Judge backs VA on Med-Surgical Prime Vendor

     A federal judge ruled in favor of the Veterans Affairs Dept. and refused to close down the VA’s prime vendor program for medical and surgical supplies, even though the program does not support the “Rule of Two” for veteran small business preferences.

      Judge Eric Bruggink of the Court of Federal Claims decided against Electra-Med Corp. and other small businesses owned by service-disabled veterans that had protested the VA’s Medical-Surgical Prime Vendor-NextGen program. The VA said it hired four prime vendors to manage its urgent medical and surgical supply acquisitions because the VA said it was only able to quickly provide 7,800 of the 80,000 supplies needed while using traditional contracting methods and preferences...more....