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June 11, 2026

Takeaways from the most recent news in the technology and policies shaping healthcare.

Government

VA Brings Oracle EHR to Four Ohio, Kentucky Medical Centers

By Healthcare Technology News ·

The Department of Veterans Affairs has deployed Oracle Health's electronic health record system at four medical centers in Ohio and Kentucky, according to Healthcare Dive. The move marks the second wave of go-lives in 2026 as the agency tries to revive a modernization effort it had largely paused for years.

The VA halted broad deployments after the Oracle system, first rolled out in 2020, was tied to technical failures, outages, and patient-safety errors at early sites. The agency spent much of the intervening period fixing those problems before resuming the schedule. The new go-lives suggest the VA believes the platform is now stable enough to expand.

The stakes are large. The contract is one of the federal government's biggest health IT projects, aimed at replacing the VA's decades-old VistA system and creating a single record shared with the Department of Defense. How smoothly these sites perform will shape whether the VA accelerates or again slows the troubled rollout.

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Government

Judge Strikes Down Trump's $100K H-1B Visa Fee

A federal judge struck down Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee as an unlawful tax, a win for hospitals that rely on foreign-trained physicians.

Why it matters: Hospitals depend on H-1B visas to recruit foreign-trained doctors, especially in rural and underserved areas, so the fee could have worsened staffing shortages.

Government

HHS Czar Blames Provider Taxes for Healthcare Costs

HHS affordability czar Casey Mulligan says distorted incentives like provider taxes, not coverage gaps, are the root of high US healthcare costs.

Why it matters: The framing signals federal scrutiny of Medicaid financing tools that hospitals and states depend on, with potential ripple effects for payers and employers.

Government

2014 Ebola Leader Warns U.S. Is Less Ready Now

A leader of the 2014 U.S. Ebola response says the country is far less prepared for outbreaks today after the dismantling of USAID.

Why it matters: Global outbreak response depends on experienced personnel and funding pipelines that the U.S. has largely dismantled, leaving the world more exposed when the next emergency hits.