36C25726R0014 Consolidation Determination and Findings Memo Redacted.pdf

VAAM M807- C Consolidation Determination and Findings

VAAM M807-C Page C-1

North Texas (NTX) Wheelchair Transportation Services VA Medical Center

(VAMC)

AP: 36C257-26-AP-0068

FINDINGS

I. INTRODUCTION.

Network Contracting Office 17 (NCO 17) plans to solicit offers for Wheelchair Transportation Services for the Dallas VA Medical Center and has conducted market research that demonstrates the consolidation of this procurement to be necessary, justified, and in the best interest of the Government.

Proposal: Currently, there are four market research reports, four solicitations, and 20 task orders under the incumbent, Priority Care Transit EMS Central, a SDVOSB vendor/contractor. We’re proposing a consolidation to reduce it to one single market research, single solicitation, and possibly five task orders instead of 20 over the five-year period. The proposed procurement method is an SDVOSB set-aside. The estimated award date is February 6, 2026. Further information is listed below.

II. BACKGROUND.

A. Requirement. The North Texas Dallas VA Medical Center seeks a Firm-Fixed- Price (FFP) Indefinite Delivery Contract (IDC) for the commercial service of Wheelchair Transportation Services for the Dallas catchment area that includes the Community Care appointments in the following Texas counties: Archer, Baylor, Collin, Cottle, Denton, Foard, Hardeman, Jack, Montague, Wichita, Wilbarger, Wise, Young, Bowie, Camp, Cass, Delta, Fannin, Franklin, Grayson, Harrison, Hopkins, Hunt, Lamar, Marion, Morris, Red River, Titus, Bryan, Anderson, Cherokee, Dallas, Ellis, Gregg, Henderson, Kaufman, Navarro, Rains, Rockwall, Rusk, Smith, Upshur, Van Zandt, Wood, Eastland, Erath, Hill, Hood, Johnson, Palo Pinto, Parker, Somervell, Stephens, Tarrant, and Oklahoma Counties: Bryan, Choctaw, McCurtain, Pittsburg, Pontotoc. The expected value of the contract being solicited is estimated to be approximately $73,689,830.59 for 5 (five), separately priced 12-month ordering periods. The option to extend services per clause 52.217-8 will also be evaluated for price reasonableness during the price evaluation process before award.

Historically, the requirement for wheelchair transportation services was divided into 4 (four) different areas, A2 (covers Texas Counties: Archer, Baylor, Collin, Cottle, Denton, Foard, Hardeman, Jack, Montague, Wichita, Wilbarger, Wise, Young), B2 (covers Texas Counties: Bowie, Camp, Cass, Delta, Fannin, Franklin, Grayson, Harrison, Hopkins, Hunt, Lamar, Marion, Morris, Red River, Titus, Bryan and Oklahoma Counties: Bryan, Choctaw, McCurtain, Pittsburg, Pontotoc), C2 (covers Texas Counties: Anderson, Cherokee, Dallas, Ellis, Gregg, Henderson, Kaufman, Navarro, Rains, Rockwall, Rusk, Smith, Upshur, Van Zandt, Wood), and D2 (covers Texas Counties: Eastland, Erath, Hill, Hood, Johnson, Palo Pinto, Parker, Somervell, VAAM M807-C Page C-2

Stephens, Tarrant); all were awarded to the same Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) vendor and for the same price for each area. The previous contract was awarded as a 100% SDVOSB set-aside competed IDC, for 5 (five) 12-month ordering periods in the amount of $30M (total amount for all areas).

Period of Performance (POP): 1 Apr 2022 – 31 Mar 2027.

North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code: 485991 Special

Needs Transportation.

Size standard $19.0 Million.

B. Applicable Statutes/ Regulations. In accordance with the definition provided at

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 2.101, "Consolidation or consolidated requirement" means a solicitation for a single contract, a multiple-award contract, a task order, or a delivery order to satisfy-

(i) Two or more requirements of the Federal agency for supplies or services that have been provided to or performed for the Federal agency under two or more separate contracts, each of which was lower in cost than the total cost of the contract for which offers are solicited.

While FAR 7.107-2(a) recognizes that consolidating requirements may provide substantial benefits to the Government, further account is given to the potential negative impact on small business participation. Accordingly, before actions are taken by an agency to consolidate requirements under a subsequent solicitation and/or contract award, accompanied by an estimated total dollar value exceeding $2 million, a written determination is required. In accordance with (IAW) FAR 7.107-2(a), the senior procurement executive or chief acquisition officer shall make a written determination that the consolidation is necessary and justified for actions exceeding $2 million.

C. Market Research. Market research has been conducted in accordance with FAR 10.001(a)(2)(iv) and demonstrated that Consolidation is necessary and justified.

