Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF MAY 04, 2012 FBO #3814
DOCUMENT

Q -- VBA Medical Disability Examinations (MDE) - Public Law 108-183 (Bridge Contract) - for 8 Regional Offices (Cleveland, Denver, Des Moines, Honolulu, Indianapolis, Lincoln, St Louis, Waco) - Attachment

Notice Date

5/2/2012
 

Notice Type

Attachment
 

NAICS

621111 — Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists)
 

Contracting Office

Acquisition Service- Frederick;Department of Veterans Affairs;8490 Progress Drive, Suite 100;Frederick MD 21701
 

ZIP Code

21701
 

Solicitation Number

VA79812RP0111
 

Archive Date

5/30/2012
 

Point of Contact

Stephen Nickles, Contract Specialist
 

E-Mail Address

Replogle,
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Award Number

VA798-12-D-0019
 

Award Date

4/30/2012
 

Awardee

VETERANS EVALUATION SERVICES, INC.;9400 GROGANS MILL RD STE 305;THE WOODLANDS;TX;773803636
 

Award Amount

2,000,000.00
 

Line Number

207
 

Description

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS VETERANS BENEFIT ADMINISTRATION COMPENSATION SERVICE PROGRAM JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION 1. Purpose: This Justification and Approval for Other Than Full and Open Competition is executed by the Office of Acquisition Operations, Acquisition Service, Frederick, Maryland, on behalf of the US Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, which administers the Compensation Service Program. 2. Background: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), through the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), administers the Compensation Service Program for benefits for veterans, their dependents, and their survivors. Entitlement determinations for disability compensation claims and disability pension claims are made by VBA Rating Veterans Service Representatives (RVSRs) working in VA Regional Offices (VAROs) across the country. A medical disability examination is a critical piece of evidence for determining the extent of permanent impairment and the dollar benefit a veteran is awarded. Congress enacted the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 1996 (PL 104-275) on October 9, 1996, which authorized VA to conduct a limited pilot program to contract for Medical Disability Examinations (MDEs) from non-VA medical sources. Under PL 108-183, Section 704, Congress granted VA temporary authority to contract out for MDEs, which is in addition to the authority provided in PL 104-275. The VA issued Contract No. VA798-11-D-0008 to retain a contractor to perform MDEs under PL 108-183. The contract's period of performance is November 1, 2010 through April 30, 2012, and is valued at a maximum of $50,000,000.00. The Government intends to re-compete the contract for MDE services, but until that competition and award are made, the need for MDEs continues unabated so that Veterans can continue to be rated for the appropriate benefits and treatment they deserve. The lack of readily available MDEs will mean unwarranted delays and de facto denials of both treatment and benefit delivery to affected Veterans causing ongoing or worsening harm to those Veterans in need of and deserving of requisite VA benefits and support. VBA requires an MDE in order to determine (a) whether a Veteran is entitled to specific disability benefits and treatment, and (b) the level and degree of care required. The MDE is a vital first step to determining what care a Veteran deserves and should receive with a minimum of delay. The Government intends to negotiate a four-month bridge contract with four one-month option periods, subject to the availability of appropriated funds, with the current PL 108-183 contractor, Veterans Evaluation Services, Inc. (VES), to provide MDEs for the following ROs currently being serviced under VA798-11-D-0008: 1.Cleveland, Ohio 2.Des Moines, Iowa 3.Denver, Colorado 4.Indianapolis, Indiana 5.Lincoln, Nebraska 6.St. Louis, Missouri 7.Waco, Texas 8.Honolulu, Hawaii 3. Description of Services The four-month bridge contract with options will continue to provide the following services at each of the ROs listed above. Services ordered under the contract are limited to the ROs listed above and the budget for these services will be spread across the ROs based on program office demand forecasts. The following Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINS) describe the services ordered under the original contract that need to be continued until the MDE contract is recompeted. CLINDESCRIPTION 0002NON-SPECIALIST MEDICAL EXAMS (PERFORMED BY GENERAL PRACTITIONERS) 0002AACOMPREHENSIVE GENERAL MEDICAL EXAM Complete Base-line Exam Covering all body parts. (AMIE Worksheet 1010 Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQs) 0002ABDETAILED EXAM LEVEL I. Three or more AMIE worksheets/DBQs required. 0002ACDETAILED EXAM LEVEL II. Fewer than three AMIE worksheets/DBQs required. 0003SPECIALIST EXAMS 0003AAAUDIOLOGY EXAM (Hearing and Ear Disease). 0003ABDENTAL EXAM (Dental and Oral). 