WTC NRHP contract Q As and attendees.docx

WTC NRHP Contract Pre-Proposal Conference Tuesday, July 20, 2010 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Attendees:

QTC – Carla Abramcheck CHS – Thomas Ryan, Joan Brisson, and Paige Valdiserri LHI – David Tornberg and Sarah Parins

CDC – Ruben Cruz NIOSH – Roy Fleming NIOSH – Jerald O’Hara NIOSH – William Andre NIOSH – George Bockosh

Discussion/Question: Is the social service counseling mostly comprised of educating patients of benefits and directing them to outside resources or is there a component of psychological counseling as well?

The Social Services Referrals component of Member Services is comprised of educating patients (members) by directing them to outside resources. The WTC NRHP contractor shall develop and maintain a social services resource guide which will contain the name, contact information, and types of services offered for outside resources in zip codes where members live. The resource guide will be updated as new requests for social service referrals are received from responders. The contact information of social service resources in the resource guide should be verified at least annually.

Discussion/Question: What labor category does the government want for this task?

No specific labor category is required by the government, but the proposal should contain the category deemed appropriate by the proposer.

Discussion/Question: Are there particular treatment plan forms that BH providers need to utilize and if so, what is the depth/length of the forms?

The government assumes that BH providers refers to Behavioral Health providers. Section J-15 contains a Treatment Summary Form which shall be completed during every treatment encounter, and the form includes a treatment plan section. Within 2 weeks after contract award, the WTC NRHP contractor shall submit their formal Treatment Summary Form to the government for review and approval.

Discussion/Question: Can Licensed Professional counselors also be utilized as treatment providers? Can Licensed Professional counselors be utilized in assisting with crisis management?

Yes. Yes

Discussion/Question: Are there a limited number of sessions that the BH provider must work within to provide treatment to the first responder?

A specific limitation on the number of sessions that a provider must work within has not been established. It will be the WTC NRHP contractor’s responsibility to work with the government to establish appropriate limits.

On page 2 of Attachment J-4 it states the HHS goals (not prime contractor goals) as the expectation being the minimum of goals to develop the plan on—the SB goal of 28% far exceed the federal goals of 23%. Further, on page 5, the note states that Federal Prime Contract percentage goals may serve as objectives for subcontract goal development.

Discussion/Question: Please clarify what subcontracting goals (%) are established for the contractor.

Please utilize the HHS subcontracting goals. The goals on page 5 are for reference and are only applicable to prime contractors, not subcontracts.

Discussion/Question: The draft project management plan is due with proposal – and final due 2 weeks after award. What is the turnaround time for the government to provide comments to ensure inclusion in the final report?

The “final” project management plan will contain revisions to the draft project management plan which are based on the knowledge of the program gained during the first 2 weeks after the award of the contract. The final project management plan will be submitted to the government 2 weeks after award of contract. At that time, the government will provide comments on the final project management plan and a timeline for revisions and government approval will be established.

Discussion/Question: The draft fraud and abuse plan is due with proposal – and final due 2 weeks after award. What is the turnaround time for the government to provide comments to ensure inclusion in the final report?

The “final” fraud and abuse plan will contain revisions to the draft fraud and abuse plan which are based on the knowledge of the program gained during the first 2 weeks after the award of the contract. The final fraud and abuse plan will be submitted to the government 2 weeks after award of contract. At that time, the government will provide comments on the final fraud and abuse plan and a timeline for revisions and government approval will be established.

Discussion/Question: Please expand on forms or deliverables this clause will impact and how the contractor and Government will coordinate associated activities.

This contract is exempted from OMB clearance, and any references to such clearance will be omitted from the contract.

Discussion/question: No reference to the required level-of-effort, either as a total or by CLIN. Recommend completion type CPFF contract because the following is not applicable: “the contractor is obligated by the contract to provide a specific level of effort within a definite time period.” The specific level of effort is unknown and execution of services will be dependent on the needs of the responders who are being served under this vehicle.

The contract will be a completion-type contract.

Discussion/Question: This section requires identification of any former HHS employee. What is the timeframe for that requirement?

If “What is the timeframe for that requirement?” means “When is the requirement to be accomplished?”, the information is due with the offeror’s proposal. If “What is the timeframe for that requirement?” means “What is the timeframe to be considered for HHS employment?”, the offeror should identify any former HHS employee to be utilized on this project who has worked for HHS in the past 5 years.

Discussion/Question: If appropriate, subcontractor’s certificate of current cost or pricing data and negotiation memorandum cannot be provided until negotiation of the subcontract which will occur upon contract award to the prime from the government. Please clarify.

