J_A Houma Short term_Redacted.pdf

5. Demonstration that the Contractor's Unique Qualifications or Nature of the Acquisition Requires the Use of the Authority Cited Above (applicability of authority):

The original CBOC was established in 2004 in order to improve Veteran access to primary and mental health care and to meet the increasing demand for outpatient services in the Central

Southern market for VISN16. Existing contract# VA256-21-D-0030 is expiring Dec 31, 2021, which currently provides the needed services and has proven to be beneficial to the Veteran constituents of Houma, LA, and Terrebonne Parish. This includes FAR 52.217-8 Option being exercised.

VALOR Healthcare is the Incumbent Contractor and has been providing services since the opening of this CBOC in 2004. They have worked very closely with the SLVHCS's staff, patients, and resources within the SLVHCS. They have also gained significant knowledge of the current CBOC operations.

This continued relationship is crucial until the new long-term contract is put into place. VALOR has an intimate knowledge of the patients, VA requirements, and SLVHCS Infrastructure. Competition for this short term and a possible new contractor would require at least a minimum of ninety (90) to one-hundred twenty (120) days start up time to include backgrounds and credentialing/privileging and also a learning curve while gaining familiarity with the SLVHCS computerized patient record system (CPRS) and our Veterans. This is time that is not available except with the award of the new long term 5-year IDIQ contract.

Contract 36C2562000022, which was awarded to Valor Healthcare under solicitation

36C25618R0078 was awarded under full and open competition 2/5/2020 and protested with the

Court of Federal Claims (CFC) on 03/20/2020. Under legal guidance, the contract was terminated, and corrective action was taken by the undersigned Contracting Officer.

Without this new short-term contract, the SLVHCS would have to completely shut down this CBOC which would cause our Veterans to have to seek their healthcare elsewhere. This could also negatively affect our Veterans continuity of care and would also have economic repercussions on the Government as the cost of their outside healthcare would be significantly higher than providing

"in-house". With services at a VA established CBOC, the VA has quality monitoring in place to measure the exceptional care that our Veterans receive and deserve. This same quality monitoring is not afforded to the VA when care is provided outside in the community which could deem fatal for our Veterans in certain cases.

The new long-term contract was awarded December 3, 2021, with an effective start date 120 days after, to allow for the completion of buildouts. The current contract expires December 31, 2021; so therefore, a new short term is needed to cover the continuation of services and will have the FAR

52.217-8 option included.

6. Description of Efforts Made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as deemed practicable:

Due to the time constraints and complexity of this requirement, no solicitation will be issued for this short term effort. In accordance with FAR 5.301 and 6.302-1, this action will be synopsized at award on the Federal Business Opportunities Page (FBO) and the justification will be made publicly available.

7. Determination by the CO that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and

Reasonable:

The Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated price to the Government will be fair and reasonable based on the fact that the short-term contract pricing will be based on the current contract price (PMPM-capitated rate) with an adjustment to the estimated quantities and an allowance of 3.5% for inflation. CO will also compare pricing to the newly awarded long term contract which included competitive pricing due to the current contract was awarded sole source.

8. Description of the Market Research Conducted and the Results, or a Statement of the Reasons

Market Research Was Not Conducted:

Limited market research was conducted for this short term, VIP provided for one SDVOSB; however, as detailed herein, this action is only to allow sufficient time for the buildouts of the newly awarded long term contract. This J&A shall be posted to www.fbo.gov.

9. Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other than Full and Open Competition:

Requirement is not suitable for competition among all other interested parties at this time. This is due to the amount of time it requires to credential the physicians and to process their background checks along with support staff. If there are no current physicians that meet those specific requirements then this would truly cause undue harm to the patients and to the

Government if not acquired from the current contractor, Valor Healthcare, at this time.

10. Listing of Sources that Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition:

Not listing, as this is considered source selection information. Sufficient competition was received for solicitation 36C25618R0078 that resulted in the recently awarded long term contract.

11. A Statement of the Actions, if any. the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome any Barriers to

Competition before Making subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services required:

This contract is a four-month short term contract with the possibility to extend up to an additional six-months should FAR 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services be exercised. As stated in

Paragraph 5, NCO16 awarded the new long-term contract from solicitation 36C25618R0078 by the undersigned CO, on December 3, 2021. Corrective action from a CFC protest has been completed by the undersigned CO as required. This new short-term contract will allow sufficient time for the awardee to complete the 120-day buildouts and for VA OIT to order and install the new circuit.