“House appropriators say they’re still flying in the dark as they try to allocate funding to the Department of Veterans Affairs for its massive, 10-year electronic health record modernization program — one year after VA went live with the new system at its first site last October.”
“Congress so far has appropriated more than $6 billion for the VA EHR since 2018, including roughly $2.6 billion in fiscal 2021.”
“The department did not spend all of the 2021 funding, VA Deputy Secretary Donald Remy told members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs on Thursday.”
“At the same time, the department asked for nearly $2.7 billion for the VA EHR project for fiscal 2022, and it stands by the request.”
“But subcommittee members say the annual requests are tough to swallow — when they ultimately have no clear idea what the final price tag for the project will be.”
“‘I understand that any funds that we appropriate in the final fiscal 2022 bill will support the preparation work for go-lives that will occur at sites one or two years from now, and we’re obviously committed to ensuring that VA moves forward with executing this transition in the most efficient manner possible,’ Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), chairman of the House subcommittee, said. ‘I want to remind VA that funds for this program have been appropriated with a three-year period of availability. But given the delayed status of the rollout and the outdated cost estimate, it’s really no longer clear what level of funding is truly necessary to support the program in FY22 and beyond…'” Read the full article here.
Source: True costs of troubled VA EHR project are ‘no longer clear,’ appropriators concede – By Nicole Ogrysko, October 21, 2021. Federal News Network.
