Questions_and_Answers_26Feb2025.pdf

Embassy of the United States of America Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Friday, February 21, 2025

SUBJECT: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

REF: Request for Proposals number 19BK8025R0001 – Health Insurance Services – The US Embassy in Sarajevo Locally Employed Staff and their family members

Q1. Will the Government provide the following information with the RFQ: Name and surname of insuree, Date of Birth, Gender, Employee tier, home country, host country, etc.?

A1. No. The requested information is considered Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and will not be shared publicly or included in the RFP. The Government has provided all necessary information about the insured individuals, as well as relevant statistics, in Section J of the RFP

Q2. Is Life Limited Insurance coverage a part of the RFP?

A2. No. The RFP pertains only to Health Insurance coverage. Refer to Section B.1. Health

Insurance Services for more details.

Q3. Could you provide the member counts for Health Insurance over the past five years?

A3. The number of employees and family members fluctuates by approximately 1% up or down compared to the statistics provided in Section J, Exhibit A of the RFP.

Q4. Do the amounts shown in Sections J, Exhibit D include claims paid to ORE employees and retirees?

A4. No. Premiums paid and reimbursements provided in Section J, Exhibit D, do not include any costs associated with riders, ORE, and retires

Q5. Is it acceptable to provide premiums for retirees separately A5. Retirees are included under this contract only as riders; the Contractor shall bill the individual covered at the rates specified in B.2. PRICES. Retiree participation in this program is voluntary.

Q6. Is the Economic Price Adjustment applicable for calculating health insurance premiums for retirees?

A6. Economic Price Adjustment clause is applicable to premiums stated in B.2. PRICES for the base and all option years including FAR 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services.

Q7. Should claims received from retirees be included in the computation of the Economic Price Adjustment?

A7. No. Retirees are included as riders (B1.1.), and their participation in this RFP is voluntary.

Q8. Could you provide statistics for premiums paid and reimbursements for period of 5 years?

A8. No. However, the Embassy provided statistics of reimbursements and premiums paid for periods from 2020 to 2024. See Exhibit D provided with the RFP. It is still too early to have statistics for 2024-2025.

Q9. Could you provide statistics for retention amounts of the current contract for a period of 5 years, from 2020 to 2025?

A9. No. Retentions amounts in the current contract can NOT be released to the public pursuant to FAR part 24. The most recent FAR version is available on: www.acquistion.gov

Q10. Could you provide statistics for current Locally Employed Staff and their family members?

A10. Yes, please refer to Section J, Exhibit A.

Q11. Could you please provide statistics for current retirees?

Q11. Yes, please refer to Section J, Exhibit C. However, the Embassy does not have any actual number of retirees who would participate in this plan.

Q12. When is the appropriate time to submit a price adjustment request for the second, third, and fourth optional years, given that adjustments cannot be applied retroactively?

A12. Each request can not be done any earlier than the effective date of the priced option to be exercised. At any reasonable period after that date, and Economic Price Adjustment request may be made. No adjustment can be made effective during the base year of performance.

Q13. How much time does the Government have to respond to a price adjustment request after all required data has been submitted?

A13. Evaluations for Economic Price Adjustments could take weeks; Therefore, we cannot give any exact timeframe for a response to be made.

Q14. Is the C.1.1.4. Outpatient Service clause and percentages the same for out-of-the-country treatments?

A14. Yes, see C.1.1.17.

Q15. Is a comparison of the benefits between the RFP and the current contract publicly available?

A15. No. Refer to FAR Part 24, Protection of Privacy and Freedom of Information.

Q16. Will the Embassy continue to process premium payments to the contractor for eligible surviving family members for the 180-day coverage period?

A16. Yes. Pursuant to C.1.1.19. this optional benefit is subject to availability of funds at post and no extensions are permitted

Q17. Is dependent enrollment mandatory or voluntary?

A17. See C.1.4. Eligible Participants for further clarification.

http://www.acquistion.gov/

Q18. Is there a minimum number of members required for the medical benefit plan?

A18. Review 52.216-19 Order Limitations and minimum and maximum amounts.

Q19. How is the contractor protected if the U.S. Government significantly reduces the LES staff by more than 25% compared to the initial population, given the contract guarantees a minimum amount based on premiums for one employee?

A19. No other guarantees than those outlined in the RFP will be given, the contract may be terminated partially or in whole pursuant to authority of FAR 52.249-2 Termination for Convenience of the Government (Fixed-Price) (Apr 2012).

Q20. Who collects and remits Excess Coverage premiums?

A20. Refer to A.6. from Q/As posted on SAM.gov on 12 February 2025.

Q21. Would the Government issue a debit notice for the withheld 2% tax from each invoice per the James-Zadroga Act?

