“There are big changes happening in military healthcare procurement. Some are unsurprising given the October 1, 2019 deadline for the reorganization of all military hospitals and clinics under the management of the Department of Defense (DOD), Defense Health Agency (DHA). But some may be unexpected, reaching all the way to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) procurement, though the extent to which the VA will ultimately be affected is unclear. In the past few weeks, at least three major announcements were made regarding military healthcare: (1) DHA and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) regarding their respective rolls in DOD healthcare, (2) DLA gave the VA access to its medical/surgical prime vendor formulary indefinitely, and (3) the VA cancelled its long-anticipated prime vendor solicitation under the Medical/Surgical Prime Vendor (MSPV) 2.0 program. Is this all a coincidence? Probably not.”
“On August 15, 2019, the DLA and DHA announced an MOA [1] establishing a new cooperative approach to medical logistical support to the military healthcare community. DLA currently provides combat logistics support to the military, the U.S. Coast Guard, select federal agencies, and certain allied nations, among others. The MOA covers all aspects of the medical logistics support DLA provides to DHA, including pharmaceuticals, medical/surgical supplies, and healthcare technology equipment…”
“Just three days earlier, on August 12, 2019, the VA and DLA announced a “strategic partnership” by which the VA will have access to DLA’s supply ordering system. This ordering system essentially is a catalog for medical and other supplies (including cleaning supplies and equipment, construction materials and equipment, and notably, medical and surgical supplies and equipment)…” Read the full post here.
Source: What’s the VA Got to Do With It? Military Medical Procurement Changes Reach the VA – By Keeley A. McCarty and Bryce Chadwick, August 28, 2019. SheppardMullin.
