Q301--Laboratory Reference Short-Term Contract

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION UNDER SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS IN ACCORDANCE WITH FAR 13.5

Acquisition Plan Action ID: 36C248-22-AP-4391

Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 08, Veteran Affairs Caribbean Healthcare System (VACHS). Contracting agency responsible for the proposed contracting action is Network Contracting Office (NCO) 8, under Regional Procurement Office (RPO) East. 2237 No. 672-22-4-045-0181.

Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Processed: The proposed procurement is a short-term Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract for a vendor to provide Reference Laboratory Testing Services at the VA Caribbean Healthcare System (VACHS) at Puerto Rico, on a Cost-Per-Test (CPT) price basis.

Description of Supplies/Services Required to Meet the Agency s Needs: The contractor shall provide all labor, equipment, transportation to provide laboratory reference testing testing for the VACHS. VISN 8 requires that the full scope of laboratory operations include clinical and anatomic analytical test results and consultative services. Laboratory reference tests that the VACHS is not able to conduct internally must be procured through a contractor. The estimated value of this action is $744,000.00 ($93,000.00 per month), with a minimum ordering amount of $250,000.00, and a maximum ordering amount of $745,000.00. The Period of Performance (POP) is: 07/01/2022 02/28/2023. There is only one (1) Line-Item Number (LIN) for the proposed POP, which will be for the provision of laboratory reference services at the VACHS (LIN 0001). In addition to this LIN, there will be a CPT list pricing attached to the proposed contract, which will contain all the laboratory reference tests that may be performed under this proposed contract.

Statutory Authority Permitting Restricted Competition:Â

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

       ( ) National Security

       ( ) Public Interest

Demonstration that the Contractor s Unique Qualifications or Nature of the Acquisition Requires the Use of the Authority Cited Above (applicability of authority): Laboratory Reference Services have been previously provided at the Veterans Affairs Caribbean Healthcare System (VACHS) by Quest Diagnostics, Inc. (Large Business) under Task Orders ordered against the previous long-term Requirements Contract (VA248-16-D-0205). The last Task Order ordered against contract no. VA248-16-D-0205 prior to its expiration is set to expire on June 30, 2022 (TO no. 36C24821N0756). Currently, the Contracting Officer (CO) for the previous long-term Laboratory Reference Requirements Contract is re-procuring such services for Veterans Integrated Service Network 8 (VISN 8) under Acquisition Plan no. 36C248-22-AP-1615. However, the previous Request for Proposal (RFP) published for the procurement of such services (RFP no. 36C24821R0112) received a Government Accountability Office (GAO) level protest due to its proposed Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract type, instead of the Cost-per-Test (CPT) contract type of the previous long-term contract (VA248-16-D-0205). Afterwards, GAO recommended for the solicitation to be cancelled and re-procured on a CPT basis. Up until today (June 2, 2022), the new RFP still has not been published. Therefore, this short-term contract is needed in order to avoid a break in services. The incumbent contractor, Quest Diagnostics, Inc. has the required bidirectional interface systems needed to satisfy the appropriate Laboratory Electronic Data Interchange (LEDI), a requirement to support the VA internal control number (ICN) and the VA electronic data interchange personal identifier (EDIPI) number with patient reports as an identifier. A sudden change in vendor that does not have the necessary bidirectional tools in place could disrupt the end-user s ability to process each patient s needed laboratory test. Therefore, it is proposed that this requirement be sought as a sole-source procurement.

Description of Efforts Made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as deemed practicable: A long-term contract for laboratory reference services will fresult from RFP no. 36C24821R0112. The proposed short-term contract will allow for the long-term contract to be competed, and for any transitions in vendors to occur.

Determination by the CO that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable: It is anticipated that the prices quoted for this requirement will be fair and reasonable when compared to the price list for the previous long-term contract (VA248-16-D-0205).

Description of the Market Research Conducted and the Results, or a Statement of the Reasons Market Research Was Not Conducted: The VIP query conducted using the NAICS code and PSC for this procurement (621511, Q301) resulted in 9 SDVOSBs. The query conducted in the System for Award Management (SAM) using the same parameters, in addition to the laboratory reference keyword resulted in procurements that were for the types of services being procured, but these were for the respective facility that was procuring such services. A query was also conducted using the SBA quick search tool, under the same parameters as the VIP query. Zero (0) vendors resulted from this query. Additionally, the National Contracts and the Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC) databases were searched, and there weren t any contracts found for laboratory reference services. A query using the SBA Dynamic Search Tool was attempted. However, the webpage where such queries are conducted was down. Finally, a call was made to the incumbent contractor, which was the same was awarded the previous long-term services contract for laboratory reference services under VISN 8 (Quest Diagnostics), in order to confirm if such vendor could provide these types of services at VACHS for a short-term period. LeeAnn Bocklet, Quest Diagnostics Director of Federal Contracts confirmed they were available to provide the services being procured.

Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other than Full and Open Competition: Quest Diagnostics, Inc. is the only firm that will allow a continuity of Laboratory Reference Services at the VACHS in the meantime that the long-term laboratory reference services contract is awarded, due to the fact that their interface is already compatible with that of VACHS, as explained in detail in item no. 5 above.

Listing of Sources that Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition: None.

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: N/A

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.

_____________________________ __________

Joan Hernandez-Betancourt Date

Laboratory Supervisor

VACHS

Approvals in accordance with the VHAPM Part 806.3 OFOC SOP:

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.

_____________________________ __________

Wilfredo Perez Date

Contract Specialist

NCO-8

_____________________________ __________

Baryan Sierra-Pierluissi Date

Contracting Officer

NCO-8

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.

_____________________________ __________

Maribel Santa De La Paz Date

San Juan Services Branch Chief

NCO-8 Awarded contract 36C24822D0071 to QUEST DIAGNOSTICS INCORPORATED for unknown amount on 2022-06-29.