A21. The government will withhold 2% for the excise tax per the James-Zadroga Act, from any payment made to the vendor, and submit this to the U.S. Treasury accordingly.

Q22. Is this RFP/Contract subject to Defense Base Act insurance?

A22. No. The U.S. Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina is waived from DBA by Department of

Labor. List of approved DBA waivers is available on https://www.dol.gov/agencies/owcp/dlhwc/dbawaivers/dbawaivers

Q23. Must an eligible dependent reside in Bosnia and Herzegovina to be fully covered by this plan?

A23. No. See C.1.1.17. Out-of-Country Medical Treatment

Q24. When does health insurance coverage become effective?

A24. The health insurance plan will become effective on the date of contract award. Please see block 28 on SF33.

Q25. What are the minimum and maximum policy premium amounts (excluding riders)?

A25. The question is not clear enough and does not refer to a specific part of the RFP.

Q26. Can additional services be introduced if they were not included in the initial RFP?

A26. Please review Section L Instructions, conditions and Notices to Offerors. More specifically

L.4.3.1. Part 1, “If offerors choose to include additional benefits or higher coverages than the required minimums this is acceptable; however, evaluations will be based on meeting the stated minimums only “ https://www.dol.gov/agencies/owcp/dlhwc/dbawaivers/dbawaivers

Q27. What is preferred payment currency?

A27. Payment of the monthly insurance premiums to the contractor shall be in the currency of awarded contract (see G.3.)

Q28. Would it be possible to extend the due date if responses to questions or amendments are issued less than seven working days before the deadline?

A28. If an amendment is issued late in the offer preparation period, the Contracting Officer may consider including a later due date for offers in the amendment. This decision is solely at the discretion of the Contracting Officer.

Q29. Since worldwide coverage is requested, would you consider a proposal from a Contractual

Joint Venture where the offering company meets local licensing requirements?

A29. The Government does NOT encourage prospective offerors to pursue Joint Venture relationship nor seek subcontracting opportunities for Requirements Type of Contract (see FAR 16.503) for Locally Employed Staff Health Insurance Services.

Q30. Is a medical network and direct billing mandatory for covered outpatient medical services?

A30. No, the RFP does not require the awarded contractor to have direct billing agreements with medical institution. However, it is in the best interest of both parties to have extensive network of direct billing agreements with medical providers.

Q31. Are “Over the Counter” drugs covered for reimbursement by this plan?

A31. Medications prescribed by licensed health care providers that are medically required are covered. See C.1.1.7. for additional clarification.

Q32. Could you please provide additional clarification to FAR Clause 52.237-7

INDEMNIFICATION AND MEDICAL LIABILITY INSURANCE (JAN 1997)?

A32. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.237-7 requires contractors providing professional services under a non-personal services contract to maintain liability insurance and indemnify the Government for any liability-producing acts or omissions. The contractor must provide evidence of insurance coverage before starting work and ensure that any subcontractors also maintain the required insurance.

Q33. Could you provide additional clarification on Minimum and Maximum Amounts in the

RFP?

A33. The Minimum and Maximum clause specifies the monthly minimum and maximum amounts that will be ordered each month during the base contract year and any exercised option years. For further details, please refer to FAR 52.216-19 Order Limitations and FAR 52.216- 18 Ordering.

Q34. Could you please confirm the invoicing structure for individuals choosing the enhanced benefit? C 1.1.21 and H.3.2 mention direct billing from the contractor to individuals, while G 4.4a and b mention billing between the Embassy and the provider. Please clarify.

A34. Monthly Invoices shall be prepared pursuant to the requirement of clause G.4. Submission of invoices and payment to the address shown in this clause. The invoices for riders, except for retires, shall follow the same structure as the invoice issued for those services ordered on the task order. Also, monthly invoices for Excess Coverage shall be structured in the same way as a monthly invoice for the Embassy but shall include a list of all participants and their family statuses and the premiums they will be charged. The Embassy may collect the employee portion for their participation in excess coverage premiums and make monthly payments.

Q35. Does the Government require notarized copies of licenses if proposal submitted in electronic form?

A35. Yes. Scanned notarized licenses shall be provided with the proposal. Winning offeror shall provide original of notarized copy of the license at the contract award.

Q36. Is the prospective offeror required to obtain NATO Commercial And Government (NCAGE) code for registration to System for Award Management (SAM) data base?

A36. Yes. Prospective offerors shall check requirements for registration to SAM on the SAM.gov internet site and with Federal Support Desk (FSD).

Q37. Is there any intermediary which we can address to, or we have to obtain an NCAGE code via NCAGE Code Request Tool?

A37. No. You may obtain NCAGE code using NCAGE Request Tools (NCRT) available on:

https://www.nato.int/structur/ac/135/ https://www.nato.int/structur/ac/135/