Market research was conducted from August 2024 – August 2025. Four (4) Source Sought Notices, 36C25725Q0010, 36C25725Q0011, 36C25725Q0012, and 36C25725Q0013 were posted on September 4, 2024, and closed on October 3, 2024. Each interested vendor responded with small business size representation, vendor self-reported fleet on hand, and ability to obtain more. The higher a vendor’s current fleet, the more confidence is assigned for a successful performance. Successful performance is anticipated.

Based on historical data, four source-sought notices were posted for this requirement because it was thought that a single SDVOSB vendor could not provide services to all the geographical locations covered under this requirement, but it was discovered through current market research there were more than 2 SDVOSBs capable of providing services to all the geographical locations.

Leadership determined that a consolidation of this requirement would be more

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A consolidated and reliable transportation option can result in a reduction of no-shows and missed appointments, thus ensuring Veterans receive necessary care.

VA Small Business Specialist and local Small Business Administration (SBA) procurement center representative (PCR) (see FAR 10.001(c)(1)). The consultation with the Small Business Specialist and the local Small Business Administration was conducted and they agreed to the current procurement strategy for a SDVOSB set-aside.

Results of Market Research (FAR 7.707-2(1)).

Market research has been conducted and supports an acquisition strategy of competing this consolidated transportation services requirement among SDVOSBs.

Sources Sought Notices 36C25725Q0010, 36C25725Q0011, 36C25725Q12 and 36C25725Q0013 asked about vendor current fleet size, whether current fleet would be able to support the estimated wheelchair transports per year, locations each interested vendor would be able to support, and whether vendors would be able to acquire additional vans to meet the needs of the requirement.

Based on the market research conducted and the resulting analysis, adequate sources for providing the services are available in the market. Past transportation services for wheelchair and stretcher patients in the state of Texas indicate there are enough SDVOSB/VOSBs and small businesses capable of performing the Wheelchair Transportation requirement. 38 USC §8127 and resulting policies require the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide priority and establish special acquisition methods to increase contracting opportunities for SDVOSBs and VOSBs.

Consideration of Small Business Opportunities. 38 USC §8127 and resulting policies require the Department of Veterans Affairs to set aside requirements for SDVOSB/VOSBs when the Contracting Officer has a reasonable expectation that two (2) or more responsive and responsible SDVOSBs will submit offers at an award that can be made at a fair and reasonable price. Tables 1 and 2 above both reflect more than two (2) eligible and certified SDVOSBs.

III. CONSOLIDATION.

A1. Benefits of Consolidation. Based on market research, NCO17 has determined that the benefits of pursuing a consolidated acquisition significantly outweigh those of the alternative contracting methods identified in paragraph B1(a) of this section.

As prescribed by FAR 7.107-2(c) and (d), consolidation of this requirement is extremely beneficial to VISN 17. Consolidation will allow for a reduction in acquisition cycle times for the wheelchair transportation requirement. It’s estimated that over five years, the consolidation of the wheelchair transportation

VAAM M807-C Page C-6 requirements can reduce the number of market research cycles for the wheelchair transportation requirement by 75%, reduce the number of wheelchair transportation requirement solicitations cycles by 75%, and the number of wheelchair transportation requirement award cycles by at least 75% based on prior acquisition history. Additionally, consolidation offers NCO17 considerable reductions in agency labor costs, resulting in a reduction of combined administrative hours from 2,087 hours to 522 hours, saving at least 1,565 administrative hours from contracting specialists and officers alone. We estimate an average annual savings of $81,880.00, based on a GS-12 mid-level salary and with an hourly cost of $52.32. The overall total of estimated cost savings over the life of the contract would result in $409,400.00 in savings for taxpayers.

a. Reduction in acquisition cycle times: The current process requires the

COR to enter four separate packages, and contract administration is multiplied by four regarding the contractor’s evaluation reports and invoicing of individual task orders. Substantially reduce administrative burdens per the table below. The table below shows that the number of solicitations and market research reports are reduced from 4 actions each to 1 action each when consolidating the requirement. The reduction in combined administrative hours from 2,087 hours to 522 hours is estimated to result in an overall total savings of $409,400.

Number of Market

Research Reports

Number of Solicitations Number of Awards & Extensions

Last 5 years of Administrative Actions (James Bradsher, dba Priority Care Transit)

4 4

36C25722D0047-(5 Task Orders, Annually) 36C25722D0048-(5 Task Orders, Annually) 36C25722D0049-(5 Task Orders, Annually) 36C25722D0050-(5 Task Orders, Annually) ***A Minimum of 20 Task Orders for the 5-year contract not including modification actions

Projected Consolidated Administrative Actions (every 5-years)

1 1 1 projected Annually

b. Reduction in invoicing errors: During the current process, several invoicing errors have occurred, resulting in the use of unplanned hours to research and correct them. A recent Inspector General (IG) audit reported that invoicing errors resulted in an overpayment of more than $3 million to one vendor.

c. Reduction in administrative actions: The catchment area supported by the current and planned contracts is the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, which includes 54 counties, and five (5) adjacent Oklahoma counties. Currently, there is only one COR for the four separate contracts. Consolidation is

VAAM M807-C Page C-7 expected to result in fewer unplanned man-hours being spent on planning, administration, and invoicing activities. As a result of the reduction in planning, the COR will have more time to allocate towards ensuring accurate invoicing occurrences for the counties, thus resulting in a reduction of invoicing errors.

