VA improves access to care, reduces wait times for new patient appointments in primary and mental health care

One of the biggest complaints the most veterans have when attempting to utilize the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system is the wait time to get seen, which can stretch from weeks to months, depending on factors including location and specialty. There have been measures to improve access, and on May 24, 2024, the VA announced improved wait times for new patient appointments in primary care and mental health care across the VA health care system.

For new patients in April 2024, there was an 11% decrease in average wait times for VA primary care and a 7% decrease in average mental health wait times compared to same time last year. These improved wait times come at a time when VA is delivering more care to more Veterans than ever before.

Compared to the same time period last year, which was also a record-breaking year for appointments, the VA completed 11% more new patient appointments – including nearly 13% more new patient mental health appointments.

“The VA and the entire Biden-Harris administration are committed to providing all Veterans with the timely, world-class care they deserve. Veteran trust in VA outpatient care is currently at 91.8% – an all-time high – and more than 400,000 Veterans have enrolled in VA care over the past year, which is a 30% increase over last year,” said the VA in a press release.

Additionally, VA has recently outperformed non-VA care in peer reviewed studies, hospital ratings, and patient satisfaction surveys.

“Whenever a Veteran chooses VA for their care, we want them to know that we are going to take care of them – and we’re going to get them in for an appointment as quickly as possible,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “That’s the standard to which we hold ourselves, and we’ll never settle for anything less.”’

“We’re reducing wait times for patients, even at a time when we’re delivering more care to more Veterans than ever before,” said VA Under Secretary for Health Shereef Elnahal, M.D. “VA is the only national health care institution in America that publishes its wait times, and we do so to ensure we are fully transparent with Veterans and earn their trust. A shorter wait time for care makes a difference in a Veteran’s life, and we will continue to build on the progress we’ve made to reduce wait times even further.”

The reduced wait times show continued improvement after VA’s recent Access Sprints, a nationwide effort to offer more appointments on nights, weekends, and appointment slots in daily clinic schedules.

Data collected from access sprints from October 2023 to February 2024 show that the VA completed approximately 25,000 more new patient appointments, an increase of 11% compared to the same period last year; 81% of VA medical centers saw more new patients than the same period last year; and there was a 12% fewer new patients are waiting more than 20 or 28 days for an appointment.

There was also a 19% decrease in the number of new patients waiting for longer than 20 days to receive primary care and a 9% decrease in the number of new patients waiting longer than 20 days for mental health care.

As VA works to improve access to care, it is also ensuring the care Veterans receive is high quality through continuous monitoring and improvement efforts. Last year’s first-time-ever inclusion of VA facilities in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) annual Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings saw 67% of VA hospitals receiving 4 or 5 stars, compared to only 41% of non-VA hospitals.

The VA’s recent increases in health care enrollment have been made possible by the bipartisan PACT Act — signed into law by President Joe Biden as a part of his Unity Agenda for the nation – which has allowed VA to expand VA health care and benefits to millions of Veterans. As a part of implementing this law, VA recently expanded health care eligibility for millions of Veterans nationwide, in many cases years earlier than called for by the law. As of March 5, 2024, all Veterans who were exposed to toxins and other hazards while serving in the military and meet certain requirements became eligible to enroll directly in VA health care.

For more information about VA care, please visit www.va.gov/health-care/eligibility/, the VA’s health care website.