P03 - Bridge JA Sole Source to SDVOSB FINAL_Redacted.pdf

Request for SDVOSB/VOSB Sole Source Justification Format IAW VAAR 819.7008/9

VHAPG Part 819.7008/7009 Sole Source Awards to SDVOSB/VOSB Page 1 of 3 Revision: 03 Effective Date: 06/15/2024

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Justification and Approval (J&A) For

Other Than Full and Open Competition

Acquisition Plan Action ID: 36C776-24-AP-1754

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC), 6100 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 490, Independence, OH 44131. Purchase Request Number: 776-25-1-3204-0001.

2. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Approved: Professional and technical services to perform interagency program management between the VHA and Department of Defense (DOD), which involves the exchange of interagency Interoperable EHRs, interagency clinical and interagency physician-centric strategic planning, and support for the interagency clinical project needs of VHA.

The PCAC intends to award a sole-source, firm-fixed price bridge contract for professional and technical services to SDVOSB Rock Ferry dba MD Informatix until the VA's Integrated Health Technologies 2.0 (IHT 2.0) contract is finalized.

3. Description of Supplies/Services Required to Meet the Agency’s Needs: The contractor shall provide continued services supporting VA interagency medical and surgical operations at the numerous VA/DoD Joint Venture and Medical Sharing locations. This interagency clinical work is essential as it is authorized in Public Law (e.g. National Defense Authorization Act [NDAA] of 2014) and involves very close, interagency clinical collaboration with the DoD Military Officers, especially Medical Corps, civilians, and DoD contractors. Specifically, two focus areas of this contract are 1) VA/DoD Interagency Program/Project Management for joint, interagency health care delivery and 2) Electronic Health Records (EHR) sharing component support, Interagency Strategic Planning, and Professional Consulting Services to VHA. Additionally, the Veterans Health Administration has identified joint VA-DoD efforts as a critical Office of Health Informatics necessity to advance Congressionally mandated participation for Veteran Health Information Sharing and health informatics (HI) initiatives between the Departments. The period of performance shall be for five (5) months from November 1, 2024, to April 30, 2025.

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Other than Full and Open Competition: 41 USC §3304(a)(5), 38 U.S.

Code § 8127(c), as implemented by FAR 6.302-5 (Authorized or Required by Statute). COs may use the non-competitive (sole source) procedures authorized in VAAR 819.7008 (DEVIATION) or VAAR

819.7009 (DEVIATION) up to $5,000,000. Check the specific VAAR clause used below:

(X) 819.7008 Sole source awards to a certified service-disabled veteran-owned small business; or ( ) 819.7009 Sole source awards to a certified veteran-owned small business

5. Demonstration that the Contractor’s Unique Qualifications and/or Nature of the Acquisition Requires the Use of the Authority Cited Above (applicability of authority): VetCert verified SDVOSB, MD Informatix is the only vendor who can immediately continue the specialized professional and technical services required. The authority allows sole source awards to SDVOSB/VOSB based on 38 U.S.C. 8127(c) and that the SDVOSB/VOSB concern has been determined to be a responsible source with respect to performance. The business meets eligibility requirements

Request for SDVOSB/VOSB Sole Source Justification Format IAW VAAR 819.7008/9

VHAPG Part 819.7008/7009 Sole Source Awards to SDVOSB/VOSB Page 2 of 3 Revision: 03 Effective Date: 06/15/2024 in 819.7003. The Contracting Officer's determination to make a sole source award is a business decision wholly within the discretion of the Contracting Officer. The sole source award has been determined by the Contracting Officer to be in the best interest of the Government.

6. Description of Efforts Made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as deemed practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by FAR Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under FAR 5.202 applies: A bridge contract is sought for contract 36C77619P0061 due to the competitive follow-on contract being protested and as such it is not possible to award the planned follow-on contract in sufficient time to meet the Government’s requirements. Contract 36C77619P0061 was awarded on June 19, 2019, to Rock Ferry Station, LLC dba MD Informatix by Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC). The contract was awarded as a base of twelve (12) months with four (4) 12-month option periods for a total contract value of $6,629,593.00. The current contract expires on October 31, 2024. On March 12, 2024, the COR confirmed that the requirement would not be re-competed as a standalone contract due to the work being included on the competitively solicited Integrated Healthcare Transformation (IHT) 2.0 requirement being completed by the Technical Acquisition Center (TAC). On June 27, 2024, the COR contacted the CO of contract 36C77619P0061 stating the IHT 2.0 solicitation was under protest and the new award would not be in place by this current contract’s expiration date. Due to the need for uninterrupted continuous services, a Bridge contract is required to be put in place until the new IHT task orders can be executed.

Special Notice of Intent to Sole Source, 36C77624Q0324, was posted on September 4, 2024, to Contracting Opportunities via SAM. The Notice stated that while not a request for competitive quotes, any responsible source who believes it is capable of meeting the requirements may submit a capability statement, which shall be considered by the agency. Responses were due September 13, 2024. One response was received by Apex Pros, who was determined not to be capable of meeting the technical criteria as the response did not provide any specific capability information that demonstrated the vendor could satisfy the requirements.

A review of the Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) database at https://veterans.certify.sba.gov as required by subpart 819.70 was completed on Sept 4, 2024. Rock Ferry dba MD Informatix is a VetCert verified SDVOSB.

A SAM search of Rock Ferry dba MD Informatix UEID QHXFRFVWSPW5 on Sept 20, 2024, verified the company is active with no exclusions.

7. Determination by the CO that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable: The Contracting Officer will determine the price is fair and reasonable by comparing the proposed pricing to the Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) per FAR 13.106- 3(a)(s)(vi) to ensure the price is determined to be fair and reasonable before the award is made.

Additionally, there is recent pricing history for this service on the existing base-plus-four-option-year contract #36C77619P0061 that expires October 31, 2024. The pricing for that contract was deemed fair and reasonable. Per FAR 15.404-1(b)(ii), the proposed price for the bridge contract will also be compared to historical prices paid in the existing contract.