The VA ultimately achieved nearly $37 million in savings, about two-thirds of what the IG had recommended. Image: S and S Imaging/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe inspector general’s office at the VA has said that in reviewing 14 proposals for contracts for pharmaceuticals under the Federal Supply Schedule, eight “could not be reliably used by VA” for determining whether the proposals would meet goals including “fair and reasonable pricing.”
The report was a summary of findings from recent past reports that were not publicly released because they involved sensitive commercial information of the potential contractors, similar to a recent one in which it summarized findings including overcharges due to vendors not complying with terms of FSS contracts.
While the earlier report involved post-award reviews, the latest one involves pre-award reviews by the IG that contracting officers can use to help negotiate better prices than those offered in proposals submitted by contractors. The 14 proposals reviewed had a cumulative estimated contract value of more than $34 billion and involved nearly 1,400 items.
It said that “The deficiencies the OIG identified were largely related to errors in the disclosed most-favored-customer prices or the expiration of most-favored-customer prices” and that the IG “recommended lower prices than offered for five of the 14 proposals,” based on the vendor’s selling practices.
The VA ultimately achieved nearly $37 million in savings, about two-thirds of what the IG had recommended, it said.
As in the earlier report, the IG also called attention to the issue of tracking sales by the vendors to determine if other customers are receiving price reductions which also should then be applied in the government contract. The report said that the tracking procedures for all of the items it sampled “were suitable” for that purpose.
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