P03 SSJ VISN4 West DME Redacted.pdf

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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

Acquisition Plan Action ID:

1. Contracting Activity: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Integrated Service Network

(VISN) 04, Commodities 1 in support of multiple facilities: the Altoona, Butler, Erie, and Pittsburgh VA Medical Centers.

PR: N/A – Planned Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) Contract. Funding to be provided with resulting task orders.

2. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Processed: This procurement is for Durable Medical Equipment (DME) delivery, installation, set-up, instruction, repair, and pick-up services to Veteran beneficiaries' homes or place of residence, serviced by VA Medical Centers throughout all catchment area counties located within the geographic areas of the Altoona, Butler, Erie, and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania VA Medical Centers to be provided in conjunction with VISN-04’s Prosthetics and Sensory Aid Service (P&SAS). Services must be provided by a Joint Commission Certified Contractor and meet all Joint Commission Standards or equivalent standards for the services performed.

This procurement is intended to be a single-award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract using Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) with tasks to be ordered as needed. The intended IDIQ ordering period is 12 months. This action is a bridge contract to keep in place critical services for Veteran care, and to ensure there is no disruption in services that could negatively impact Veteran care. Contract pricing will be determined fair and reasonable prior to award.

These services are currently being obtained through the current contract which expires on October 20, 2025.

3. Description of Supplies/Services Required to Meet the Agency’s Needs: The resulting bridge contract will establish an ordering vehicle to deliver, repair, retrieve, install, and/or provide instruction on DME to Veterans from their closest VA Medical Center. DME includes medical equipment such as hospital beds with side rails, mattresses and specialty mattresses, medical trapeze equipment, patient lifts and lift accessories, bathroom safety aids, feeding pumps, suction machines, IV poles, CCTVs, and mobility assistance devices.

The Contractor is required to be on call 24/7 and capable of providing DME pick-up and delivery, repairs, installation, and instruction services with as little as one hour response time and four-hour completion after initial notification. For non-emergency requests, services must be completed within two business days after receipt of order.

While in the Veteran’s residence, the Contractor shall provide education, training, and instructions to the Veteran for each instance of set-up or repair, this is provided verbally, in demonstration of use, and with written materials left with the beneficiary or caregiver. The Contractor is required to review the Veteran’s residence and confirm the DME does not result in any electrical, fire, or safety hazards.

Estimated Ordering Period: 10/21/2025 – 10/20/2026

Estimated Total Value:

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Contract Line-Item Numbers (CLINs), estimated quantities, and unit pricing are documented below.

Short Description Estimated Quantity

Unit Prices Estimated Total

DME Pick-up/Delivery, Setup, Install and Training Rate

DME Repair Service

Install Grab Bars

Emergency DME Delivery

Emergency DME Repairs

Complex Power Chairs

Install/Setup Telehealth Equipment

Live Site Review with VA Therapist

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Restricted Competition:

FAR 13.5 Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items. The statutory authority for applying the Simplified Procedures for Commercial Items of FAR 13.5 is 41 U.S.C. § 1901 and is implemented by FAR 13.106-1(b)(2) for restricting competition on this procurement. Competition is restricted on this procurement for the reason below:

( X ) Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements

( ) Unusual and Compelling Urgency ( ) Industrial Mobilization, Engineering, Developmental or Research Capability or Expert

Services ( ) International Agreement ( ) Authorized or Required by Statute

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( ) National Security ( ) Public Interest

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 proposed sole source acquisition for a DME related services bridge contract performed within the Western VISN 04 area will utilize the procedures outlined in FAR Subpart 13.5, which authorizes the use of simplified acquisition procedures for commercial products and services up to $9 Million.

Specifically, FAR 13.501(a)(2) speaks to the requirement for a sole source justification which is the purpose of this document.

Only One Responsible Source (COLUMBIA ANCILLARY SERVICES, INC.) currently meets agency requirements for these services that will not pose significant risk of undue harm to Veterans receiving care from the VA.

The DME delivery/pickup, transportation, installation, repairs, and training for safe use of equipment provided under this contract is a critical need for the Veteran patients receiving services in their residence. Some of the DME is life sustaining and include the delivery, repair, and training/demonstration of feeding pumps, suction machines, and home IV equipment. Delays even as short as days could likely result in severe impact of patient health. In some cases, the delays of repairs or delivery for these types of DME could result in death. This contract continues to provide similar services for mobility and safety equipment such as wheelchairs, power-wheelchairs, patient lifts, bathroom-safety aids, and hospital beds with side rails. Ensuring Veteran patients have access to functioning mobility and preventive safety equipment has a significant impact on the quality of life and care. The Contractor ensures Veterans receive DME and repairs as needed at any time of the day or night.

