Veterans Affairs Investigation

In 2018, the VA signed a $10 billion contract with Cerner Corp. for a new electronic health record system, which has caused problems for veterans and staff since launching in Spokane in October 2020.

News > Health

Medication copays to resume for veterans at Inland Northwest VA hospitals

UPDATED: Fri., Sept. 20, 2024

WASHINGTON – Thousands of veterans who get their medications from VA medical centers using a troubled new computer system, including the veterans’ hospitals in Spokane and Walla Walla, will have to start making prescription co-payments in October after a two-year suspension of that requirement.

News > Military

House panel questions VA plan to launch long-stalled computer system in Illinois as pharmacy problems persist

UPDATED: Thu., Feb. 15, 2024

WASHINGTON – A House subcommittee on Thursday questioned the Department of Veterans Affairs’ plan to launch a troubled computer system at a hospital near Chicago, after problems in the Inland Northwest prompted the department to stall the system’s rollout for almost two years.

News > Business

Oracle taps former Trump official Seema Verma to lead Cerner business

UPDATED: Wed., Jan. 31, 2024

Oracle Corp.’s acquired health records unit will be led by Seema Verma, former head of Medicare in the Trump administration, who joined Oracle last year to run its life sciences businesses.

News > Military

Army veteran files lawsuit alleging VA computer system delayed cancer diagnosis

UPDATED: Mon., Dec. 4, 2023

WASHINGTON – An Eastern Washington veteran and his wife are suing the federal government and the companies behind a computer system the Department of Veterans Affairs has tested in Spokane, alleging that flaws in the system delayed the diagnosis of cancer that became terminal before it could be treated.

News > Military

Spokane VA recognized for dramatic improvement in patient feedback

Tue., Oct. 31, 2023

WASHINGTON – The employees at Spokane’s Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center have been through a lot in the past few years.

News > Military

No plan B: VA remains committed to troubled computer system despite three years of problems in Spokane

UPDATED: Thu., Sept. 14, 2023

WASHINGTON – In hearings on Capitol Hill on Wednesday and Thursday, officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs said they remain committed to a troubled computer system that has harmed patients in the Inland Northwest, despite uncertainty about when – and if – its problems will be fixed.

News > Health

‘VA will spare no expense’ to preserve staff and services in Spokane and Walla Walla, Veterans Affairs official tells McMorris Rodgers

UPDATED: Mon., June 26, 2023

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs “will spare no expense” to maintain staff and services at VA hospitals in Spokane and Walla Walla, an official told Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers after the Spokane Republican raised concerns about budget problems tied to a computer system being tested in the Inland Northwest.

News > Health

No staff cuts at Spokane VA due to budget deficit, regional director says after visiting Mann-Grandstaff

Thu., June 8, 2023

WASHINGTON – After visiting Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center at the end of May, the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Northwest regional director assured staff that the Spokane hospital won’t cut its workforce as a result of a multimillion-dollar budget deficit.

News > Military

VA secretary says Spokane VA’s budget won’t suffer as result of flawed records system

UPDATED: Wed., May 24, 2023

WASHINGTON – The secretary of veterans affairs on Wednesday pledged to look into reports that Spokane’s VA medical center could be forced to cut staff due to a budget deficit caused largely by a flawed computer system, but he stopped short of pledging not to reduce the hospital’s workforce.

News > Health

Spokane VA director warns budget trouble caused by computer system is forcing staff cuts

UPDATED: Sun., May 21, 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A projected $35 million budget deficit at Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center caused largely by the use of a flawed computer system is forcing the Spokane hospital to reduce its staff, according to an internal email, despite the ongoing effects of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ decision to test the system there.

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VA Medical Center in Spokane
Sat., Dec. 22, 2018