S02 - Redacted_Brand JA v.3 AFC signed.pdf

FORCE Number VA-20-00057534

JUSTIFICATION

FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics Technology Acquisition Center 1701 Directors Blvd

Austin, TX 78744

2. Description of Action: The proposed contract action is for firm-fixed price (FFP) delivery order to be issued under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V Government Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) contract NNG15SD22B to Four Points Technology, LLC for the implementation of the Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Forms managed services solution for the Software as a Service (SaaS) Forms Tool and implementation services to meet the initiatives of the VA 10-10SH Forms Project for the State Home Per Diem Program (SHPDP), Office of Information and Technology (OI&T), Veterans Centered Experience (VCE), Enterprise Health Benefits Determination (EHBD) program.

3. Description of the Supplies or Services: VA, Office of Information and Technology (OI&T), Veterans Centered Experience (VCE), Enterprise Health Benefits Determination (EHBD), State Home Per Diem Program (SHPDP) office has a requirement for Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Forms managed services solution for the Software as a Service (SaaS) Forms Tool and implementation services to meet the initiatives of the VA 10-10SH Forms. The VA 10-10SH Form is a document used to record medical care certification. State Veteran Homes submit these forms to VA to certify the care they administer to Veterans and to gain reimbursement for services provided. As many people who serve a variety of functions within State Veteran Homes and in the VA Medical Centers (VAMC) complete these forms, there needs to be a standardization of how these forms are completed. The current solution is limited in terms of compliance with completion of fields in the forms submitted, the timeliness of receiving and processing the claims and the accuracy of the information provided. This has led to a large number of instances and millions of dollars of incomplete payments by the VA to the State Veteran Homes each year. Additionally, as VA continues to provide support during the COVID-19 pandemic, employees of State Veteran Homes to include administrative personnel, nurses, physical therapists, social workers, and physicians, and VAMC Administrators and Physicians that are required to work from home due to social distancing restrictions, need this Cloud based solution so they can complete their portions of the VA 10-10SH form in a standardized manner from different locations. The Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Forms managed services solution for the Software as a Service (SaaS) Forms Tool will allow VA to convert the 1010SH forms in a standardized format by utilizing the Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Forms managed services across the State Veterans Homes web browsers, and provide the capability of remaining current with the required updates and/or corrective actions mandated by VA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG). The proposed action is for software and services.

10-10SH Modernization Software as a Service (SaaS) FORCE Number VA-20-00057534

VA requires 528 Adobe software licenses (208 for the VAMCs and 320 for the State Veteran Homes). Additionally, in terms of the SaaS, the vendor will provide rollout of the web-based VA 10-10SH process to all State Veteran Homes. Additionally, they will design, develop, test, and deploy the customizations and changes needed to meet each State Veteran Home’s requirements for installation and setup, design and development and quality assurance. The period of performance for this action shall be for 12-months from award, with two (2) 12-month option periods. The total estimated value of this acquisition is inclusive of all options.

4. Statutory Authority: The statutory authority permitting an exception to fair opportunity is Section 41 U.S.C. 4106(c)(2) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B), entitled “Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized.”

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: The proposed source for this action is Four Points Technology, LLC, 149000 Conference Center Drive, Suite 100, Chantilly, VA 20151. Four Points Technology LLC is currently providing Adobe Experience Manager – Forms services. This is an expansion to the current Adobe VA infrastructure currently in use that would provide AEM Forms Managed Services Solution for the Software as a Service (SaaS) Forms Tool and implementation services to meet the initiatives of the VA 10-10SH Forms hosted in an authorized Amazon Web Services Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) certified cloud space. The work added to the current Adobe VA infrastructure would require access to the proprietary code, which is needed to ensure that continued services, updates, patches are developed and pushed through, and the software is properly configured. No party except Four Points Technology, LLC is authorized access to the proprietary codes per the OEM, Adobe. Four Points is the only software and services authorized reseller that has the capability to build upon the current infrastructure in order to develop, receive software updates, patches and fixes for the AEM Form Managed Services Solution necessary to support the existing SHPDP Office automated 10-10 SH Adobe PDF form requirements.

If this solution is not implemented, there will be significant implications on the care and well-being of Veterans. Specifically, there will be continue to be no standardization and consistency of performance on the VA 10-10SH form as required from the State Veterans Homes or the VAMCs to ensure services to Veterans will be uninterrupted among the current 157 State Veteran homes. Consequently, there will also be no reduction in the incidence of incomplete payments by the VA to the State Veteran Homes which will prove especially harmful as VA continues to provide support during the COVID-19 pandemic.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in the market research section of this document. This effort did not yield any additional sources that can meet the Government’s requirements. There is no competition