J&E Associates, Inc., B-283448, November 3, 1999

B-283448 Nov 03, 1999 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights DIGEST Protest is denied where the protester fails to meaningfully challenge the evaluation of its past performance and where the awards were made in accordance with the terms of the solicitation. Fixed-price task order contracts to those offerors whose proposals were determined most advantageous to the government. (The former was twice as important as the latter.). That is. Offerors were advised to provide past performance information corresponding to each of the following broad categories of providers identified in the amended RFP schedule: (1) healthcare provider services (e.g. These labor categories were to be furnished at the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth and its branch clinics. Offerors were advised that the agency would not assume that a firm possessed any capability unless it was specified in its proposal. View Decision Matter of: J&E Associates, Inc. File: B-283448 Date: November 3, 1999 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION J&E Associates, Inc. protests the awards of contracts to Hunter Medical, Inc., Sterling Medical Associates, and Chesapeake Center, Inc., under request for proposals (RFP) No. N62645-99-R-0001, issued by the Naval Medical Logistics Command, Department of the Navy, for multi-disciplinary healthcare worker services for government medical treatment facilities in the Portsmouth, Virginia area. J&E essentially challenges the agency's past performance evaluation of its proposal and the award decisions. We deny the protest. The RFP, as amended, contemplated the award of three indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, fixed-price task order contracts to those offerors whose proposals were determined most advantageous to the government, technical evaluation factors and price considered. RFP amend. 5, at 5 and attach. 1, at 3. The RFP listed two technical evaluation factors--past performance and management plan for recruitment and retention. (The former was twice as important as the latter.) RFP at 77, 80. With respect to the past performance evaluation factor, the RFP required offerors to describe their past performance within the past 5 years, with the agency giving greater consideration to the most relevant experience, that is, the provision of medical services similar to those identified in the solicitation. Id. at 77. More specifically, offerors were advised to provide past performance information corresponding to each of the following broad categories of providers identified in the amended RFP schedule: (1) healthcare provider services (e.g., family practice and pediatric physicians, family and pediatric nurse practitioners, orthopedic physician assistants, dermatologists, internists, OBGYNs, and radiologists); (2) nursing services (e.g., primary care registered and licensed practical nurses, medical assistants, nurse managers, health educators, and certified registered nurse anesthetists); (3) ancillary support services (e.g., pharmacists, technicians (pharmacy, laboratory, radiology, dietetic, emergency medical, mammography, and surgical/operating room), optometrists, occupational therapy assistants, opticians, and phlebotomists); and (4) allied health services (e.g., pharmacists, optometrists, audiologists, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, dieticians, occupational and physical therapists, physician assistants, and speech pathologists). These labor categories were to be furnished at the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth and its branch clinics. RFP amend. 5, at 5 and attach. 5, at 7-15. Offerors were advised that the agency would not assume that a firm possessed any capability unless it was specified in its proposal. RFP amend. 5, at 5. The RFP also provided that the provision of medical services on contracts at multiple locations would be considered as similar experience. RFP at 77. An offeror's past performance would receive one of the following adjectival ratings: very low risk, low risk, moderate risk, substantial risk, and unknown risk. Agency Report, Tab 3, Source Selection Plan, at 10-11. With respect to the management plan evaluation factor, the RFP required offerors to describe how they would recruit qualified personnel for performance of the task orders; to describe plans, including information on confirming healthcare worker credentials, to ensure timely commencement of task order services; and to describe procedures and techniques to retain personnel. RFP at 78. An offeror's management plan would receive an adjectival rating of exceptional, acceptable, or unacceptable. Agency Report, Tab 3, at 11. With respect to price, offerors were required to provide unit and extended prices for minimum quantities of labor hours for line item Nos. 1 through 3, corresponding to categories of healthcare provider, nursing, and ancillary support/allied health personnel. Prices for the minimum quantities under these three line items would be determined at the time of award.