If the subcontract is not finalized by the proposal due date, then the certificate of current cost or pricing data and negotiation memorandum can be excluded from the offeror’s submission.

Discussion/Question: What constitutes a “valid” complaint? Will the contractor have to develop a satisfaction survey or is the current one being utilized the one the contractor will have to use?

A “valid” complaint is one that is based on facts and documents a failure of the contractor to deliver contract services in the manner specified. Also, the contractor shall develop a satisfaction survey which shall be submitted to the government for approval within 2 weeks of contract award.

Discussion/Question: When will the incumbent Transition-out Plan be provided to the contractor?

The incumbent’s Transition-out Plan will not be given to the contractor. Data from the incumbent contractor, including member contact information and medical history information, will be provided to the contractor within 2 weeks after the award of the contract.

Discussion/Question: Is the required ‘Scientific Information regarding WTC exposure and related health outcomes” available now or needs to be researched and developed?

The ‘Scientific Information regarding WTC exposure and related health outcomes” is available now at the NIOSH WTC website which includes links to other WTC sites: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/wtc/. The contractor’s Medical Director will be expected to participate in meetings of the Steering Committee and the Consortium of Clinical Centers to discuss these matters. The contractor may need to reformat the information before disseminating it to their provider network.

Discussion/Question: Will the contractor have to develop a screening / eligibility questionnaire or is there already a standardized questionnaire that the contractor will be expected to use.

The WTC NRHP contractor is not required to provide any eligibility determination services. Such services are performed by the two Data Centers in the Responder Consortium.

Discussion/Question: Discussion: On page 55 under Sub-Factor B requirements, the first bullet states: “Project Management (include Project Management Plan) and this seems to be a duplicate of the project management plan required in TAB 2. In a tightly page limited proposal, this requirement will shorten other approaches to repeat previously provided information.

Question: Does the Government expect another copy of the Project Management Plan required in TAB 2 to be provided in TAB 3?

Question: If no, would the Government please clarify what is expected to be provided to meet the TAB 3 Project Management Plan requirement.

The references in TAB 2 and TAB 3 refer to the same document. The Draft Project Management Plan and the Draft Fraud and Abuse Plan which are required to be submitted with the offeror’s proposal shall be submitted as Attachments to the offeror’s proposal. These two Attachments will not be counted in the page limitation. TAB 2 shall contain a detailed summary of the information provided in the Draft Project Management Plan and the Draft Fraud and Abuse Plan. This summary information does not need to be repeated in TAB 3.

(2) PWS section C.4.3, page 18, first paragraph states” For responders already engaged in treatment with an out-of-network provider, the NRHP contractor will attempt to establish a business relationship with this provider, thereby adding this provider to their network or establishing comparable fees and an acceptable billing process.”

(3) Attachment J-6, Pricing Worksheet. “Please provide all-inclusive pricing for the following procedures in the locations shown in the table. The prices should reflect the rates that have been negotiated by the offeror with their provider network.”

Discussion/Question: Discussion: Since the current providers were not included in the RFP materials, bidders have no firm data on current costs relating to these providers. This will make their costs notional with regard to this program and especially for the WTC-unique CPTs.

Question: Will the Government provide the list of current providers to all bidders so that accurate pricing is achievable?

Question: If no, will the Government provide clarification on how they desire bidders to develop and represent these costs and how they will be evaluated?

A list of current providers will be provided to the contractor after the award of the contract.

It is the government’s desire that offeror’s provide pricing which has been established with providers currently in the offeror’s network in the locations shown. If the offeror is not currently providing services through their network in the locations show, the offeror should indicate that the prices represent their estimate of the prices which will be negotiated in the locations shown after the award of the contract.

(2) Section L.14 (1.) Proposal Assumptions - states “The WTC contract award is planned on or before Sept 30 2010”

(3) PWS section C.4.1.5 states …”contractor shall propose the expected duration of the transition-in phase…”

Discussion/Question: Discussion: Since the base period and the outside date of contract award are potentially the same day, bidders will find it difficult to propose the duration of their proposed transition-in phase.

Question: (1)Will the Government provide a more precise contract award date assumption that allows some time for a transition period and/or (2) further clarify their requirements for bidders to propose their transition-in phase duration to full contract performance.

The offeror shall propose the duration of the Transition-in phase. This duration will be the length of time between contract award and when the offeror believes they can be fully operational. There is a provision in the current contract to provide continuity of services for up to 90 days to allow both contractors to accomplish all of the necessary transition activities.

Discussion/Question: The level of care/effort varies significantly between the 3 levels of case management. Of the estimated 450 responders in case management, how many (or what percentage) are in each level of case management? Non-incumbent bidders will need this information to properly estimate case management requirements.

Acuity Level Summary Tracking

Question # 20 Reference: L.14 Proposal Assumptions, “monitoring costs for calendar year 2009 were $931,231” CLIN(s) “Monitoring/Treatment Services”

Discussion/Question: Please explain what costs are included in the $931,231 figure. Does this include the Medical History Questionnaire? The completion of the Physician Summary Report? The requisite testing (PFT, Chest x-ray, blood and urine assays)? The physical Exam? Overhead charges? G&A? Of these types of costs, which are to be estimated in the CLIN “Monitoring/Treatment Services”?

The $931,231 amount includes all components of the monitoring exam listed in the question, except overhead and G&A. All of these costs are to be included, but the overhead and G&A costs should be listed separately.

Question # 21 Reference: C.4.1.5 and Attachment J-7: City Level Zip Codes

Discussion/Question: Any healthcare provided outside the U.S.?

No healthcare is provided outside of the United States and its territories; however, responders may travel at their own expense to the United States and its territories for their healthcare.

Currently, there are less than 25 such individuals.

Technical/Management Proposal, Tab 5 Sub-factor D, Personnel; H.18 Key Personnel, PWS C.4.1.2 Key Personnel

Question: Section H.18 identifies key personnel as: Program Manager, Medical Director, and a Contract Administrator / Business Official. Section L.15 Tab 5 says that “At a minimum, Key Personnel shall include the Program Manager and a Medical Director.” PWS Section C.4.1.2 states that “The NRHP contractor’s Key Personnel shall include, at a minimum, a Project Manager and a Medical Director.” Would the government please clarify the minimum key personnel required for this contract?

The Contract Administrator / Business Official should be included in the list of Key Personnel.

Question: The Executive Summary is “not to exceed three pages”. Is the Executive Summary excluded from the 100 page limit for Volume 1, Technical/Management Proposal?

The Executive Summary will be counted in the 100 page limit for Volume 1, Technical/Management Proposal.

Technical/Management Proposal, Tab 6—Past/Present Performance

Question: Section L.15, Proposal Instructions states that “past performance questionnaires…do not count against the page limit”. Section L.15 Tab 6 instructs the offeror that “Along with submitting the Past/Present Performance Reference Questionnaires, for each of the submitted references, submit a narrative of the offeror’s past/present performance describing the work and the relevance of such work/experience.

Page Limit: 4 page total for each.” Is the past performance narratives excluded from the 100 page limit of the Volume 1, Technical/Management Proposal?

Past Performance narratives will be counted in the 100 page limit for Volume 1, Technical/Management Proposal.

Technical/Management Proposal, Tab 5—Sub-factor D, Personnel; M.7.1 Factor 1.

Technical/Management, Subfactor B, Technical Approach

Question: Section L.15, Tab 5 Section 5.1, Subfactor D, Personnel instructs the offeror to include a “Staffing plan which demonstrates an understanding of the labor requirements of this RFP. The staffing plan should include proposed professional personnel, key personnel, non-professional personnel, consultants, and key subcontracts/subcontractor personnel.” Section M.7.1, Subfactor B, Technical Approach, informs offerors that they will be evaluated based their ability to “specifies labor category and skill level qualifications in detail to demonstrate sufficient understanding of the full range of labor required to fulfill the requirements of the PWS.” In order to adhere to the page limits of the request for the proposal, should the offeror include the staffing plan in Subfactor D, Personnel or Subfactor B, Technical Approach?

The offeror’s Staffing Plan should be included under Subfactor D.

4(b);

Question: Is a certificate of current cost & pricing data (for either prime contractor, or subcontractor) required to be submitted with the proposal?

No.

transition in costs in the CLIN structure?

ITEM 0001

Information Other than Cost and Pricing Data; Travel;

Question: Are travel costs to be included in Section B? If so, what CLIN?

Travel costs should be embedded in the total costs for ITEM 0001 in the base year and each subsequent option year. The cost breakout for ITEM 0001, as required under L.16, Tab 4, should have the specific travel costs using the estimates on page 62 under “Travel”.

Administrative Data; (9) Service Contract Act (if applicable) Question: Please confirm that the Service Contract Act is not applicable to the professional medical services to be provided under the contract award.

The Service Contract Act (SCA) is not applicable based on the government’s estimate of expected labor mix. As stipulated on page 65 under (9) Service Contract Act, offerors must still review their proposed labor mix to ensure all labor categories are exempted from SCA. Please use 29 CFR 541 as reference. Example: If proposing nurses, Registered Nurses are exempt from SCA, but licensed practical nurses are not and SCA would apply.