Legislation targets VA spending, IT services impacted

A bill introduced by Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN), could lead to major changes at the Department of Veteran's Affairs. The legislation calls for tighter budgetary controls at the agency, which has spent $10 billion over the last decade upgrading its information technology systems. The bill also calls for enhanced authority for the organization's CIO, giving the position the power to green light all IT spending at the agency. The development has caused some observers to speculate that bigger changes may be in the works at the agency. The VA, which developed the popular open-source electronic medical records system VistA in-house to solve its technology problems, has long been seen as a plum target for the private sector.

- see this article from Government Health IT