Galen Medical Associates, Inc., B-288661.4; B-288661.5, February 25, 2002

Galen Medical Associates, Inc., B-288661.4; B-288661.5, February 25, 2002 TITLE: Galen Medical Associates, Inc., B-288661.4; B-288661.5, February 25, 2002 BNUMBER: B-288661.4; B-288661.5 DATE: February 25, 2002 ********************************************************************** Decision Matter of: Galen Medical Associates, Inc. File: B-288661.4; B-288661.5 Date: February 25, 2002 Perry Wallace, M.D., for the protester. Marilee D. Rosenberg, Esq., Philip Kaufman, Esq., and Phillipa L. Anderson, Esq., Department of Veterans Affairs, for the agency. Scott H. Riback, Esq., and John M. Melody, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest that agency misevaluated proposals and made an improper award decision is denied where record shows that protester's proposal failed to meet a material requirement of the solicitation, and therefore was ineligible for award. DECISION Galen Medical Associates, Inc. protests the award of a contract to Dr. Deborah Downing, MD PLLC under request for proposals (RFP) No. 586-44-01, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to acquire primary and preventive medical care and continuity of care services at a clinic in Meridian, Mississippi, affiliated with the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi. Galen asserts that the agency misevaluated proposals and was biased against Galen. We deny the protest. This is Galen's second protest in connection with this acquisition. In response to Galen's first protest (also alleging various evaluation improprieties), the VA took corrective action by amending the RFP's evaluation scheme, soliciting and evaluating revised proposals and making a new source selection determination. (After being advised of the corrective action, we dismissed Galen's protest as academic.) In response to the original solicitation, the VA received three proposals, including Galen's and Dr. Downing's. In implementing its corrective action, the agency permitted all three firms to submit proposal revisions. After receiving and evaluating the revised proposals, the agency made award to Dr. Downing without further discussions (the agency had conducted discussions under the original RFP), finding that Dr. Downing's proposal represented the best overall value. Galen challenges the new evaluation and award on numerous grounds, including what it describes as integrity violations and bias on the part of the agency's contracting officials. In reviewing protests against a procuring agency's proposal evaluation, we will consider whether the evaluation was reasonable and consistent with the terms of the solicitation and applicable statutes and regulations. National Toxicology Labs, Inc., B-281074.2, Jan. 11, 1999, 99-1 CPD para. 5 at 3. Based on our review of the record, we conclude that the agency reasonably determined that Galen's proposal failed to meet a material RFP requirement; Galen therefore was ineligible for award. In this regard, where a proposal fails to meet a material solicitation requirement, it cannot properly form the basis for the award of a contract. Rel-Tek Sys. & Design, Inc., B-280463.3, Nov. 25, 1998, 99-1 CPD para. 2 at 3. The RFP required offerors to provide detailed information regarding the facility that would be used in performing the contract; specifically, they were to provide the location of the facility, RFP at 4, and information sufficient to show that there would be clinical space sufficient to accommodate the estimated number of patients to be seen, and to meet the other performance requirements. RFP at 24. Galen offered two alternative locations for performance of the contract. Galen's primary location was the current site of the VA medical center clinic in Meridian, Mississippi (operated by Dr. Downing, the incumbent contractor). Galen Technical Proposal at 15. Galen's alternate location was a building that is the present location of Galen's private clinic. Id. at 21. The evaluators determined that neither of Galen's proposed facilities was adequate to perform the contract. In this regard, the record shows that Dr. Downing, the incumbent contractor, holds the lease for Galen's primary location--the facility where the VA medical center clinic in Meridian currently is located. [1] Downing Technical Proposal at 6. The evaluators noted that the VA clinic location would not be available unless Dr. Downing would be willing to surrender the lease to Galen. Agency Technical Evaluation Memorandum, Dec. 3, 2001, at 1. There was no indication in Galen's proposal that the firm had arrived at such an arrangement with Dr. Downing. The evaluators also concluded that Galen's alternate location would be inadequate to accommodate the additional patient load that would result from the contract (approximately 2,800 to 3,000 patients). In this connection, Galen's proposal stated as follows: Galen Medical Associates, Inc.