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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 12 / Thursday, January 21, 2021 / Proposed Rules
otherwise. Offerors may revise offers anytime during the specified period. At the end of the specified time period for receipt of offers, the responsible Offeror submitting the lowest priced offer will be in line for award.
b Except when it is determined not to be in the Governments best interest, the Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are materially unbalanced.
Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the options.

End of provision 5. Section 852.27373 is revised to read as follows:
852.27373 EvaluationHealth-Care Resources.

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As prescribed in 873.110d, in lieu of FAR provision 52.2122, the Contracting Officer may insert a provision substantially as follows:
EVALUATIONHEALTHCARE
RESOURCES DATE
a The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible Offeror whose proposal, conforming to the solicitation, will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following information or factors shall be used to evaluate offers: Contracting Officer insert evaluation information or factors, such as technical capability to meet the Governments requirements, past performance, or such other evaluation information or factors as the Contracting Officer deems necessary to evaluate offers.
Price must be evaluated in every acquisition.
The Contracting Officer may include the evaluation information or factors in their relative order of importance, such as in descending order of importance. The relative importance of any evaluation information must be stated in the solicitation.
b Except when it is determined not to be in the Governments best interest, the Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are materially unbalanced.
Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the options. The Government may reject any or all proposals if such action is in the Governments interest.
Additionally, the Government may waive informalities and minor irregularities in proposals received.
c If this solicitation is a request for proposals RFP, a written notice of award or acceptance of a proposal, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful Offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the solicitation, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the proposals specified expiration time, the Government may accept a proposal or part of a proposal, whether or not there are
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negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received by the Contracting Officer before award.

End of provision 6. Section 852.27374 is revised to read as follows:
852.27374

Award Without Exchanges.

As prescribed in 873.110e, insert the following provision:
AWARD WITHOUT EXCHANGES DATE
The Government intends to evaluate proposals and award a contract without exchanges with Offerors. Therefore, each initial proposal should contain the Offerors best terms from a cost or price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct exchanges if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary.

7. Part 873 is revised to read as follows:

PART 873SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES
FOR HEALTH-CARE RESOURCES
Sec.
873.101 Policy.
873.102 Definitions.
873.103 Priority sources.
873.104 Competition requirements.
873.105 Acquisition planning.
873.106 Exchanges with industry before receipt of proposals.
873.107 Socioeconomic programs.
873.108 Publicizing contract actions.
873.109 General requirements for acquisition of health-care resources.
873.110 Solicitation provisions.
873.111 Acquisition strategies for healthcare resources.
873.112 Evaluation information.
873.113 Exchanges with offerors.
873.114 Best value pool.
873.115 Proposal revisions.
873.116 Source selection decision.
873.117 Award to successful offeror.
873.118 Debriefings.
Authority: 38 U.S.C. 81278128; 38 U.S.C.
81518153; 40 U.S.C. 121c; 41 U.S.C.
1121c3; 41 U.S.C. 1303; 41 U.S.C. 1702;
and 48 CFR 1.3011.304.
873.101

Policy.

a General. In accordance with 38
U.S.C. 8153, to secure health-care resources which otherwise might not be feasibly available, or to effectively utilize certain other health-care resources, the Department of Veterans Affairs VA may make arrangements by contract for the mutual use, or exchange of use, of health-care resources between VA health-care facilities and any healthcare provider, or other entity or individual. This part prescribes simplified procedures for contracts with entities not affiliated with VA under 38
U.S.C. 7302 to secure health-care resources that are a commercial service, or the use of medical equipment or
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space. VA may enter into such a contract if such resources are not, or would not be, used to their maximum effective capacity. 38 U.S.C. 8153
b Precedence. These procedures shall be used in conjunction with the Federal Acquisition Regulation FAR
and other parts of the VAAR. However, when a policy or procedure in the FAR
or another part of the VAAR is inconsistent with the procedures contained in this part, this part shall take precedence. 38 U.S.C. 8153
873.102

Definitions.

Commercial service means a service that is offered and sold competitively in the commercial marketplace, is performed under standard commercial terms and conditions, and is procured using firm-fixed price contracts. 38
U.S.C. 8153
Health-care providers include healthcare plans and insurers and any organizations, institutions, or other entities or individuals who furnish health-care resources. 38 U.S.C. 8153
Health-care resource includes hospital care and medical services as those terms are defined in 38 U.S.C.
1701 and services under sections 1782
and 1783 of this title any other healthcare service, and any health-care support or administrative resource. 38
U.S.C. 8152
873.103

Priority sources.

Except for the acquisition of covered services available from the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled and the AbilityOne Program see FAR subpart 8.7, there are no priority sources for the acquisition of health-care resources consisting of commercial services or the use of medical equipment or space in accordance with 808.002a2 and 873.107. 38 U.S.C. 8153
873.104

Competition requirements.

a Affiliated institutions. 1 A healthcare resource may be acquired on a sole source basis if a commercial service, the use of medical equipment or space, or research, and is to be acquired from an institution affiliated with the VA in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7302, including medical practice groups and other entities associated with affiliated institutions, blood banks, organ banks, or research centers. 38 U.S.C.
8153a3A
2 Acquisitions of health-care resources identified in paragraph a1
of this section are not required to be publicized as otherwise required by 873.108 or FAR 5.101.
b Non-affiliated entities. 1 If the health-care resource required is a
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