Q601--Medical Coding Auditing

The Department of Veterans Affairs awarded a sole-source, three-month contract to Cooper Thomas LLC under urgency provisions to provide critical medical coding and auditing services for the VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System. The contractor is required to assign accurate, current ICD, CPT, and HCPCS codes to all outpatient, surgical, and inpatient clinical documentation across VA facilities and conduct coding audits as requested, ensuring timely and compliant billing operations. This contract was necessitated by an immediate operational need to prevent disruption in veteran healthcare services, as only the incumbent contractor possesses an existing FITARA approval that allows for immediate performance without the delays associated with onboarding a new vendor or securing new authorization. The award, made under FAR 6.302-2 due to unusual and compelling urgency, reflects a non-competitive procurement justified entirely by mission continuity and timeline constraints, with no competitive evaluation or trade-off process conducted. The contract, identified by solicitation number 69126440970090 and award number 36C26226P1216, is valued at $125,452.50 and officially runs from July 8, 2026, through approximately October 8, 2026. The place of performance is designated as Tucson, AZ, though services are rendered at multiple VA Los Angeles locations. The contract is set aside for a SBA-certified Women-Owned Small Business under the WOSB program, with Cooper Thomas LLC’s UEI being H5SKYKTMDMS6 and its size status confirmed as a small business. Administrative responsibilities are managed by the Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 22 in Tucson, with Jamie ElBedawi listed as the Contract Specialist for point of contact. No packaging, marking, invoicing method, inspection criteria, or option periods are specified, and key roles such as COR or COTR are not identified. The entire arrangement is designed as a temporary bridge to sustain operations while a formal, long-term procurement is developed, relying entirely on the contractor’s existing compliance infrastructure and institutional knowledge to maintain uninterrupted service delivery.