The Court of Federal Claims (COFC) recently interpreted FAR Clause 52.204-7, which requires offerors to register in the System for Award Management (SAM), to indicate that even a slight lapse in a contractor’s SAM registration status could disqualify them from potential award.
The Case Before the Court
COFC recently granted a preliminary injunction in Myriddian, LLC v. U.S., No. 23-443 (Fed. Cl. May 23, 2023) staying performance of a contract solicited by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide methodologies that ensure consistent coding of Medicare and Medicaid claims under the National Correct Coding Initiative program. The solicitation indicated the procurement was a negotiated procurement under FAR Part 15 and required all offerors to comply with its terms and conditions to be eligible for award. Most importantly, the solicitation included FAR 52.204-7, which reads, “an Offeror is required to be registered in SAM when submitting an offer or quote, and shall continue to be registered until time of award, during performance, and through final payment of any contract, basic agreement, basic ordering agreement, or blanket purchasing agreement resulting from this solicitation.” Read more here
