ServeFed, Inc.

B-417708 Sep 18, 2019 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights ServeFed, Inc., a small disadvantaged business of Frederick, Maryland, protests the issuance of a task order to Distinctive Health Spectrum Care JV, LLC, a small business of Bowie, Maryland, under task order request for proposals (RFP) No. FA2823-19-R-6016, issued by the Department of the Air Force, for the provision of one emergency services mid-level provider at the Eglin Air Force Base (AFB) Military Treatment Facility. ServeFed argues that the agency was required to award the contract through the Small Business Administration's (SBA) 8(a) business development program. We dismiss the protest. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of:  ServeFed, Inc. File:  B-417708 Date:  September 18, 2019 Edward J. Tolchin, Esq., Offit Kurman Attorneys At Law, for the protester. Alexis J. Bernstein, Esq., Phillip E. Reiman, Esq., and Heather M. Mandelkehr, Esq., Department of the Air Force, for the agency. Heather Self, Esq., and Edward Goldstein, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging the issuance of a task order because it removes a requirement from the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 8(a) business development program without the requisite SBA approval is dismissed where the issued task order fails to meet the dollar threshold for our Office’s task order jurisdiction. DECISION ServeFed, Inc., a small disadvantaged business of Frederick, Maryland, protests the issuance of a task order to Distinctive Health Spectrum Care JV, LLC, a small business of Bowie, Maryland, under task order request for proposals (RFP) No. FA2823-19-R-6016, issued by the Department of the Air Force, for the provision of one emergency services mid-level provider at the Eglin Air Force Base (AFB) Military Treatment Facility.  ServeFed argues that the agency was required to award the contract through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 8(a) business development program. We dismiss the protest. BACKGROUND On June 29, 2017, the Air Force awarded contract No. FA2823-17-C-6018 to ServeFed through the SBA’s 8(a) program[1] for the provision of two full-time equivalent (FTE) emergency services mid-level providers[2] at the Eglin AFB Military Treatment Facility.  Agency Report (AR), Tab 4, Contract No. FA2823-17-C-6018, at 1, 4.  ServeFed’s contract had a 1-year base period and four 1-year option periods.  Id. at 4-7.  Following the award to ServeFed, the Defense Health Agency (DHA) solicited and awarded 35 indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts to small businesses for the provision of a variety of medical services, including the provision of medical professional personnel, and issued a memorandum directing defense agency medical treatment facilities to utilize these IDIQ contracts for all new healthcare staffing procurements.  COS at 2; AR, Tab 8, DHA Memorandum, at 1, Sept. 19, 2018. ServeFed completed the 1-year base period of its awarded contract, and the Air Force exercised the first option period for an additional year of performance.  See AR, Tab 5, Contract No. FA2823-17-C-6018 Modification No. 0001, at 1.  During ServeFed’s performance of the contract’s first option period, the Eglin AFB Medical Treatment Facility received funding approval to continue only one of the two FTE emergency services mid-level providers, and submitted a procurement requisition for one FTE for the following performance period--July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020.  AR, Tab 6, Request for Purchase No. F1T4AS9031A101, at 1; AR, Tab 7, Internal Agency E-mails, Jan. 29, 2019 and Feb. 6, 2019.  The contracting officer (CO) concluded that the reduction in the agency’s requirement from two FTEs to one FTE represented a significant departure from the scope of ServeFed’s awarded contract.  COS at 2-3.  Given the direction from DHA to utilize the 35 awarded IDIQ contracts for all new healthcare staffing procurements, the CO decided to issue a task order RFP to the IDIQ contract holders for the provision of the single FTE, and notified ServeFed that the agency was not exercising the second option period of its contract.[3]  Id.  Consequently, on April 17, 2019, the Air Force issued task order RFP No. FA2823-19-R-6016 for the provision of one FTE emergency services mid-level provider at the Eglin AFB Military Treatment Facility.  Id. at 3; AR, Tab 10, RFP, at 3.  On June 14, the Air Force issued a task order in the amount of $807,629 to Distinctive Health.  COS at 4; AR, Tab 14, Order No.