The Department of Veterans Affairs underestimated the cost by up to $2.5 billion. Lawmakers are not happy. Author: Mike Gooding Updated: 7:04 PM EDT July 21, 2021 WASHINGTON — Military veterans have to wait for an upgrade to the Department of Veterans Affairs' electronic health records system. The agency underestimated the cost of the modernization effort by billions of dollars. "The electronic health records modernization program is too important to get wrong," said Rep. Mike Bost (R-Illinois). The VA's $16.1 billion electronic health records modernization project has gotten intense scrutiny from Congress, in part because of the cost and scope of the project and in part because of past, expensive failures.