McLean, Virginia. Potomac Health Associates, Inc. announced that a protest it filed on behalf of its client, the University of Texas Health Sciences Center-San Antonio (“UTHSCSA”) before the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) resulted in the decision by the Army to take corrective action and provide the relief requested.
In December of 2015, the Army issued a solicitation for In Vitro Fertilization (“IVF”) Services for military beneficiaries of the San Antonio Military Medical Center (“SAMMC”). The solicitation was a follow-on to an existing contract in which the contractor was to provide all labor, materials, equipment for developing and staffing an IVF laboratory onsite at SAMMC. Among the procedures to be performed include:
• Basic In Vitro Fertilization
• Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)
• Assisted Hatching
• Cryopreservation
• Storage of Embryos
• Thawing Of Cryopreserved Embryos
The solicitation was issued as a Small Business Set-Aside. As a large business, UTHSCSA was ineligible to bid on the solicitation. Based on its market research, PHA challenged the decision to set-aside the solicitation for small business as inconsistent with applicable requirements of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (“FAR”). Several days after the submission of the protest to the GAO, the Army notified UTHSCSA that it planned to take corrective action. Several days after the notice of corrective action, the Army then decided to remove the Small Business Set-Aside, thereby enabling UTHSCSA to compete for the contract.
About UTHCSSA
UTHSCSA serves patients in San Antonio and South Texas at more than 100 affiliated hospitals, clinics and health care facilities across San Antonio, Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley. The UT Medicine Fertility Center is a clinical service of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology of UTHSCSA. All of the physicians are full-time faculty members of the Department. In addition, each physician is certified by the American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology and has achieved a Certificate of Special Qualification in Reproductive Endocrinology, which qualifies them for membership in the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility.
About Potomac Health Associates, Inc.
Potomac Health Associates, Inc. is a professional services firm that specializes in federal health care contracting and business development for commercial and government clients. Since its inception, the firm has helped its clients win in excess of $500 million in competitive awards from the VA, and $4.5 billion in competitive and non-competitive federal contract awards from all federal agencies.