0003ACOPHTHALMOLOGY (Eye). Goldman Perimeter 0003ADPSYCHIATRY (Mental Disorders, except Initial PTSD) 0003AEPSYCHIATRY: INITIAL PTSD EXAMS 0003AFOTOLARYNGOLOGISTS: EXAM 0004SPECIALIST EXAMS WHEN REQUESTED BY REGIONAL OFFICE 0004AAMUSCULOSKELETAL 0004ABINFECTIOUS, IMMUNE AND NUTRITIONAL DISABILITIES 0004ACRESPIRATORY 0004ADCARDIOVASCULAR 0004AEDIGESTIVE 0004AFGENITOURINARY 0004AGGYNECOLGOICAL AND BREAST 0004AHHEMIC AND LYMPHATIC 0004AISKIN 0004AJENDOCRINE 0004AKNEUROLOGIC 0005INDEPENDENT MEDICAL OPINION (Requires a review of the veterans claims file to render an opinion - priced separately from examination) 0006TESTS AND LABORATOY 0006AAPROCEDURES 0006ABLABORATORY WORK 0006ACPHOTOS FOR SCARS AND SKIN CONDITIONS 0007NO SHOWS 0007AComplete No Show: If Veteran does not appear for appointment 0007B Partial No Show: If Veteran does not contact vendor within the acceptable timeframe to reschedule, but does request a rescheduled appointment. No show is charged on initial appointment, but at a lower price, since administrative prep work is eventually used by examiner. This bridge contract shall be placed in anticipation of the award of an appropriate, longer term fixed price Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The bridge will extend the Medical Disability Examination support services through the end of the year and the expiration of PL 108-183 (December 31, 2012). Anticipated performance start date for the bridge contract is May 1, 2012 and the anticipated performance start date for the longer term, more permanent IDIQ contract is expected to be November 30, 2012. The anticipated bridge contract base performance period is May 1, 2012 through August 31, 2012. VA will not otherwise be able to provide vital services and benefits continuously to deserving Veterans without the bridge contract that will both continue the flow of necessary services and treatment to affected Veterans while allowing VA sufficient time to re-compete the long-term MDE IDIQ contract. The four one-month option periods are to ensure continued performance of MDEs while a newly-awarded IDIQ Contractor completes the estimated 90-day start-up period to begin providing MDE services, and to include sufficient time leading up to the expiration of the current Public Law 108-183 (December 31, 2012). There is not enough time to secure a follow-on contract to avoid a break in necessary benefits and care for affected Veterans without this contract, and not enough time to compete the requirement to avoid said service break. 4. Identification of statutory authority. The incumbent contractor will continue the support services currently provided through a sole source contract under the authority of 41 U.S.C. § 253(c)(1), the services needed by the executive agency are available from only one responsible source and no other type of services will satisfy the needs of the executive agency, as implemented by FAR 6.302-1. 5. Demonstration of contractors' unique qualifications. VA has a contract in place for services related to Public Law (P.L.) 108-183. The Fiscal Year (FY) 08 IDIQ contract was competitively awarded for performance beginning April 1, 2008 and MES Solutions was the successful offeror. (MES Solutions' corporate name was changed to Veterans Evaluations Services, Inc. (VES) effective April 1, 2011.) Subsequently, a sole source bridge contract was awarded to VES to enable continued performance through April 30, 2012. Funds were not available during the Continuing Resolution passed by Congress until December 23, 2011. With appropriation uncertainties and Congressional authority for contracting examinations set to expire on December 31, 2012, VBA leadership waited to make a decision regarding the MDE PL 108-183 contract recompete until the Budget passed on December 23, 2011. Based on the current contract, and competitive proposals expected to be received from a number of vendors, the industry standard minimum start-up period is approximately 90-days, due to the complexity of coordinating services between eight different locations through the United States, as well as the high level of information technology coordination and information security issues that must be in place before performance can begin awarding a new contract to a new vendor would not allow sufficient time for the vendor to sufficiently meet this start-up period prior to expiration of the current contract, which greatly increases the risk of unsuccessful performance and a break in services for the above mentioned eight ROs. The contracting officer recommends a four-month bridge contract, with four one-month options, be awarded to the existing IDIQ contractor in order to establish stop-gap measures to provide the required services to meet the existing mission of VBA MDE program. VES currently has the personnel in place and is capable of meeting the additional, immediate MDE requirement without needing a ramp-up period. No other contractors will be able to recruit, obtain credentialing (applicable to Medical Examiners), coordinate the IT and information security requirements with all eight VA facilities, or have their employees in place by the May 1, 2012 performance start in order to avoid a lapse in service. VES is the only responsible source capable of fulfilling immediate agency requirements (FAR 6.302-1) without unacceptable delays in delivering benefits to worthy Veterans. The need is compelling (FAR 6.302-2), and it is in the public's and agency's interests to continue to secure these services pending a regular award for such (FAR 6.302-7). 