Chicago VA Community Care Wait Times Climb Past VA's 7-Day Rule, OIG 2026 Inspection Finds
By VA Headlines staff · Published Oct 30, 2026 · Source document dated October 29, 2026
Veterans referred from the VA Chicago Healthcare System to outside doctors are waiting longer just to get an appointment scheduled, and the delay was still growing after federal inspectors left, according to a VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) report published October 29, 2026.
What the OIG found
The OIG inspected the Chicago system from June 1 through 4, 2026. At the time of the visit, facility leaders reported that the time from a community care consult being entered to the appointment being scheduled had risen from 17 days in fiscal year 2025 to approximately 25 days in June 2026. VHA's Consult Timeliness Standard Operating Procedure requires staff to schedule these appointments within 7 days.
Leaders told the OIG the delays came from difficulty reaching veterans, time spent reviewing community providers, and documenting appointments that veterans scheduled themselves. They described an initiative started in early 2026 to resolve a veteran's scheduling needs in a single phone call.
The OIG wrote that "although leaders have taken steps to address scheduling timeliness, the OIG found that scheduling wait times continued to increase through August 2026."
About the facility
According to the report, the Chicago system had a fiscal year 2025 medical care budget of approximately $954 million, 156 inpatient hospital beds, 26 domiciliary beds and 22 community living center beds, and served more than 63,000 veterans. It is rated high complexity.
The recommendation
The OIG made one recommendation: that the Medical Center Director develop an action plan with community care leaders to meet the 7-day scheduling requirement. The VISN and facility directors concurred. The target date for completion is April 30, 2027. The OIG made no recommendations in the inspection's other review areas.
Why it matters
Community care is how VA pays for outside appointments when it cannot provide care quickly enough itself. When scheduling alone takes more than three times VA's own standard, veterans wait longer before they are ever seen.
Related: Baltimore VA inspection finds 49-day community care scheduling. How we report: Methodology & Corrections.
Healthcare Facility Inspection of the VA Chicago Healthcare System in Illinois
Report 26-00063-07 · October 29, 2026
Read the official document (PDF) · Report page
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