VA to Award Maximus $2.4 Billion Contract to Handle Veterans' Disability Exams, Officials Say

Contract Award Set for Dec. 30

The Department of Veterans Affairs will award Maximus Federal Services a five-year contract worth $2.4 billion to conduct compensation and pension exams for veterans, according to two VA officials familiar with the procurement. The award, scheduled to be announced on December 30, would shift roughly 1.2 million disability examinations annually from the current contractor network to Maximus starting March 1.

The contract covers exams in 18 states during an initial pilot phase, including Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Arizona, and Georgia, the officials said. Under the agreement, Maximus will operate 140 new clinic locations and hire approximately 3,400 medical professionals, including physicians, nurse practitioners, and audiologists. The two VA officials said the contract includes performance metrics requiring 95 percent of exams to be completed within 30 days of referral.

A draft award notice reviewed by a veterans-service-organization representative states that the contract has a base value of $1.1 billion with four one-year option periods that could bring the total to $2.4 billion. The representative, who attended a December 19 briefing at VA headquarters on Vermont Avenue in Washington, said the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Disabled American Veterans were given 48 hours to submit final comments before the award.

The two VA officials said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins was briefed on the award recommendation on December 17 and signed the decision memo on December 20. The officials said the announcement will be made at a press conference in the VA Central Office auditorium at 11:00 a.m. on December 30.

The contract also requires Maximus to maintain a dedicated phone line for veterans to request expedited scheduling in cases of financial hardship or terminal illness, the veterans-service-organization representative said. The representative said the requirement was added after advocates raised concerns during meetings on December 12 and December 15.

Current Contractor Network Faces Transition

The new contract will significantly reduce the role of QTC Management, which has performed a large share of VA compensation and pension exams since 2016. Two VA officials said QTC will retain contracts for psychiatric and dental exams in 12 states but will lose its primary market position in the Midwest and Southeast. The officials said the transition is expected to take 180 days and will be overseen by the Veterans Health Administration's Office of Disability and Medical Assessment.

A military spouse advocate who was briefed on the plan said the contract requires Maximus to establish at least 25 clinic sites on or near military installations, including Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Fort Hood in Texas, and Fort Benning in Georgia. The advocate said the requirement is intended to reduce travel times for veterans and active-duty service members transitioning out of the military. Current average travel distances for exam appointments range from 34 to 51 miles depending on the state, according to VA data cited in the briefing materials.

The veterans-service-organization representative said the contract includes a provision allowing veterans to request examiners with specific military service backgrounds, a change sought by several VSOs during public comment periods in October and November. The representative said Maximus must also submit monthly reports on exam quality scores, no-show rates, and veteran complaints to the VA's Office of Inspector General.

The military spouse advocate said Maximus will use a new electronic health record interface to share exam results directly with VA regional offices in Waco, Texas; St. Petersburg, Florida; and Salt Lake City, Utah. The advocate said the interface was tested at three sites in November and reduced report transmission times from an average of 11 days to 48 hours.

Claims Backlog Driving the Change

The two VA officials said the contract change is designed to address a backlog of 380,000 pending disability claims that have been awaiting exam scheduling. One official said the backlog grew by 22 percent during the second half of 2025 after QTC closed 11 regional clinics in August and September. The official said the VA expects Maximus to clear the backlog by September 30, 2026, under the terms of the contract.

The military spouse advocate said families had reported delays of up to 14 weeks for initial exams in some rural areas, forcing veterans to rely on emergency leave or unpaid time off to attend rescheduled appointments. The advocate said Maximus will operate a centralized scheduling center in San Antonio, Texas, with extended hours from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Central time beginning March 1.

Watch for the formal award announcement on December 30 and for QTC to file a bid protest with the Government Accountability Office by January 9, the deadline for challenging the decision. The veterans-service-organization representative said congressional hearings were already being planned by the House Veterans' Affairs Committee for mid-January.

The two VA officials said the contract includes penalties of up to $12 million per quarter if Maximus fails to meet timeliness targets. The officials said the VA also retained the right to terminate the contract for default if backlog reduction falls below agreed milestones at the 90-day and 180-day reviews.