621GK	LaFollette	1,683	1,664	19
621GA	Rogersville	1,680	1,665	15
621QE	Knoxville	1,561	1,561	0
621QD	Knoxville	737	720	17
621QA	Jonesville	415	415	0
621QB	Marion	343	334	9
621QC	Vansant	221	220	1
621BU	Mountain Home	77	77	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration