1605C1-24-R-00015.pdf

SEE ADDENDUMIS CHECKED

CODE 18a. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY

CODE

FACILITYCODE

17b. CHECK IF REMITTANCE IS DIFFERENT AND PUT SUCH ADDRESS IN OFFER

OFFEROR

CAS

See Schedule

EBSA DC OPR CODE 16. ADMINISTERED BYCODE

X

X

541720

SIZE STANDARD:

% FOR:SET ASIDE:UNRESTRICTED ORCAS

REQUEST FOR

PROPOSAL

(RFP)

INVITATION

FOR BID (IFB)

10. THIS ACQUISITION ISCODE

REQUEST FOR

QUOTE (RFQ)

14. METHOD OF SOLICITATION

13b. RATING

NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY

CLASSIFICATION STANDARD

(NAICS):

SMALL BUSINESS

08/19/2024 1700 ED

08/05/2024

304-256-3303Jennifer McKeever (No collect calls)

INFORMATION CALL:

FOR SOLICITATION 8. OFFER DUE DATE/LOCAL TIMEb. TELEPHONE NUMBER a. NAME

4. ORDER NUMBER3. AWARD/ 6. SOLICITATION

1605C1-24-R-00015

5. SOLICITATION NUMBER

SOLICITATION/CONTRACT/ORDER FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS 1. REQUISITION NUMBER PAGE OF

1 51 1621-OPR-24-NAT-0025OFFEROR TO COMPLETE BLOCKS 12, 17, 23, 24, & 30

TELEPHONE NO.

17a. CONTRACTOR/

WASHINGTON DC 20210

ROOM N5718

200 CONSTITUTION AVE.

US DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

15. DELIVER TO

Washington DC 20210 S-4307 200 Constitution Ave, NW Customer Acquisition Services

9. ISSUED BY

7.

2. CONTRACT NO.

EFFECTIVE DATE

$28

18b. SUBMIT INVOICES TO ADDRESS SHOWN IN BLOCK 18a UNLESS BLOCK BELOW

ISSUE DATE

DELIVERY FOR FREE ON BOARD

(FOB) DESTINATION UNLESS

BLOCK IS MARKED

11.

SEE SCHEDULEX

12. DISCOUNT TERMS THIS CONTRACT IS A RATED

ORDER UNDER THE DEFENSE

PRIORITIES AND ALLOCATIONS

SYSTEM - DPAS (15 CFR 700)

13a.

SERVICE-DISABLED

VETERAN-OWNED

SMALL BUSINESS

(SDVOSB)

HUBZONE SMALL

BUSINESS

8(A)

US Department of Labor

WOMEN-OWNED SMALL

BUSINESS (WOSB)

ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED

WOMEN-OWNED SMALL

BUSINESS (EDWOSB)

24.

AMOUNT

23.

UNIT PRICE

22.

UNIT

21.

QUANTITY

20.

SCHEDULE OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES

19.

ITEM NO.

ADMINISTERED BY:

US Department of Labor Customer Acquisition Services 200 Constitution Ave, NW S-4307 Washington DC 20210 USA Period of Performance: 09/30/2024 to 09/29/2025

0001 Base Period: Self-Insured Report. Tasks 1,2, and 3

Continued ...

(Use Reverse and/or Attach Additional Sheets as Necessary)

HEREIN, IS ACCEPTED AS TO ITEMS:

DATED

Deborah W. Worrells

. YOUR OFFER ON SOLICITATION (BLOCK 5),

INCLUDING ANY ADDITIONS OR CHANGES WHICH ARE SET FORTH

COPIES TO ISSUING OFFICE. CONTRACTOR AGREES TO FURNISH AND DELIVER

ARE

ARE

31c. DATE SIGNED

27b. CONTRACT/PURCHASE ORDER INCORPORATES BY REFERENCE FAR 52.212-4. FAR 52.212-5 IS ATTACHED. ADDENDA

31a. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (SIGNATURE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER)

30c. DATE SIGNED 31b. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

ALL ITEMS SET FORTH OR OTHERWISE IDENTIFIED ABOVE AND ON ANY ADDITIONAL

SHEETS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SPECIFIED.

27a. SOLICITATION INCORPORATES BY REFERENCE (FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION) FAR 52.212-1, 52.212-4. FAR 52.212-3

AND 52.212-5 ARE ATTACHED. ADDENDA

26. TOTAL AWARD AMOUNT (For Government Use Only)

OFFER

STANDARD FORM 1449 (REV. 11/2021)

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.212

ARE NOT ATTACHED.

ARE NOT ATTACHED.

AUTHORIZED FOR LOCAL REPRODUCTION

PREVIOUS EDITION IS NOT USABLE

30b. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

30a. SIGNATURE OF OFFEROR/CONTRACTOR

28. CONTRACTOR IS REQUIRED TO SIGN THIS DOCUMENT AND RETURN

25. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

29. AWARD OF CONTRACT: REFERENCE

32e. MAILING ADDRESS OF AUTHORIZED GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE

32c. DATE 32b. SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE

ACCEPTED, AND CONFORMS TO THE CONTRACT, EXCEPT AS NOTED:

32a. QUANTITY IN COLUMN 21 HAS BEEN

RECEIVED INSPECTED

40. PAID BY39. S/R VOUCHER NUMBER38. S/R ACCOUNT NUMBER

37. CHECK NUMBER

FINALPARTIAL

36. PAYMENT

FINALPARTIAL

35. AMOUNT VERIFIED

CORRECT FOR

34. VOUCHER NUMBER33. SHIP NUMBER

COMPLETE

32g. E-MAIL OF AUTHORIZED GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE

42d. TOTAL CONTAINERS42c. DATE REC'D (YY/MM/DD)

42b. RECEIVED AT (Location)

42a. RECEIVED BY (Print)

41c. DATE41b. SIGNATURE AND TITLE OF CERTIFYING OFFICER

41a. I CERTIFY THIS ACCOUNT IS CORRECT AND PROPER FOR PAYMENT

STANDARD FORM 1449 (REV. 11/2021) BACK

24.

