Single Source Procurement: NYS Genetic Screening and Counseling

Pursuant to New York State Finance Law § 163.10(b), The New York State Department of Health is presenting the following summary of relevant circumstances, and material and substantial reasons why a competitive procurement was not feasible.

Since its inception in 1978, the primary purpose of the New York State Genetic Services Program has been to support high quality comprehensive and non-categorical genetic counseling services in every health service area (HSA) of the state. The program's goal is to ensure that individuals affected with, at-risk for transmitting, or concerned about a genetic disorder are able to make informed health decisions, and that all such individuals are provided access to comprehensive genetics services including screening, diagnosis, counseling and preventive services regardless of their geographic location or financial or health insurance status.

Department of Health's Request for Applications (RFA) #1210150115 was released on 10/31/2013 to competitively re-procure these services for the period 7/1/2014 – 6/30/2019. Unfortunately the application for Ferre Institute, an existing contractor for this program, was received late and therefore disqualified from consideration under this competitive procurement. The Genetic Services Program recognized that the uniqueness of this applicant's program and the vastly underserved area that it covers was sufficiently important to public health to pursue a single source procurement request.

The Ferre Institute's Genetic Counseling Program is unparalleled in New York State, and to our knowledge, unique to the field of genetic counseling in the United States as a whole in that it is not hospital or laboratory-based. Ferre Institute holds clinics in the counties of Jefferson, St. Lawrence, Lewis, Chemung, Fulton, Montgomery, Albany, Schenectady, Oneida, as well as its home county of Broome, serving a 23-county region of upstate New York and enabling patients with limited means to access timely genetic counseling without experiencing travel barriers. Ferre Institute was the only applicant whose Genetic Counselors spend the majority of their time traveling to and serving clinics in underserved areas. These clinics are considered critical to the success of this program in central and upstate New York.

Procurement / Program Name	NYS Genetic Screening and Counseling
Contractor Name(s)	Ferre Institute, Inc.
Contract Period	7/1/2014 – 6/30/2019 (five years)
Contract Number(s)	C029412