The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs secretary is asking for an additional $3.5 billion for the agency’s Oracle Health EHR project, MeriTalk reported.
However, President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget includes a $2.17 billion increase for the EHR rollout, while the House of Representatives wants to mark up the program by $2.5 billion, according to the June 24 story.
“I can’t emphasize enough, if we do not transform this system, it hurts our community care process because our doctors cannot communicate with the community,” VA Secretary Doug Collins said at a June 24 Senate subcommittee hearing, per the news outlet. “You’re using a system that’s costing us literally hundreds of millions of dollars that’s used nowhere else in the world except the VA. So, we need to move forward on this. I do believe we have a path that is safe, that is effective, and will be cost-effective because Oracle understands that they’ve got to provide this.”
The VA is launching the new EHR at 13 sites in fiscal 2026 after pausing the program for two years due to technical issues.
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