AMOUNT

23.

UNIT PRICE

22.

UNIT

21.

QUANTITY

20.

SCHEDULE OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES

19.

ITEM NO.

Product/Service Code: B507

0002 Base Period: Self-Insured report Optional: Task 4

(Option Line Item)

(Anticipated Option Exercise Date)

Product/Service Code: B507

1001 Option Period One: Self-Insured Report. Tasks

1,2, and 3

(Option Line Item)

(Anticipated Option Exercise Date) 09/25/2025

Product/Service Code: B507

Period of Performance: 09/30/2025 to 09/29/2026

1002 Option Period One: Self-Insured report Optional:

Task 4

(Option Line Item)

(Anticipated Option Exercise Date) 09/25/2025

Product/Service Code: B507

Period of Performance: 09/30/2025 to 09/29/2026

2001 Option Period Two: Self-Insured Report. Tasks

1,2, and 3

Continued ...

32f. TELEPHONE NUMBER OF AUTHORIZED GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE

32d. PRINTED NAME AND TITLE OF AUTHORIZED GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE

51 2 of

ITEM NO. SUPPLIES/SERVICES QUANTITY UNIT UNIT PRICE AMOUNT

NAME OF OFFEROR OR CONTRACTOR

3 51

CONTINUATION SHEET

REFERENCE NO. OF DOCUMENT BEING CONTINUED PAGE OF

(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F)

1605C1-24-R-00015

(Option Line Item)

(Anticipated Option Exercise Date) 09/25/2026

Product/Service Code: B507

Period of Performance: 09/30/2026 to 09/29/2027

2002 Option Period Two: Self-Insured report Optional:

Task 4

(Option Line Item)

(Anticipated Option Exercise Date) 09/25/2026

Product/Service Code: B507

Period of Performance: 09/30/2026 to 09/29/2027

3001 Option Period Three: Self-Insured Report. Tasks

1,2, and 3

(Option Line Item)

(Anticipated Option Exercise Date) 09/25/2027

Product/Service Code: B507

Period of Performance: 09/30/2027 to 09/29/2028

3002 Option Period Three: Self-Insured report

Optional: Task 4

(Option Line Item)

(Anticipated Option Exercise Date) 09/25/2027

Product/Service Code: B507

Period of Performance: 09/30/2027 to 09/29/2028

4001 Option Period Four: Self-Insured Report. Tasks

1,2, and 3

(Option Line Item)

(Anticipated Option Exercise Date) 09/25/2028

Product/Service Code: B507

Period of Performance: 09/30/2028 to 09/29/2029

4002 Option Period Four: Self-Insured Report. Optional

Task 4

(Option Line Item)

(Anticipated Option Exercise Date) 0

Product/Service Code: B507

Continued ...

NSN 7540-01-152-8067 OPTIONAL FORM 336 (4-86)

Sponsored by GSA

FAR (48 CFR) 53.110

ITEM NO. SUPPLIES/SERVICES QUANTITY UNIT UNIT PRICE AMOUNT

NAME OF OFFEROR OR CONTRACTOR

4 51

CONTINUATION SHEET

REFERENCE NO. OF DOCUMENT BEING CONTINUED PAGE OF

(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F)

1605C1-24-R-00015

Period of Performance: 09/30/2028 to 09/29/2029

NSN 7540-01-152-8067 OPTIONAL FORM 336 (4-86)

Sponsored by GSA

FAR (48 CFR) 53.110

1 - Description/Specifications/Work Statement Performance Work Statement

2 - Section 2 FAR Clauses

3 - Section 3 DOL Local Clauses

4 - Section 4 Instructions to Offerers

1 - Description/Specifications/Work Statement

Performance Work Statement

PART 1

General Information

1.1. Description of Services/Introduction:

The contract shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision and other items and non-personal services necessary to develop and create an Appendix to the Self-Insured Report to Congress consistent in design and methodology to previous “Appendix B[1]” published by EBSA. This work shall include: 1) Develop and coordinate with EBSA a methodology and logic for classifying group health plan funding type (fully insured, self-insured or mixed-insured) based on Form 5500 filings; 2) conduct an analysis whether there’s a relationship between how plan sponsors chose to fund their group health plans and their own financial risk;

and 3) Compile and analyze 10 years of Form 5500 data on group health plans, by funding type, including the number of plans, number of participants, assets, stop-loss insurance, life-cycles of plans (creation, termination and changes in funding). The analysis should be consistent with previous reports as well as the Appendix A.[2] This work shall be performed as defined in the Performance Work Statement, except as specified in section C-3 as government furnished property and services at the Department of Labor. The contractor shall perform to the standards of this contract.

1.2. Background:

Section 1253 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Affordable Care Act) (P.L. 111–148) requires the Secretary of Labor to prepare an aggregate annual report that includes certain general information on self-insured group health plans using data collected from the Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan (Form 5500), as well as certain data from financial filings of self-insured employers. The Act specifically requires the Department of Labor to annually prepare an aggregate report with information on group plans including plan type, number of participants, benefits offered, funding arrangements, and benefit arrangements as well as data from the financial filings of self-insured employers including information on their assets, liabilities, contributions, investments, and expenses.

DOL satisfies this requirement by writing the report each year which is supplemented with appendices which go into greater detail.

These appendices have historically been produced by DOL contractors. The report and appendices can be found at on the DOL website, Reports | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov).

DOL intends to award a contract produce Appendix B, to accompany its annual Self-Insured Report to Congress. The contractor shall also produce a written description of the methodology and logic used to assign funding types to individual plans as well as a Provide a data file for the most recent Form 5500 statistical year identifying all group health plans and their assigned funding status to EBSA.

1.3. Objectives:

The purpose of this contract is to produce an annual report for the Department that can service as an appendix to its annual Self- Insured Report to Congress. To produce the report, the contractor will need to develop an algorithm using Form 5500 data to assign funding types (fully insured, self-insured or mixed-insured) to health plan filings, match and analyze Form 5500 data over 10 years, produce summary tables various plan attributes (participants, assets, contributions) on those plans by size and funding, match health plan sponsors to outside data sources in order to assess financial metrics (such as market capitalization, bankruptcy risk, and debt ratios) of plan sponsors and use this data to assess if sponsor financial health varies by plan funding type.

Specifically, the basic service objective is:

file:///O:/_OSPE/OFFICE%20OF%20ACQUISITION%20SERVICES%20(OAS)/OAS%20Divisions/OAS%20Division%201/EBSA%20-%20Employee%20Benefits%20Security%20Administration/ACQ's/ACQ-24-0331%20SI%20Report/A02-PWS%207.24.docx%23_ftn1 file:///O:/_OSPE/OFFICE%20OF%20ACQUISITION%20SERVICES%20(OAS)/OAS%20Divisions/OAS%20Division%201/EBSA%20-%20Employee%20Benefits%20Security%20Administration/ACQ's/ACQ-24-0331%20SI%20Report/A02-PWS%207.24.docx%23_ftn2

1. Develop and coordinate with EBSA a methodology and logic for classifying plan funding type (fully insured, self-insured or mixed-insured based on Form 5500 filings) and conduct a sensitivity analysis of the underlying assumptions. A written description of this methodology and logic must be included in the final report.

2. Compile and analyze data on self-insured group health plans and plans that are funded through other arrangements for the past 10 years, including data from the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report. The analysis should be consistent with previous reports as well as the Appendix A.

3. Provide a data file for the most recent Form 5500 statistical year identifying all group health plans and their assigned funding status to EBSA in order to compare with other contractor output to ensure reporting consistency across all appendices for the Department’s Annual Self-Insured Report to Congress.

4. Produce a final report that may serve as Appendix B to the Self-Insured Group Health Plans Report that DOL will submit to the appropriate committees of Congress, as required by Section 1253 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This report should be generally consistent with previous reports as well as other current appendices.

5. Produce a SAS dataset (or other program as agreed to by the government) containing all non-proprietary or restricted data used in the analysis and accompanying clear documentation describing the dataset.

Additionally, and at DOL’s discretion, this contract include an optional task. Tasks, option tasks, deliverables, and option deliverables are detailed under relevant subsections below.

1.4. Scope:

The contractor shall provide services producing a report for the Department that can serve as an appendix to its annual Self-Insured Report to Congress. Services include statistical analysis of data including the Form 5500 data collected by the Department of Labor as well as the EBSA Form 5500 Research Files, developing and documenting a logic and methodology to assign health plans a funding mechanism (fully insured, self-insured or mixed-insured) based on health plan Form 5500 filings, preparing statistical reports, and generating documentation of underlying data analysis. The contractor shall accomplish: analysis of the health insurance data available on Schedule A, H, and I of the Form 5500; matching Form 5500 across years; analysis of data relevant to employer provided health insurance plans, in particular self-insured group health plans; analysis and summary of data on health plan sponsors’ status as for-profit or not-for-profit; e.g., IRS Form 990 and/or similar data sources; matching financial data to Form 5500 data; analysis and summary of data on the financial health of companies, e.g., Capital IQ, 10k filings and/or other related data sources; preparing summary materials and presenting briefings on the work; and preparing a final report describing the analysis and findings in detail.

1.5. Period of Performance:

The base period of performance shall be for 12 months from the date of award. The contract will include four (4) option periods. The Period of Performance is as follows:

Base Period: 9/30/2024 – 9/29/2025 Option Period I: 9/30/2025 – 9/29/2026 Option Period II: 9/30/2026 – 9/29/2027 Option Period III: 9/30/2027 – 9/29/2028 Option Period IV: 9/30/2028 – 9/29/2029

The Government reserves the right to extend the term of this contract at the prices set forth in Section B in accordance with the terms and conditions contained in clause 52.217-9 entitled, Option to Extend the Contract.”

1.6.General Information

1.6.1 Quality Control:

The Contractor shall develop and maintain an effective quality control program to ensure services are performed in accordance with this Performance Work Statement (PWS). The Contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-recurrence of defective services. The Contractor’s quality control program is the means to assure that the work complies with the requirement of the contract. The Quality Control Plan is to be delivered with the Contractors’ quote. After acceptance of the quality control plan the Contractor shall receive the contracting officer’s acceptance in writing of any proposed change to his QC system.

1.6.2 Quality Assurance:

The Government will monitor and measure the Contractor’s service to determine if they are satisfactorily performed and meet requirements of the PWS. A variety of surveillance methods that may be used by the COR in performing this function and include the following:

¿ Customer Feedback ¿ Random sampling ¿ One hundred (100) percent review and inspection ¿ Periodic inspection

The Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) will be developed within 14 days of award.

1.6.3 Section 508 Compliance

Section 508 Background Electronic and Information Technology (EIT)/Information and Communication Technology (ICT) greatly affects how federal agencies, and their employees achieve agency goals, do their daily work and serve the American people. EIT/ICT is also a major gateway to employment opportunities in both the public and private sectors, and it is key to how information is shared with employees, how employees are productive in the workplace, and how they advance in their careers.

General Requirements All EIT/ICT deliverables produced by the CONTRACTOR shall be accessible, usable by assistive technologies, and meet the baseline criteria outlined in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220) August 7, 1998, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) Level AA and the Department of Labor Management Series (DLMS) Section 7, Chapter 600. EIT/ICT deliverables include but are not limited to: websites, software, mobile applications, webcasts, webinars, multimedia (e.g. charts, graphs, graphics, videos, audio tracks, and animation), social media, collaborative workspaces and tools, documents (e.g. PDF, PowerPoint, Excel, and Word), forms and field elements, data tables, image maps, and any training and related training materials.

Print materials must be made available in an alternate accessible format when requested. By submitting deliverables pursuant to this contract, CONTRACTOR is certifying that such deliverables are conformant with the accessibility guidelines referenced above.

Accessibility Requirements for Deliverables

Accessible Formats

All documents and deliverables prepared for or provided to the Government must be in accessible formats (as indicated in the next paragraph). All materials submitted in hardcopy must be provided in an accessible electronic copy at the same time of hard copy submission or alternate accessible format when requested. Any multimedia must include synchronized captions that include all relevant audible information (dialog and sounds), include audio descriptions (when relevant visual information is not otherwise relayed audibly), and be navigable by assistive technologies. Any multimedia interactive interface elements (e.g. user controls) must be navigable by assistive technology and include proper name, role, and/or state properties. Audio-only content shall be accompanied by an accessible screen text or transcript that is an accurate and complete representation of that audio content. The contrast ratio between all content background and foreground colors shall be at least 4.5:1.

All pages within PDFs created for or provided to the Government (to include those created from scanned documents) must be accessible, the content within must be tagged correctly, and must return no potential errors in the Adobe Acrobat Pro’s Accessibility Full Check “Accessibility Report” when tested against the “Adobe PDF” checking option and all of its tests. All graphics, charts, and graphs marked as images/figures within a PDF must be tagged with appropriate, descriptive alternate text conveying equivalent meaning. All text content in the PDF must be readable with assistive technology (e.g. JAWS screen reader) on each page in a comprehensive and sequential manner, to include all information provided in any alternate text descriptions for graphics. Tag order of content (found in the Adobe Acrobat Pro “Navigation Pane”) must match the Reading Order (found in the Adobe Acrobat Pro “Order Pane”) of content through manual verification. Tables shall be tagged properly including column headers, row headers, and assigned scope. Decorative elements that convey no meaning should be marked as Artifacts. Any fillable form fields and buttons must have appropriate form tags, associated tooltips conveying all information needed to correctly complete the field, have a tab order that matches the visual reading order, and be accessible and usable by keyboard only and other assistive technology.

All training, vocal presentations, and training documents must be provided in accessible Section 508 compliant format. “Point-and-click” methods of training with screenshots primarily designed for sighted users is not sufficient. Any screenshots of user actions must be given an equivalent alternate verbal and/or text description and a non-mouse-based action alternative interaction method. All training and reference materials must be provided in an accessible Section 508 electronic format (preferably PDF or Word).

1.6.4 Government Remedies:

The Contracting Officer shall follow FAR 52.212-4, “Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items” or 52.246-4, “Inspection of Services-Fixed Price” for contractor’s failure to perform satisfactory services or failure to correct non-conforming services.

1.6.5 Recognized Holidays:

The contractor is not required to perform services on Federal recognized holidays.

New Year’s Day January 1 Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday Third Monday in January Inauguration Day (when applicable) January 20 President’s Day Third Monday in February Memorial Day Last Monday in May Juneteenth National Independence Day June 19 Independence Day July 4 Labor Day First Monday in September Columbus Day Second Monday in October Veterans Day November 11 Thanksgiving Day Fourth Thursday in November Christmas Eve (when applicable) December 24 Christmas Day December 25

Presidential Inauguration Day Most Federal offices in the District of Columbia/Maryland/Virginia (DMV) metropolitan area are closed on the day a President is inaugurated on January 20th for each fourth year after 1965 (see 5 U.S.C. 6103(c)). Please check with the COR for confirmation.

1.6.6 Hours of Operation:

While there is no requirement that the Contractor work on-site at the Frances Perkins Building, office space can be made available with sufficient warning if Contractor staff wish to work on-site on occasion. All work being done on-site should pertain to the work stipulated in the contract, occur during typical tour hours (6:00am-8:00pm Monday thru Friday), and not fall on Federal holidays or when the Frances Perkins Building is closed due to local or national emergencies, administrative closings, or similar Government directed facility closings.

1.6.7 Place of Performance:

The work to be performed under this contract will be performed at either at the Contractor’s place of business or at:

U.S. Department of Labor Frances Perkins Building 200 Constitution Avenue NW Washington, DC, 20210

1.6.8 Type of Contract:

The Government anticipates the award of a Fixed Price Contract.

1.6.10 Post Award Conference/Periodic Progress Meetings:

The contractor agrees to attend any post award conference convened by the contracting activity or contract administration office in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 42.5. The Contracting Officer, Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), and other government personnel, as appropriate, may meet periodically with the contractor to review the contractor's performance. At these meetings, the Contracting Officer will apprise the contractor of how the government views the contractor's performance and the contractor will apprise the government of problems, if any, being experienced. Appropriate action shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues. These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the government.

1.6.11 Contracting Officer’s Representative:

A COR will be delegated separately.

1.6.12 Key Personnel:

The Government considers the following labor categories be Key Personnel and essential for the successful completion of all work assigned under the contract:

Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) – The PD/PI leads the project team. Duties include: Maintaining and monitoring project plans, project, and schedules; Organizing, attending and participating in stakeholder meetings; Participating in data analysis, preparation and review of deliverables; and Documenting and following up on important actions and decisions from meetings.

Minimum Qualifications:

The PD/PI must have a minimum of five (5) years of experience in performing social science research and a minimum of five (5) years of experience serving as a project director or in an equivalent position in project management and a minimum of a master’s degree in mathematics, statistics, economics, or other related field.

Preferred Qualifications:

Person will have a minimum of ten (10) or more years of leading teams in research questions. Person will also have a minimum of ten

(10) years of experience with data cleaning, manipulation and regression analysis. Person will have a minimum of five (5) years of experience working with Form 5500 welfare plans data files, including matching plan filings across years and to other data sources, such as IRS and SEC forms. Person will also have at least five (5) years of experience analyzing how employer provided health plans are funded and how the Form 5500 can be used to identify funding type.

Senior Research/Analyst – Duties include: Cleaning and performing analysis of program data; Present findings; and writing reports that highlight results and describe the underlying methodology and assumptions.

Minimum Qualifications:

The Senior Analyst must have subject matter expertise in group health plans and have a minimum five (5) years of experience conducting health plan research or evaluation studies, a minimum of two (2) years working with Form 5500 welfare plan data, and a minimum of five (5) years of experience serving as a senior analyst or in an equivalent position. A Senior Analyst must also have at a minimum, a master’s degree in mathematics, statistics, economics, or other related field.

Preferred Qualifications: Person will have a minimum of ten (10) or more years of experience with data cleaning, manipulation and regression analysis. Person will also have ten (10) or more years working with longitudinal data, matching data across year and performing economic analysis. Person will have a minimum of five (5) years of experience working with Form 5500 welfare plans data files and various Form 5500 Schedules as well as familiarity with how health plans are funded and ways to identify funding type using the Form 5500.

1.6.13 Approval of Contractor Personnel by the Government

The Government reserves the right to review qualifications of Contracted personnel proposed for assignment and to ensure they conform to minimum preferred qualifications required of persons working in the labor categories shown below. Therefore, the Government may, at any time during the course of this contract, request resumes from the Contractor for those individuals that the Contractor proposes to use in each of the Key Personnel labor categories. The Contractor shall furnish the resumes to the COR within two (2) Government business days. The Contractor shall remove from work under this contract those Contractor personnel that the Government has found to be unacceptable within 14 calendar days after being notified in writing by the Government to do so.

1.6.14 Contractor Manager

The Contractor shall provide a contract manager who shall be responsible for the performance of the work. The name of this person and an alternate who shall act for the Contractor when the manager is absent shall be designated in writing to the contracting officer.

The contract manager or alternate shall have full authority to act for the Contractor on all contract matters relating to daily operation of this contract.

1.6.15 Identification of Contractor Employees

All contract personnel attending meetings, answering Government telephones, and working in other situations where their contractor status is not obvious to third parties are required to identify themselves as such to avoid creating an impression in the minds of members of the public that they are Government officials. They must also ensure that all documents or reports produced by contractors are suitably marked as contractor products or that Contractor participation is appropriately disclosed. Contractor personnel will be required to obtain and display a badge (PIV card) in order to perform work on-site at EBSA’s offices.

1.6.16 Employee Conduct

Contractor employees shall present a professional appearance at all times and their conduct shall not reflect discredit upon the United States and or the Department of Labor.

1.6.17 Organizational Conflict of Interest

Contractor and subcontractor personnel performing work under this contract action may receive, have access to or participate in the development of proprietary or source selection information (e.g., cost or pricing information, budget information or analyses, specifications or work statements, etc.) or perform evaluation services which may create a current or subsequent Organizational Conflict of Interests (OCI), as defined in FAR Subpart 9.5. The contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer immediately whenever it becomes aware that such access or participation may result in any actual or potential OCI and shall promptly submit a plan to the Contracting Officer to avoid or mitigate any such OCI. The contractor’s mitigation plan will be determined to be acceptable solely at the discretion of the Contracting Officer and in the event the Contracting Officer unilaterally determines that any such OCI cannot be satisfactorily avoided or mitigated, the Contracting Officer may affect other remedies as he or she deems necessary, including prohibiting the contractor from participation in subsequent contracted requirements which may be affected by the OCI.

1.6.18 Contractor Travel

The Contractor will be reimbursed for the direct costs of transportation, lodging, meals, and incidental expenses of personnel when authorized. Because the travel required in each contract period is not known at the time of contract award, estimated travel costs should NOT be included with the quote, but rather additional funds will be added to the contract as needed to reimburse travel expenses incurred. All travel must be approved by the COR prior to the start of travel.

(a) Such costs shall be reimbursed in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulations, Joint Travel Regulations, or Standardized Regulations prescribed by the General Services Administration under Travel Costs, FAR 31.205-46, 31.3, 31.6, or 31.7 as applicable.

(b) Costs incurred for lodging, meals and incidental expenses shall be reimbursed only to the extent that they do not exceed on a daily basis the maximum per diem rates in effect at the time of travel as set forth in the Federal Travel Regulations, Joint Travel Regulations or Standardized Regulations.

(c) Airfare costs in excess of the lowest customary standard coach or equivalent airfares offered during normal business hours will not be reimbursed. In virtually all cases, travel requirements will be known sufficiently in advance to allow the most economical fares.

When the Contractor is given sufficient advance notice of travel requirements to obtain reduced fares, but fails to do so, the Government will reimburse only the amount of the lowest available fares.

(d) The Contractor shall be reimbursed for the cost of out-of-town and/or overnight travel performed by its personnel in their privately owned automobiles, at the current rate set forth in the Federal Travel Regulations, not to exceed the cost by the most direct economy air route between the points traveled. If more than one person travels in such automobiles, no additional charge will be made by the Contractor for such travel.

(e) The government shall reimburse no travel costs for Contractor personnel travel from place of residence to and from normally assigned worksite.

(f) Contractor requests for reimbursement must contain legible copies of individual receipts for all miscellaneous items of $50.00 value or higher. Each miscellaneous item of less than $50.00 value (e.g., meals must be documented but may be included on a mass voucher rather than with individual item receipts.).

1.6.19 Confidentiality

The Contractor cannot make use of any information obtained during the course of this contract for any activity outside the scope of the contracted work.

All records developed during the course of this contract shall be protected from examination by unauthorized agencies or persons. Such records include all forms, computer files, program listings, manuals, documentation, correspondence files, contract records, and reports. The Contractor shall retain all copies in a secure manner with release to the Department of Labor. No materials or any summary of these materials shall be released to any individual or organization without prior written permission from the COR and EBSA.

No work involving information furnished under this contract will be subcontracted without the specific approval of the COR and

EBSA.

The Contractor agrees to comply with and assumes responsibility for compliance by employees with the following requirements:

1. All work will be performed under the supervision of the Contractor or the Contractor’s responsible employees.

2. Any information provided to the Contractor, in any format, will be used only for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this contract. This information will be treated as confidential and will not be made known in any manner to any person except as may be necessary in the performance of the assigned work.

3. All information provided to the Contractor will be accounted for upon receipt and properly stored before, during, and after processing. In addition, all related output shall be given the same level of protection as required for the source material.

4. All Contractor personnel assigned to this contract and any Contractor managers and supervisors with access to the records and data obtained and used under this agreement shall sign confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, to be provided during the first three (3) weeks of contract award. The original signed confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement shall be given to the COR and EBSA prior to the beginning of work.

5. The Contractor shall certify in writing following contract award that the data processed during the performance of this contract will be completely purged from all data storage components of the computer facility in accordance with instructions from the COR. Until purging of all data storage components, the Contractor shall certify that any data remaining in any storage component will be safeguarded to prevent unauthorized disclosure.

All records developed during the course of this contract– forms, computer files, program listings, manuals, documentation, correspondence files, contract records, and reports – and all records and data provided to the Contractor by the EBSA for use under this agreement remain the property of EBSA and will be handed over to EBSA at the conclusion of the work under this agreement.

1.6.20 Privacy:

The Contractor agrees to assume responsibility for protecting the confidentiality of personal identifying or sensitive data. Each employee of the contractor to whom data may be made available or disclosed shall be notified in writing by the contractor that such data may be disclosed only for a purpose and to the extent authorized herein.

1.6.21 Release of Information:

Work performed under this contract may involve access to information, including specifications, price estimates and other sensitive data. Consequently, the Contractor (including individual employees thereof) must not release or communicate, except as required by law or regulations, such information, including any news release, public announcement, or advertising material concerned with this contract, unless authorized by the Contracting Officer.

1.6.22 Commitment to Protect Sensitive Information:

The Contractor shall not release, publish, or disclose sensitive information to unauthorized personnel, and shall protect such information in accordance with provisions of the following laws and any other pertinent laws and regulations governing the confidentiality of sensitive information: 18 U.S.C. 641 (Criminal Code: Public Money, Property or Records).

1.6.23 Rights in Data:

The FAR 52.227-17 Rights in Data – Special Works will govern DOL’s rights of use in deliverables, including data sets, under this contract. Essentially, the Contractor grants to DOL, and others acting on its behalf, a paid-up, nonexclusive, irrevocable, worldwide license to copy, distribute, prepare derivative works, and perform and display publicly, by or on behalf of the Government, all deliverables, including those first-produced and those not first-produced by the contractor under the contract, except as otherwise agreed upon between the Contractor and Contracting Officer, or as otherwise provided for by this FAR clause.

DOL will state specific restrictions that will apply to the Contractor’s use of certain deliverables and related data/information. This contract will be designated as a “Type C” study:

· For Type C studies, such as programmatic studies and/or research supporting policy work, the Contractor agrees not to disclose, distribute, or publish such deliverables, including work products developed in connection therewith, in any format, whether orally or in writing, nor authorize others to do so, without the prior written permission of the Contracting Officer or until the time that DOL releases, distributes, or publishes such deliverables publicly.

Some information and data provided by DOL to the Contractor for its performance of the contract may contain confidential information that, due to requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974 and/or other federal laws, will be prohibited from being disclosed or used by the Contractor outside the terms of the contract. DOL shall clearly mark such information and/or data prior to providing it to the Contractor and may require that Contractor execute a Nondisclosure Agreement in connection with such information.

The FAR 52.227-16 Additional Data Requirements shall govern situations in which DOL may require the delivery of additional data produced or used in performance of this contract. Essentially, the Contracting Officer may, at any time during contract performance or within a period of 3 years after acceptance of all items to be delivered under this contract, order any data first produced or specifically used in the performance of this contract. DOL’s rights in such data shall be governed by the Rights in Data – Special Works, as discussed in the first paragraph, above.

1.6.24 References, Laws, Regulations and Policies:

At a minimum, Contractor performance in accordance with the requirements herein shall fully comply with the following laws, regulations, policies and guidelines as applicable:

· Title III of the E-Government Act of 2002 — Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA)

· The Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a

· The Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552

· The Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA), PL 97-255

· OMB Circular A-130, Management of Federal Information Resources

· OMB Circular A-123 Revised, Management's Responsibility for Internal Control, December 2004

· OMB Circular A-127, Financial Management Systems, July 23, 1993 National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 200, Minimum Security Requirements for Federal Information and Information Systems

· National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 200, Minimum Security Requirements for Federal Information and Information Systems

· NIST FIPS 199, Standards for Security Categorization of Federal Information and Information Systems

· NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-18, Revision 1, Guide for Developing Security Plans for Federal Information Systems

· NIST SP 800-53, Recommended Security Controls for Federal Information Systems

· DOL, CM, NIST SP 800-53 Security Controls Implementation Plan (current OASAM-ITC adopted version)

· DLMS 9 - Information Technology (IT) Chapter 400, IT Security http://labornet.dol.gov/DCS_FileSystem/DLMS9InformationTechnology/dIms9 0400.ht

· General Records Schedule 3.0 Technology & 4.0 Information Management

· OMB Memorandum, Transparency and Open Government, January 21, 2009

· 508 Compliance In order to meet section 508 accessibility requirements, the Contractor shall provide summary narrative text description or a data table describing each complex graphic (e.g., pie graphs, line graphs, maps, bar graphs, flow charts) in a separate Word/Excel document. Label each figure or graphic with a title and corresponding page number. Additional information about accessibility standards related to section 508 may be found at http://www.webaim.org/standards/508/checklist. The document provides the actual standard along with the most widely accepted interpretation for each standard of the Section 508 Web Guidelines.” Also, to create accessible pdf files, visit http://www.section508.gov/docs/pdfguidanceforgovernment.pdf

Clauses

DOL-2018-01 PRIVACY BREACH NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS (APRIL 2018)

A. Applicability

- Contracting Officers shall insert this clause in all solicitations and contract actions except solicitations and contract actions that are solely for the acquisition of commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) items.

C. Requirements

(a) Contractors and subcontractors who collects or maintains Federal information on behalf of the agency, or uses or operates an information system on behalf of the agency, shall comply with Federal law e.g., FISMA 2014, E-Government Act and the Privacy Act. Additionally, the Contractor shall meet OMB directives and National Institute of Standards and Technology Standards to ensure processing of PII is adequately managed.

(b) The contractor shall:

- Properly encrypt PII in accordance with appropriate laws, regulations, directives, standards or guidelines;

- Report to DOL any suspected or confirmed breach in any medium or form, including paper, oral, and electronic within one hour of discovery;

- Cooperate with and exchange information with DOL (Contracting Officer and Contracting Officer’s Representative) as well as allow for an inspection, investigation, forensic analysis, as determined necessary by the DOL, in order to effectively report and manage a suspected or confirmed breach;

- Maintain capabilities to determine what DOL information was or could have been compromised and by whom, construct a timeline of user activity, determine methods and techniques used to access Federal information, and identify the initial attack vector;

- Ensure staff that have access to DOL systems or information are regularly trained to identify and report a security incident.

This includes the completion of any DOL mandatory training for contractors;

- Take steps to address security issues that have been identified, including steps to minimize further security risks to those individuals whose PII was lost, compromised, or potentially compromised.

- Report incidents per DOL incident management policy and US-CERT notification guidelines.

(c) Remedy:

- A report of a breach shall not, by itself, be interpreted as evidence that the Contractor or its subcontractor (at any tier) failed to provide adequate safeguards for PII. If the Contractor is determined to be at fault for the breach, the Contractor may be financially liable for Government costs incurred in the course of breach response and mitigation efforts;

- The contractor shall take steps to address security issues that have been identified, including steps to minimize further security risks to those individuals whose PII was lost, compromised, or potentially compromised;

- The Government reserves the right to exercise all available contract remedies including, but not limited to, a stop-work order on a temporary or permanent basis in order to address a breach or upon discovery of a Contractor’s failure to report a breach as required by this clause.

Part 2 Definition & Acronyms

Best Effort: That effort expended by the contractor to perform within the awarded ceiling price all work specified in this acquisition and all other obligations under this acquisition. This effort includes providing required qualified personnel, properly supervised, and following industry accepted methodologies and other practices. The effort is further characterized by operating at all times with the government’s best interest in mind, using efficient and effective methods, and demonstrating sound cost control. The effort must be identical to the effort that would be expended if this were a firm-fixed price acquisition and the contractor’s profits were dependent upon reducing costs while meeting the government’s requirements in terms and quality and schedule. Failure to provide this required effort may result in the withholding of payment for hours expended that do not qualify as best effort or a reduction in the rate per hour to reflect decreased value of services received.

Contracting Officer (CO). Contracting officers have authority to enter into, administer, or terminate contracts and make related determinations and findings.

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). A representative from the requiring activity assigned by the Contracting Officer to perform surveillance and to act as liaison to the contractor.

Defective Service. A service output that does not meet the standard of performance associated with it in the Performance Work Statement.

DOL. Department of Labor EBSA. Employee Benefits Security Administration ERISA. Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974

FAR. Federal Acquisition Regulation OMB. Office of Management and Budget POP. Period of Performance PWS. Performance Work Statement Quality Assurance. Those actions taken by the government to assure services meet the requirements of the Performance Work Statement.

Quality Control. Those actions taken by a contractor to control the performance of services so that they meet the requirements of the

PWS.

Part 3 Government Furnished Property, Equipment, And Services

3.1 General:

The government will provide, the facilities, equipment, materials, and/or services listed.

below.

Government Provided Resources:

EBSA data files, including data from the public Form 5500 filings. It is anticipated that the Form 5500 welfare plan data will be given to the contractor in May, and then the draft report will be due a couple months later in July.

Previous Reports to Congress.

Government Staff available to work with Contractor:

Title/Role What They Can Provide Chief, Division of Research and Economic Analysis, Office of Research and Analysis

Serve as lead point of contact; facilitate communication between the Contractor and appropriate national office staff.

EBSA Economist Provide EBSA information pertaining to the project

3.2 Facilities:

Onsite. The government will furnish all necessary workspace required for the contractor to support the effort(s) outlined in this PWS, to include desk space, telephones, computers and other items necessary to maintain an office environment.

Remote. The contractor will furnish necessary equipment to perform the effort(s) outlined in this PWS remotely, at a location other than a government-owned or contractor-owned facility. If deemed necessary, the government may issue, at its discretion, supplemental equipment (e.g., computing equipment).]

Part 4 Contractor Furnish Items and Services

4.1 General:

Except for those items specifically stated to be government furnished in Part 3, the contractor shall furnish all other items required to perform the services in this PWS.

4.2 Clearance:

The contractor shall possess or be eligible to receive and maintain a Minimum Background Investigation (MBI) clearance. The contractor’s employees, performing work in support of this contract action shall have been granted a Minimum Background Investigation (MBI) security clearance.

Part 5 Specific Tasks

5.1 Services:

The Contractor shall furnish the necessary qualified personnel, equipment, materials, supplies, services, facilities, and otherwise do all that is necessary for, or incidental to, the performance of the work set forth below. The Contractors responding to this PWS may propose alternative approaches in addition to addressing the tasks as proposed by the Government; justification for alternatives (e.g., cost efficiency, etc.) must be provided with any alternatives proposed. Contractors are expected to draw on their own expertise to propose the most effective approach to addressing the tasks.

Working with the COR and other staff, the contractor shall be responsible for the following tasks:

Task 1: Project Development Meetings(s) and Project Work Plan (“Planning) Subtask 1.1: Project Development Meeting(s) and Memorandum summarizing discussion Subtask 1.2: Quality Control Plan (QCP) Subtask 1.3: Work Plan

Task 2: Self-Insured Group Health Plans Report(s) Subtask 2.1: Sensitivity Analysis of Plan Funding Algorithm Subtask 2.2: Data file of plans with funding type assigned Subtask 2.3: Self-Insured Group Health Plans Report Subtask 2.4: Briefing, Self-Insured Group Health Plans Report Subtask 2.5: SAS Dataset (or other agreed to program language) and documentation

Task 3: Monthly Progress Reports and Ongoing Communications

In addition to these tasks, EBSA may elect to exercise an option task at the time of award for the base year and each subsequent option years:

Optional Task 4: Special Topic Analysis (one optional analysis per contract year) Subtask 4.1: Briefing: Special Analysis Topic Subtask 4.2: Final: Special Analysis Topic

Task 1: Provide Overall Management

Effective communication between the Contractor and the federal government, coordinated through the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), and successful management of the project as a whole are essential to the success of this project. The government defines “effective communication” in this instance as including biweekly calls updating the COR on the status of the project, upcoming deadlines and any potential issues.

Subtask 1.1: Project Development Meeting

Within two weeks of the award of contract, the Contractor shall schedule and carry out an orientation meeting with the COR and other federal staff to discuss a range of topics, including, but not necessarily limited to: clarification of DOL’s interests and objectives for the project, conducting work on an efficient schedule and budget, coordination with DOL agencies and staff, methodologies to be employed, clarification of any specific contractual language or…