Congress is withholding money from the Veterans Affairs Department until it certifies that its health records can mesh with those of the Defense Department.
Lawmakers at a markup for the House Appropriations subcommittee on military construction and veterans affairs said they will give the VA $250 million to modernize its electronic health records system only after it certifies that its records will operate with the military’s.
Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., chairman of the full House Appropriations Committee, said it’s a problem that should have been fixed years ago.
“I can’t believe we’re still talking about doing this. We’ve been harping with both the DoD and VA for years,” he said.
Under the current system, electronic health records from the Defense Department do not transition into the VA’s system. As a result, troops who get injured while on active duty don’t have access to those health records once they leave service and seek care at the VA.
“That’s unacceptable, that’s insane. But we’re slowly, slowly walking through the mud pie to make that happen,” Rogers said. “I hope beyond hope that we can make them speed that process up.”
