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Ignore our prior prediction—the U.S. Court of Federal Claims definitely is NOT remanding the protest by Medline Industries, Inc. (“Medline Protest’) to the agencies for corrective action.  In a surprisingly scathing opinion issued June 22, 2021 by Judge David A. Tapp, the court made one thing very clear—the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (“VA”) transfer of its Medical Surgical Prime Vendor (“MSPV 2.0”) requirements to the Defense Logistics Agency (“DLA”) is dead on arrival.  After issuing a brief order on June 17 denying remand to the agencies for corrective action, the court detailed its reasoning in an opinion issued in a parallel protest filed by Owens & Minor Distribution, Inc. challenging (slightly) different aspects of the shifting MSPV 2.0 procurement (“O&M Protest”).  The government had moved for remand in both protests, and because the Medline Protest and O&M Protest involved the same parties and many common operative facts, the court issued a single opinion denying remand in both—and telegraphing that the outlook for the government in both cases is grim.  Piling on, the court took a few shots at the government for its litigation conduct and (more generally) its lack of acquisition planning.
Continue Reading Duck Hunt – The VA Cannot Escape The Medline Protest, And Takes A Few Shots In The Process

The novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic has given Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) contractors several powerful new tools in their toolbelts, and VA contractors should not leave available protections on the table. VA contractors, including those supplying medical devices under the MSPV-NG bridge contract and pharmaceuticals on a VA Federal Supply Schedule (“FSS”), now can negotiate for extraordinary limitations on liability (in addition to some provided by statute), among other opportunities. Particularly for contractors providing goods and services used in the COVID-19 pandemic response, it is crucial to understand both new protections available and other changes to the rules of VA contracting.
Continue Reading COVID-19 Changes Contracting at the VA

The Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”), Veterans Health Administration (“VHA”) has begun the move toward its new Medical/Surgical Prime Vendor (“MSPV”) 2.0 program by issuing the formal RFP seeking prime vendors for distribution and supply management services on June 3, 2019. The MSPV 2.0 program will replace the current MSPV-Next Generation program, and is designed to deliver medical, surgical, dental, and laboratory supplies to VA medical centers using a just-in-time model. Under MSPV 2.0, several prime vendors will manage distribution of some 49,000 different supplies, which they acquire from manufacturers and other suppliers, to all VA medical centers around the United States and U.S. territories. MSPV 2.0 involves three interrelated sets of agreements: (1) prime vendor IDIQs with the VA, (2) VA BPAs with suppliers, and (3) prime vendor agreements with the suppliers.
Continue Reading VA Begins Seeking MSPV 2.0 Partners