6. Federal Business Opportunities announcement/potential Current contracts lacked provisions to continue past April 30, 2012. and in order to meet the requirements of FAR Part 5 and FAR Part 6.3 Other Than Full and Open Competition, a notice of "Intent to Procure via Sole Source" shall be published in the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOps). 7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Costs The contracting officer does not expect escalation of the proposed rates because the term of this contract, including all options, is eight months. However, a price fair and reasonableness determination will be made by comparing the results of the market survey (see Paragraph 8, below) with the price proposal received from the incumbent contractor. 8. Market Research. The minimum dollar value for the IDIQ and base period is $2,000,000, and the maximum is $12,000,000, including all option periods. Based on historical data from the previous ten-month period, the average examination cost was $1,043 and 2,248 examinations were performed each month which equated to $2,110,436 in examination costs per month. The estimated examination performance is anticipated to be lower for this contract based on available funds in the budget. It is expected that approximately 7,700 examinations will be completed with an average examination cost of $1,043 per exam, which would result in approximately $8,000,000 in examination costs including the base period and all option periods. Historical performance indicates a higher level of performance; however, due to funding constraints, the number of examination requests has been reduced to meet the expected level of available funding. If additional funding becomes available, the level of funds allocated to the contract will be increased to meet the needs of the Agency, as the need for examinations continues to increase. The contract maximum includes the possibility of additional funding being made available. ROIGCE for Base Period + All Options Cleveland, Ohio$560,000.00 Des Moines, Iowa$1,840,000.00 Denver, Colorado$2,640,000.00 Honolulu, Hawaii$600,000.00 Indianapolis, Indiana$960,000.00 Lincoln, Nebraska$200,000.00 St. Louis, Missouri$0.00 Waco, Texas$1,200,000.00 Total$8,000,000.00 VES, the current contractor, is the only known source capable of delivering MDE services as VBA requires without any interruption of services or benefits to Veterans given the scope and complexity of MDE processes and evaluations. 9. Any other supporting facts. It should be noted that MDEs are the primary means for qualifying Veterans for VA medical benefits. A lapse in performance of MDEs over any period of time would harm Veterans due to a delay in determining eligibility for VA benefits 10. Listing of interested sources. The incumbent contractor, Veterans Evaluation Services, Inc. (VES), is the only known source that is able to meet this requirement for the reasons listed in Paragraph 5, above. 11. Actions taken to remove barriers to competition. The bridge contract is intended to balance VA's need for continued performance of MDE services with the need to provide competition for a longer term, more permanent contract for these services. The longer term, more permanent contract for MDE services is being solicited and awarded under the basis of full and open competition while the bridge contract ensures continuity of performance. TECHNICAL AND REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION TECHNICAL COGNIZANCE I certify that the supporting data that form a basis for the justification is accurate and complete. __________________________________________ TelephoneDate Contracting Officer's Technical Representative CONTRACTING OFFICER'S CERTIFICATION I certify this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. _____________________ TelephoneDate Contracting Officer COMPETITION ADVOCATE As the Contracting Activity Competition Advocate and based on the foregoing justification, I find it to be accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. ____________ Telephone Date Head of Contracting Activity Executive Director, Office of Acquisition Operations
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/VA/AFMLOVASS/VASSMD/Awards/VA798-12-D-0019.html)
 

Document(s)

Attachment
 

File Name: VA798-12-D-0019 VA798-12-D-0019_1.docx (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=333292&FileName=VA798-12-D-0019-000.docx)

Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=333292&FileName=VA798-12-D-0019-000.docx

 

Note: If links are broken, refer to Point of Contact above or contact the FBO Help Desk at 877-472-3779.
 

Record

SN02736727-W 20120504/120502234902-d2909467b6f800c2c6cf3f3ebf0bb3c2 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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