Owens & Minor’s Apria Purchase Doesn’t Stop VA Contract Awards

B&B Medical Services Inc. lost its protest of the US Department of Veterans Affairs’ award of six in-home oxygen and ventilator services contracts to Apria Healthcare LLC, the GAO said in a decision released Tuesday.

B&B failed to show that the VA didn’t reasonably consider a corporate transaction—the acquisition of Apria Inc. by Owens & Minor Inc. in March 2022—that was relevant to Apria Healthcare’s responsibility and technical capability, the Government Accountability Office said.

The VA’s contracting officer reasonably concluded that the transaction didn’t negatively affect Apria Healthcare’s ability to perform the work required by this procurement, the GAO said. ...