Another benefit of consolidating this requirement is to simplify the veterans’ transportation services request process, thus minimizing paperwork and administrative burdens.

A2. Mission success and coordination. While the expected benefits do not meet the thresholds for substantial benefit at paragraph 7.107-2(d)(1), the combination of the administrative savings and the contribution this consolidation will make to achieving mission success constitute substantial benefit to the Government. This consolidation will contribute directly to ensuring Veterans receive timely access to healthcare services by ensuring efficient delivery of just-in-time transportation services. Consolidation will minimize barriers to care for Veterans by providing reliable transportation services as a result of efficient and effective contract management of one contract vehicle rather than multiple. This consolidation effort allows the Government to focus it's resources towards direct patient care in line with VA's goals of efficiency improvements, focusing on veterans and ensuring timely access to care. In addition, this consolidation effort minimizes administrative burden and duplicative efforts thereby ensuring effective stewardship of taxpayer funds, a key element in the President's Management Agenda

B. Procurement strategy.

a. Adequate price competition is expected for this acquisition, as shown by the market research results discussed above. This requirement has been written to provide maximum practicable participation by small businesses.

IAW 38 U.S.C. § 8127(d) the set-aside for SDVOSB is mandatory, not discretionary, and it requires the Department of Veteran Affairs to apply the Rule of Two first to all contracting requirements. Based on the Sources Sought results, and web searches there is an expectation that at least 2 or more SDVOSBs are interested and capable of providing this requirement.

This requirement will be an SDVOSB set aside.

b. In accordance with FAR 16.202-2, a firm-fixed-price is suitable for acquiring commercial services when the contracting officer can establish fair and reasonable prices at the outset when adequate price competition is expected, and reasonable price comparisons with prior purchases of the same services were made on a competitive basis.

c. Source selection will be conducted following FAR Part 15 - Contracting by Negotiation, utilizing the Tradeoff source selection process under FAR 15.101-1 Tradeoff Process. Evaluation factors will be Technical, Price, and Past Performance.

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C. Alternative approaches. Awarding four (4) IDIQs mirroring those previously awarded would likely result in continued inefficiency, invoicing errors, and increasing administration activities. The rationale for not choosing the alternative approach is the level of effort needed to keep up with the contract administration for 4 different IDIQs (potentially to 4 different vendors) versus a Consolidated requirement for the same services. The consolidation approach provides more efficiency, and better terms and conditions while reducing acquisition cycle times and the likelihood of invoicing errors.

D. Negative impact. The proposed solicitation for this consolidation will be set aside for SDVOSBs, which can negatively impact small businesses that do not meet the SDVOSB certification criteria, thereby reducing the number of contracts available to other small businesses. This same impact would apply if awarded as four (4) separate contracts, since the "rule of two is met", this acquisition will be set aside for SDVOSBs. The use of this proposed acquisition strategy has addressed impact to small business and is considered to have a minor negative impact on some of the small businesses that have limited capability to meet the geographical coverage for this requirement. The CO anticipates that there are sufficient SDVOSBs to provide competition for the NTX Wheelchair requirement. Based on the market research conducted and the resulting analysis, adequate sources for providing the services are available in the market. Past transportation services for wheelchair and stretcher patient procurement in the state of Texas also indicate that there are enough SDVOSB/VOSBs and other small business entities capable of performing the requirements for NTX Wheelchair Transportation Services. The acquisition planning team is cognizant of socioeconomic set-aside considerations, including the Veterans First Contracting Program / 38 USC §8127’s Rule of Two.

The Rule of Two states that the VA must set aside procurements for competition among veteran-owned small businesses if the CO has a reasonable expectation that two or more veteran-owned small businesses will (1) submit offers and (2) that the award can be made at a fair and reasonable price which offers the best value to the United States.

E. Inclusion of small business concerns. The procurement strategy provides for maximum practicable participation by small businesses, given that the solicitation for this effort will be restricted to small business concerns for competition per FAR 7.107-2(a)(5). According to market research data, there is a sufficient number of SDVOSBs capable of fulfilling the requirements, thus providing sufficient competition in this small business category. The consolidation determination has been coordinated with the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) and concurred by OSDBU.

IV. DETERMINATION.

Based on the above, I hereby determine that in accordance with FAR 7.107-2(a) that Consolidation is necessary and justified.

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Concur:

Curtis M. Jordan Executive Director, Regional Procurement Office West Head of Contracting Activity (HCA)

Approved:

Joseph P. Maletta Acting Executive Director, Office of Acquisition and Logistics (003A) and Acting Senior Procurement Executive