The Contract Specialist has also considered the complexity of establishing the previous contract: the initial requirement was solicited under in August 2018 as a SDVOSB set-aside for VISN-wide DME services. Multiple protests were received and dismissed, but no fair and reasonable quotes were received. A second solicitation was issued in December 2019 (notice ) for multi facility DME services instead of VISN-Wide but was protested and cancelled. Additional Market Research and acquisition planning was conducted from January – August 2020, which resulted in solicitation and the resulting award of finalized in October 2020. The totality of acquisition planning through award in support of the previous contract exceeded 2 years; therefore, the contracting activity is recommending a 12-month bridge contract after discussing progress and anticipated difficulty in acquisition of the follow-on contract with the requiring activity. The 12-month ordering period should provide sufficient time for the agency to enter into a follow-on contract for DME services using competitive procedures without impacting the quality of Veteran care.

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

Due to the urgent need for these continued and un-interrupted DME related services, and the only source considered for this short-term contract is the incumbent contractor, COLUMBIA ANCILLARY SERVICES, INC. It is not feasible to solicit offers from additional sources, to create and implement an evaluation plan for offers, or to perform the other actions involved with transitioning these services to another vendor without a significant break in services thereby resulting in a significant negative impact on Veterans as documented in Section 5. Any other vendor would need to be certified by the Joint Commission, potentially set up in the VA’s Financial Management System, and complete the

Acquisition ID#: Page 4 of 6 transition of services from the incumbent, which by itself is estimated to take up to 90 days in addition to further acquisition planning, soliciting, and evaluation of offers.

While the intended ordering period for this bridge IDIQ contract is 12 months, acquisition planning for the follow-on contract will proceed without delay to facilitate competition in a follow-on contract as soon as feasible. This award will bridge the anticipated gap in DME related services and provide sufficient time to adequately plan, solicit, and award the follow-on. This bridge contract is not expected to impact, delay, or otherwise prevent award of the planned follow-on contract.

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

The anticipated cost was determined to be fair and reasonable. The contractor was afforded an opportunity to provide a quote to continue the same services for a 12-month bridge based on updated labor rates; updated unit prices were received and applied to the estimated 12-month usage of each line item. Estimated unit quantities are based on historical usage and adjusted to account for any estimated increases in facility needs.

The fair and reasonable price determination will be supported by a comparison to the IGCE, a comparison to historical pricing for similar services previously determined to be fair and reasonable, and market research.

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

Market Research Was Not Conducted:

Market research was conducted by performing searches on VetCert, FPDS, the SBA’s Small Business Search, and from the VA’s AddsUp Portal. Market research results show similar services are commercially available, and there is potential for set-asides when planning for the follow-on contract. Although market research for the follow-on contract is ongoing, searches in support of this bridge contract were limited due to the urgency and reasoning documented in Section 5 of this document. Specific market research and methodology are documented within the Market Research Report as well as the eCMS briefcase. In short, the urgency of this requirement and the anticipated severe impact on Veteran care resulting from any lapse in service precludes competition. The follow-on contract will be a competitive procurement, and acquisition planning will continue while the bridge contract is in place.

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

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

COLUMBIA ANCILLARY SERVICES, INC. (Incumbent Contractor) Small Business

SAM UEI: E5FCAANQRMV7

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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:

A competitive follow-on acquisition is being planned, current acquisition planning is addressing the updated needs of the VISN 04 DME requirements in comparison to the needs identified during the COVID/telehealth era, determining whether there are any bundling consolidations (potential for combining East/West VISN 04 DME contracts), and in identifying what level of set-aside is most appropriate.

Approval of a 12-month bridge is requested due to the extreme complexity and previous difficulty in procuring these services, and for updating the VISN 04 needs, which must be coordinated between multiple facilities. As documented in Section 5, the previous acquisition timeframe between planning and award exceeded 2 years. Given the fact that the requesting station did not get a new requisition package submitted, there are significant changes anticipated in the services requested, and the previous acquisition was subject to multiple protests and re-solicitations, this contract is urgently and medically required. If not approved, the critical need and nature of these services will be disrupted and critical service to Veterans will cease.

12. Requirements Certification: I certify that the requirement outlined in this justification is a Bona Fide Need of the Department of Veterans Affairs and that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in the justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

13. Approvals in accordance with the VHAPM Part 806.3 OFOC SOP:

a. Contracting Officer or Designee’s Certification (required): I certify that the foregoing justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

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b. One Level Above the Contracting Officer (Required over SAT but not exceeding $750K): I certify the justification meets requirements for other than full and open competition.

c. VHA RPO HCA Review and Approval: I have reviewed the foregoing justification and find it to be complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief and approve ($750K to $7.5 million (or $15.0 million for acquisitions described in FAR 13.500(c)) for other than full and open competition.