Sacramento Standard

The VA Northern California Health Care System, subsidiary 612A4 in Sacramento, California scheduled 43,469 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, 39,830 had a wait time of 30 days or less (91.6%) and 3,639 appointments (8.4%) 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
612A4	Sacramento	43,469	39,830	3,639
612GF	Martinez	19,415	17,189	2,226
612GH	McClellan Park	18,633	17,649	984
612B4	Redding	8,994	7,818	1,176
612GG	Chico	8,158	7,835	323
612GE	Mare Island	6,595	6,454	141
612BY	Oakland	6,092	5,662	430
612GD	Fairfield	4,600	4,269	331
612QC	Cypress Avenue	3,437	3,036	401
612GI	Yuba City	2,721	2,665	56
612QB	Oakland	1,969	1,799	170
612GJ	Yreka	392	353	39
612QD	Howe Road	30	29	1
612MA	IDES McClellan OPC	9	9	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration