12-646QuestionsAnswers.doc

RFR 12-646 – Bidder Questions and Answers

1. What was the per claim processing fee under the incumbent contractor?

2. What were the staffing levels (Number of Administrators, Claim Reviewers, Managers, etc) when the incumbent was last fully operational and reviewing claims?

DOR does not currently have an “incumbent” for claims processing services. The prior contract expired in September 2010. Nonetheless, the services required under this RFR while similar, are not the same as those services required under the previous contract, and therefore, the previous contractor’s processing fee and staffing levels are not relevant.

3. How long, from time of award, does the USTP require the review of the 1,500 backlog of claims to be completed?

The requirement to review all 1,500 within a specific timeframe is not specified. While it is DOR’s desire to have all claims processed within the first year of the contract, DOR’s recognizes that actual performance will be based upon a number of factors and constraints including the contractor’s staffing levels, the per claim processing fee, available funding, contractor training and ramp-up time, and the amount of claims in backlog. DOR will consider the impacts of these factors during the review of Bidder proposals. In accordance with Section 2.1 of RFR 12-646, the maximum duration of the contract for the processing of backlog claims is two (2) years.

4. What factors are considered when determining how many claims are assigned to the contractor for review?

The number of claims assigned will be determined based upon budgetary constraints given the contractor’s processing fee, the number of trained contractor staff available to process claims, and the contractor’s overall performance on previously assigned claims.

5. With regard to Section 4.1, Supplier Diversity Program, what capacity does DOR envision the use of M/WBE contractors? In our experience on the program, there has been no need for subcontracting for day to day operations. If the bidder does not intend to use subcontractors, M/WBE or otherwise, will it be penalized the 10% of score that focuses on the Supplier Diversity Program Plan?

a. With regard to Section 6.3, Contractor’s Employee Requirements, will employees who passed DOR background checks in past years be required to submit to another background check?

It is required that you must establish a partnership with an M/WBE that is certified by the Commonwealth's Supplier Diversity Office in order to be awarded a contract with a value that exceeds $150,000. Since subcontracting an M/WBE to perform services directly related to the scope of work specified under this RFR is not required by DOR and is not your only option to meet this requirement, you may establish an ancillary or growth and development relationship. For example, you could purchase office supplies from a certified M/WBE to satisfy an ancillary partnership or you could sponsor a certified M/WBE's attendance at a conference to satisfy a growth and development partnership.

a.

Yes, since a new contract will be executed, any employee who passed DOR’s background check in past years will be required to submit to another background check.

6. With regard to Section 7, Physical and Technical Security Requirements.

a. Is it DOR’s expectation that employees working on UST claims be isolated from other colleagues who do not work on DOR account?

The contractor must ensure that only authorized personnel (employees, visitors, contractors, etc) have access to sensitive and confidential information provided by DOR in both electronic and paper form. This can be accomplished in many ways, which may or may not include isolating authorized employees from non-authorized employees. The method employed to meet this requirement is at the discretion of the contractor.

b.

If reimbursement applications do not contain any protected information, do they still require the same level of protection as other DOR owned material?

While DOR has taken steps to remove some personal/sensitive information such as FEINs and SSNs, almost all reimbursement applications typically include “proof of payment” receipts such as canceled checks, which contain bank account information. Historically, some vendor invoices have also used corporate FEINs as account numbers. These types of information are considered sensitive and require protection.

c. Will the UST database provided to the bidder include protected information? If not, does DOR expect the database to be stored on a protected server dedicated only to those employees assigned to the DOR account?

Yes, DOR is developing a web-based claim submission process, which is expected to be completed during the performance of this contract. Once implemented, claimants will be able to submit claims and supporting documentation electronically to the database, some of which may be considered sensitive and confidential and thus require protection.

7. Does DOR require UST claims to be processed locally or can they be handled outside of Massachusetts?

There is no requirement to process claims locally. However, Bidders are reminded that the contractor is required to attend monthly Board meetings, Conference hearings, training, and other meetings as necessary at DOR’s Boston office.