VA Awards Salesforce $1.6B Contract to Transform Veteran Care and Services

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has entered into a significant technology agreement with Salesforce to overhaul its veteran care and administrative services. Announced Friday, 24 July 2026, the deal establishes an Agentic Enterprise License Agreement (AELA) that carries a contract ceiling of up to $1.6 billion. The agreement covers an initial term of one year, with provisions included for two additional one-year renewals.

The department, which provides healthcare and benefits to more than 17 million veterans and their families, currently oversees 170 medical centers and more than 1,100 Veterans Health Administration outpatient clinics. In 2025 alone, the VA provided more than 82 million direct-care appointments. As demand for these services grows, the agency has sought to integrate artificial intelligence and unified data systems to reduce administrative burdens on staff and improve the speed of care delivery.

The project focuses on three central operational pillars: AI-powered support, team connectivity, and data analytics. Through the deployment of Agentforce Public Sector and Agentforce Health technology, the VA plans to integrate AI agents directly into existing workflows. These agents are designed to perform real-time tasks during live calls, such as triage case routing, intake processing, and the automation of benefits verification. The intention is for these tools to surface necessary information for personnel, allowing employees to spend less time navigating software.

"Every minute a VA employee spends navigating disconnected systems is a minute not spent serving a Veteran. Salesforce gives VA a trusted foundation to connect its people, data, and workflows across the department. The goal is simple: reduce administrative burden, help employees get to the right information faster, and give them more time to deliver the care and benefits Veterans have earned."

Kendall Collins, CEO, Missionforce & Government Cloud, Salesforce

A primary objective of the initiative is to address appointment scheduling wait times. While the current average for scheduling an appointment is 28 days, the VA intends to leverage this technology to reduce that period to minutes. This effort will build upon the existing Unified Patient Scheduling initiative, which currently covers more than 40,000 provider services. Additionally, the department plans to expand the use of Slack, which is already operational at over 150 medical and outpatient sites, to serve as a central communication layer for staff.

The contract also covers the implementation of a unified data layer using MuleSoft and Data 360. By integrating legacy platforms, the VA aims to provide staff with a comprehensive view of veteran history. Tableau tools will then process this information to create daily reports, claims processing dashboards, and employee performance metrics, intended to assist leadership in decision-making.

Dave Rey, President of Global Public Sector at Salesforce, noted the broader commitment behind the initiative.

"VA serves millions of Veterans who've given everything for this country — and the people who work there show up every day committed to getting it right for them. Missionforce gives them the tools to match that commitment at scale, seamlessly connected data, AI that works alongside every employee, and a foundation of trust built to handle the most demanding missions in government. This is what it looks like when technology truly serves the mission."

Dave Rey, President, Global Public Sector, Salesforce

This award builds upon a relationship that has lasted more than a decade. Previous collaborations include the modernization of the Veterans Crisis Line, which recently utilized Salesforce Government Cloud to assist in responses to critical incidents. Other existing tools include the Status Query and Response Exchange System (SQUARES), which currently allows more than 2,100 authorized users to verify eligibility for at-risk veterans, and VA Health Connect, a clinical contact center that has handled over 40.6 million calls since deployment.

Future Implementation and Operational Context

• Scheduling Transformation: Scaling capabilities to transition from 28-day wait times to minutes.
• AI Infrastructure: The deployment of FedRAMP High-authorized and HIPAA-ready AI agents to automate triage and verification.
• Performance Visibility: Establishing real-time dashboards for claims and employee output.

As the VA advances its Veterans First mandate, it continues to focus on modernization and security. While the agreement is now in place, the vendor has indicated that some referenced features may currently remain in development. Consequently, stakeholders and customers have been advised to monitor the availability of fully released features as the integration progresses.