Summary of Fiscal Year 2019 Preaward Reviews of Healthcare Resources Proposals from Affiliates

VA spends millions of taxpayer dollars annually on healthcare resources procured without competition from affiliated institutions. This report is a summary of the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) 27 healthcare resource proposal reviews completed before VA awarded the contracts (preaward reviews) during fiscal year 2019 in order to help VA obtain the best pricing. OIG preaward reviews of healthcare resource proposals are internal reports for VA contracting officers. These reports are unpublished due to protected sensitive commercial pricing information. The OIG is publishing this summary to provide more information on the impact of these reviews. Preaward reviews provide VA with pricing recommendations based on the offeror’s actual expenses of providing the services. Preaward reports are used by contracting officers to negotiate fair and reasonable prices for the government and taxpayers. The OIG’s healthcare resources lower pricing recommendations collectively reflected approximately $198 million in estimated cost savings to VA. More than $26 million has been sustained by VA. The 27 proposals included 77,701 annual hours of physician services and services priced per procedure and ordered as needed.