# VA’s $17B EHR Upgrade Under Fire | Anchorage News Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/anchorage-news-today-2-min-news-the-daily-news-now-7570138/va-s-17b-ehr-upgrade-under-fire-anchorage-news Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/anchorage-news-today-2-min-news-the-daily-news-now-7570138/va-s-17b-ehr-upgrade-under-fire-anchorage-news.md Podcast: [Anchorage News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now!](https://stenobird.com/podcast/anchorage-news-today-2-min-news-the-daily-news-now-7570138) Published: 2026-09-18T13:23:11+00:00 Episode link: https://sources.thednn.ai/a0b50d63a80c3c30 Audio file: https://api.fastcast.ai/audio/eb9517a2-16e4-48aa-9774-3a9cf7c9737b.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/anchorage-news-today-2-min-news-the-daily-news-now-7570138/episodes/va-s-17b-ehr-upgrade-under-fire-anchorage-news Duration seconds: 96 ## Resource Alaska’s veterans are about to get a major upgrade: a new electronic health record system launching October 24th, designed to slash wait times and streamline care nationwide—though its rollout has been rocky. Originally pushed by President Trump, the project was paused under Biden after early flaws emerged. Now, Congress is scrutinizing Oracle, the contractor behind the system, over a staggering $17 billion cost spike and demanding answers from its top executives set to testify in December. The Office of the Inspector General had already raised red flags in 2021 over inflated budgets, lack of transparency, and insufficient input from frontline healthcare workers. As the VA races to finish by 2031, the real question remains: will this expensive overhaul actually improve veteran care—or just waste taxpayer dollars? Listen in comfort: Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN: advertise@thednn.ai This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting. Sources: https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2026/09/18/new-va-program-pledges-bring-alaska-veterans-more-access-care-us-lawmakers-subpoenaed-its-contractor/ More coverage & latest updates: https://sources.thednn.ai/a0b50d63a80c3c30 Report issues to feedback@thednn.ai. ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/anchorage-news-today-2-min-news-the-daily-news-now-7570138/episodes/va-s-17b-ehr-upgrade-under-fire-anchorage-news/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/anchorage-news-today-2-min-news-the-daily-news-now-7570138/va-s-17b-ehr-upgrade-under-fire-anchorage-news.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.