Smoky Mountain Today

The Mountain Home VA Medical Center, subsidiary 621GI in Sevierville, Tennessee, scheduled 4,451 pending appointments during the period ending December 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 4,088 had a wait time of 30 days or less (91.8%) and 363 appointments (8.2%) 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	56,536	53,035	3,501
621BY	Knoxville	16,612	16,039	573
621GI	Sevierville	4,451	4,088	363
621GJ	Bristol	2,917	2,857	60
621GG	Morristown	2,257	2,224	33
621GC	Norton	1,943	1,933	10
621QE	Knoxville	1,748	1,748	0
621GK	LaFollette	1,625	1,605	20
621GA	Rogersville	1,530	1,514	16
621QD	Knoxville	716	704	12
621QA	Jonesville	405	405	0
621QB	Marion	327	323	4
621QC	Vansant	217	216	1
621BU	Mountain Home	42	42	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration