Questions and Answers RFQ 1605C3-25-Q-00019.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 23 KB Posted
- Attached to
- Parking Services-OLMS Philadelphia Region
- Solicitation number
- 1605C3-25-Q-00019
About this file
This document is a Questions and Answers (Q&A) spreadsheet for Request for Quote (RFQ) 1605C3-25-Q-00019, primarily focused on parking services for the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Labor Management Standards (OLMS) Philadelphia regional office. The RFQ seeks a contractor to provide two reserved parking spaces for government-owned vehicles near the OLMS office, with a base 12-month period and four additional 12-month option periods.
The Q&A document covers various technical and procedural clarifications, including details about parking requirements, bid submission processes, and specific operational expectations. Key points include confirmation that this is a new requirement with no incumbent contractor, specification that reserved parking is preferred, guidance on electronic bid submission, and instructions for pricing submissions. The document also addresses vendor questions about contract specifics, such as parking space dimensions, invoice expectations, and the precise location requirements for the parking spaces near the Philadelphia regional office.
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| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| B06-Atch 1 Pricing Worksheet.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| A19 - SOL.pdf |
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Sheet1
| RFQ #1605C3-25-Q-00019 | |||
| Question Title | Section Number | Question Detail | Government Response |
| Incumbent Contractor? | Wanted to kindly inquire about the incumbent contractor and any associated contract number for this requirement." | This is a new requirement. There is no incumbent nor contract to reference. | |
| Reserved or Uireserved parking? | Section 5.1 | "Does this notice require Reserved or Unreserved parking? Which type is preferred or will either option be acceptable?" | Reserved parking is requested as prescribed in Section 5.1 of the PWS. |
| Next steps for acceptance of bids | Section L pag 24 | "Please advise what next steps from [vendor X] must take to complete acceptance of this bid if there is an electronic submission via a procurement portal. Note:SAMS website does not have bid acceptance options." | Please use the excel spreadsheet to submit your pricing for the base and all option periods per the instructions on page 26. |
Part 5 - Authorizations 5.10.4 The PWS states: The contractor must ensure that the system supports ad hoc and mass claimant authorization updates, as directed by authorized compensation program staff. All claimant authorization updates must be acknowledged and validated. Confirmation must be sent to the requesting compensation program upon completion. Updates to claimant authorizations--whether ad hoc or mass updates—are considered routine maintenance functions. Can OWCP provide more details about mass claimant authorization updates (specifically, format/methodology; e.g. API, via the portal, file exchange, etc.)? Upon implementation, we anticipate a transfer of active prior authorizations from the current PBM vendors to the new PBM vendor via file exchange. This will be an excel file that will contain claimant information, drug information, and authorization time periods. See contract requirement 5.5.25.
We anticipate the PBM will apply a mass authorization to all legacy prescriptions during option year 1, also known as a 12-month grandfathered period. Any prescriptions for claimants with a corresponding date of service in the six months prior to implementation for their accepted work injury, are considered legacy prescriptions. The PBM must identify legacy prescriptions through historical data and apply authorizations to those prescriptions and cases during option year 1.
There may be other situations that may require mass authorization updates to cases by the compensation programs in an excel file format throughout the contract period.
Part 5 - PBM Drug Utilization Review 5.12.17 The solicitation requires the contractor’s clinical pharmacists must adjudicate all held, rejected, non-formulary, PA-related, and LMN-related transactions in accordance with compensation program policy. Claimant medical records in compensation program record systems will be available for use by the contractor’s clinicians as needed. Transactions requiring an exception to policy must be approved in advance by the OWCP. All coverage decisions must be tracked and reported to the OWCP through the claimant, prescriber, and staff web portals. Could the contractor’s registered nurses also adjudicate these transactions? If not, what clinical services does the Government see nurses providing? Only clinical pharmacists must adjudicate all held, rejected, non-formulary, PA-related, and LMN-related transactions. Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) nor Registered Nurses (RN) can adjudicate these transactions.
Clinical operations that do not require approval/denial of medications could utilize registered nurses (RN).
Part 5 - PBM Drug Utilization Review 5.12.18 The solicitation says: The contractor must develop an appeals process for denied transactions. The appeals process must be approved by the OWCP. Does the contractor need to be able to decision appeals or just have a process for notifying OWCP of these denied transactions? Requirement 5.12.18 has been revised to: The contractor must develop an escalation process for denied transaction inquires. The escalation process must be approved by the OWCP.
The PBM vendor will be required to review, and decision escalated denied transaction inquiries from pharmacies, claimants, and prescribers.
| Part 5 - Medication Use Evaluation | 5.12.20.3 | The solicitation states: The contractor must complete 1000 MUE during each option period of the contract. The contractor must create job aids and develop procedures for its clinical staff to complete MUE. The job aids and procedures must be approved by the OWCP. Can the Government confirm it must complete 1,000 MUE per program or 1,000 MUE total for all programs combined? | The PBM vendor will be responsible for completing 1,000 MUE cases for all OWCP programs combined during each option period. |
| Part 5 - Claimant Adherence | 5.12.20.5 | Part of this requirement says the contractor must assist at least 1,500 claimants during each option period of the contract to improve their adherence to their prescription medication regimen. Is the Government requiring 1,500 claimants via the claimant adherence program per program or 1,500 claimants total for all programs combined? | The PBM vendor will be responsible for completing 1,500 claimant medication adherence reviews for all OWCP programs combined during each option period. |
| Part 5 - Testing | 5.16.3 | The requirement states: The contractor must develop a schedule for all testing activities as part of the test plan. The schedule must identify timeframes for the System Integration Testing (SIT), volume and performance testing, parallel testing, and Government Acceptance Testing (GAT). The schedule must include timelines for correction and re-test of any identified defects or missed requirements that were discovered during GAT. The contractor must provide a GAT period of no less than ten weeks. This period will begin after all system integration testing, to including all approved test cases showing no failed tests. Is the statement “The contractor must provide a GAT period of no less than ten weeks” related to implementation criteria, ongoing criteria, or both? | Prior to implementation, the government must be allowed enough time (minimum 10 weeks) to test and re-test (in the case of defects and re-work) the system, which includes but not limited to, formularies, edits, portals, and authorizations before these are approved for production. |
After implementation, any system updates do not need 10 weeks of GAT testing.
| Mandatory Criteria Go/No Go Requirements Part C Rebate Reports | Section L-Instruction to Offerors | This requirement states: The Respondent must provide a full year (CY2023) of rebates (as defined in section C) it has received by NDC number in Microsoft Excel. This will inform OWCP of the total rebates the Respondent has received when considering the respondents proposed locked rebate value. Is the Government asking for PBMs results for the NDCs provided in the data files (A19 J.7 - J.9)? How is this going to be used to evaluate PBMs since rebate values fluctuate? | This report will be removed from the go/no go requirements. |
| Discounts.Rebates.Fee Tab | A.19-J.4 PBM Discount/ Rebate/Fee Workbook - | Since the Government is requesting pass through pricing, how does OWCP want to pricing sheet to be completed when pharmacies have different contracted rates across the network? PBMs that own their network (as oppposed to leasing) have stronger buying power with pharmacies and reimburse them at directly contracted rates. However, this means there are different contract rates across the network. For exmple, an NDC at one pharmacy will have different rate than the same NDC at another pharmacy depending on the contract rate the PBM has with both pharmacies. |
| In order to evaluate PBMs in an apples to apples way, ensure a transparent way to audit transactions, and allow predictability into future spend, we recommend requiring a traditional pricing structure which is the PBM pricing methodology currently in place for the FECA program. A pass-through methodology will provide challenges in evaluating PBM proposals accurately, auditing actual results, and managing to what was commmited to in the RFP. Both pricing structures can provide OWCP with same value but managing them is significantly different. | PBM offerors should provide their best possible AWP discount, rebate per brand transaction, and service fee considering all transactions from all pharmacies to have the most competitive total evaluated price. The AWP discount negotiated with this contract is one of the “lesser-than” pricing options of the full pass-through price. The price evaluation will be on the AWP discount, rebate per brand transaction, and service fee not other price options detailed in the “lesser-than” pricing structure of the PWS. | |||
| Discounts.Rebates.Fee Tab | A.19-J.4 PBM Discount/ Rebate/Fee Workbook | Based on the requirements of the solicitation, the service fee paid to the PBM is separate from the dispense fee associated with pharmacy reimbursement in pharmacy contracts. Where should the dispense fee be added in the pricing sheet? Also, how should this be handled when the pharmacy contract dispense fee varies contract to contract? | The dispensing fee is not included in the price evaluation for this procurement. Do not include dispensing fees in the PBM DISCOUNT REBATE FEES WORKBOOK. The price evaluation and the PBM DISCOUNT REBATE FEES WORKBOOK only includes the AWP discount, rebate, and service fee. During contract administration, payments will be determined by the full pass-through pricing structure (See section 1.6.9.1 PBM Billing/Costs). DOL will pay the lowest possible pass-through price and that lowest total price could include a dispensing fee. The dispensing fee is not separate of the lowest possible pass-through price it is inclusive of the pass-through price. Examples of pricing transactions at the lowest price of the full pass-through price have been added to section 1.6.9.1 PBM Billing/Costs. |
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