The US House Veterans’ Affairs Committee has voted unanimously (19–0) to subpoena Oracle Health executives — including CEO Mike Sicilia and chairman/CTO Larry Ellison — over the spiraling cost of the VA’s electronic health-record (EHR) modernization.
The contract, originally signed with Cerner in 2018 at $10 billion, has ballooned to $27 billion — a roughly 170% increase — with the timeline pushed to 2031. Oracle acquired Cerner in 2022 and inherited the deal; in 2022 testimony, Sicilia had said the company would “absorb any costs beyond the original $10 billion ceiling.”
What set off lawmakers
Committee members said they learned of the cost increase through news coverage rather than official notification, and Oracle initially declined to testify, citing scheduling conflicts — prompting the subpoena. “When the company responsible for a taxpayer-funded contract that could grow from $10 billion to roughly $27 billion refuses to sit before Congress and answer questions, this committee cannot fully do its job,” said Rep. Maxine Dexter. The EHR rollout continues at limited sites, with over 160 VA medical centers still awaiting deployment before 2031.
Why it matters
The VA runs one of the largest health systems in the US, and its long-troubled EHR overhaul is a high-stakes test of big-vendor health IT. Cost overruns, delays, and disputes over accountability affect care for millions of veterans — and the standoff is a reminder of how hard, and expensive, large-scale medical-records modernization has proven across the industry.