The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced on Aug.19 that it raised the ceiling of its contract with Oracle Health for the agency’s Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program to nearly $27 billion.
According to an award notice posted to SAM.gov, the VA is increasing the overall contract ceiling – which is already at nearly $10 billion – by nearly $17 billion.
On Aug. 11, the VA posted a notice to SAM.gov that indicated the agency’s plans to increase the total contract ceiling value. However, the proposed increase and new total contract ceiling were redacted from the documents accompanying the notice.
“Due to unanticipated complexities in deploying the EHR system, VA has reached the current contract ceiling sooner than originally planned,” one of the documents said. “Accordingly, the expanded scope is necessary to ensure continued EHRM deployment activities and associated support services until all VA Medical Centers (VAMCs) and associated facilities have fully transitioned to the EHR system.”
According to the Aug. 11 notice, the agency proposed three one-year optional ordering periods that would extend the contract through May 16, 2031.
The current contract is set to expire in May 2028. As of July 2026, the VA had deployed the new EHR system, known as the Federal EHR, to just 14 out of 164 VA medical centers.
Under VA’s current 2026 schedule, the department has slated three Federal EHR deployments for Aug. 22 at Fort Wayne VAMC in Fort Wayne, Ind.; Marion VAMC in Marion, Ind.; and Richard L. Roudebush VAMC in Indianapolis. VA also plans deployments on Oct. 24 at Alaska VA Healthcare System in Anchorage and Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC in Cleveland.
In 2027, the VA plans to deploy the system to 26 sites across Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Missouri. The agency has yet to publicly release a deployment schedule beyond 2027.
In a statement to MeriTalk, Seema Verma, executive vice president and general manager of Oracle Health and Life Sciences, said, “Our recent success in bringing more VA facilities onto a modern and secure electronic health record reflects the strength of our partnership and marks important progress in VA’s nationwide deployment.”
“We are honored to continue advancing VA’s mission to expand access to high-quality care across the country and to create a more connected experience for veterans and the clinicians who care for them,” Verma added.
The VA did not immediately respond to MeriTalk’s request for comment.