Contractors who contract with public entities in Pennsylvania at the state level confront issues that do not arise in the context of private commercial contracts. The bid process, governed by the Procurement Code, may result in protest from an allegation that a bidder has violated the bidding laws in its bid or that an awarding authority has violated the bidding laws in the award of the contract.
The Pa Commonwealth Court’s reversal in UnitedHealthcare v. Pa Department of Human Services raised a host of issues about the Procurement Code to which there is no published case law directly on point. Using that case as a roadmap, this panel will explore strategic issues that will help you navigate your way through a bid dispute against the Commonwealth.
- Reasons for enactment of the Code
- Competitive bidding v. requests for proposals
- Representing vendors responding to RFP’s
Filing a protest or defending one; When to file a protest; The 7 Day Rule
- Appeals to commonwealth court
Preliminary injunctions; Grounds for appeal; Right to Know Law Requests
The Agenda
- Reasons for Adoption of the Code
- Flexibility in Procurement Methods
- Use of RFP’s
- Representing Bidders on RFP’s
- The Legal Department’s Perspective
- The 7 Day Rule
- Filing and Supplementing Protests
- Agency Responses to Protests
- Departmental Hearings
- United Healthcare v. DHS Factual Background
- Aetna Better Health v. DHS
- Reissued RFP
- UHC Protest
- December 19 Meeting
- UHC’s Supplemental Protests
- Department’s Final Determination
- Appeal to Commonwealth Court
- Lessons Learned from United Healthcare v. DHS
All attendees will receive the course book as a digital download. A printed copy of the course book is available, at a discount to attendees, for $40. Additional copies are available at full price. If you wish to purchase the printed version of the course book, please call PBI Customer Service at 800-932-4637. Printed versions of the course book will not be distributed at the course; please allow up to two weeks after the program for the printed versions of the course book to be shipped.
Recorded in October 2020.