INDEFINITE DELIVERY INDEFINITE QUANTITY CONTRACT REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS - REVISED.pdf

INDEFINITE DELIVERY INDEFINITE QUANTITY

CONTRACT REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

SECTION I: Contract Details and Statement of Work

1. SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COST

1.1 Contract Type

1.1.1 This is an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ), firm fixed priced (FFP) contract subject to task order assignments. Time and materials (T&M) task orders may be also issued under this contract when conditions warrant their issuance. The contracting officer will determine task order type on a case-by-case basis. Services will be defined and priced through individual task orders. In the performance of task orders, the contractor shall use firm fixed hourly rates for labor categories in accordance with Clause 1.3 (Fully Burdened Labor Rate Schedule and Other Direct Costs (ODCs) for Base and Option Periods) below in their cost proposals. Cost reimbursement material expenses associated with efforts under the materials contract line item number(s) (CLINs) must be supported by an invoice.

Contractor-furnished domestic travel required in support of CLINs will be reimbursed, in accordance with the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission’s (MACPAC or the Commission) travel policy and supported by invoice. Economy class air fares will be reimbursed at actual cost up to amount listed under the City Pair fare. Per diems will be reimbursed, as appropriate, in accordance with the General Services Administration's (GSA) per diem rates. No fee or profit will be paid on reimbursements for travel and per diems. In the performance of task orders designated as T&M, the contractor shall propose a total cost estimate using loaded labor rates agreed to in the contract and other direct costs on an actual cost basis.

1.1.2 In order to facilitate the negotiation of task orders, the contractor shall propose a FFP rate for each labor category proposed. The rates shall be fixed for the base period and each option period. In order to aid the Commission in its evaluation of the proposed rates, all offerors shall provide cost and pricing data to demonstrate how the rates were determined.

Travel expenses shall not be included in any rates that are proposed as part of the establishment of the base IDIQ contract(s). Travel costs will not be requested or considered until the task order stage, and at that time shall be based on the rules outlined above in section 1.1.1.

1.1.3 Travel in association with any future task order will be at a not-to-exceed amount and only actual and allowable travel expenses incurred by the contractor will be reimbursed.

1.1.4 All work will be performed at the contractor's site except when the task requires work at specific locations (e.g., MACPAC office, site visits, expert panels, etc.).

1.2 Period of Performance

1.2.1 The period of performance for this contract is a base period of 12 months and four one-year option periods. The period of performance, including all options, is as follows:

• Base Period October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021

• Option Period 1 October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022

• Option Period 2 October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023

• Option Period 3 October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024

• Option Period 4 October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025

1.3 Fully Burdened Labor Rate Schedule and Other Direct Costs for Base and Option Periods

1.3.1 The offeror shall propose fully-loaded hourly rates for all personnel potentially assigned to tasks under this contract. Each offeror's rates will depend on how personnel and positions are classified within each offeror's human resources structure or classification system.

However, offerors may use the following sample labor categories as general guidance on how individuals could be classified to facilitate MACPAC's review of proposals. The offeror’s proposed staff should reflect the years and type of experience as specified below.

a) Project Manager: responsible for the day-to-day management of the project and direction of offeror project staff. The project manager shall have at least ten years of relevant experience researching Medicaid or State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) issues and a minimum of five years' experience in the management of contracts of this type, which involves multiple tasks, changing priorities, and timely action.

b) Supervising Programmer, Supervising Analyst, or Lead Investigator: shall have at least ten years of relevant experience and at least five years of experience as the manager or supervisor of other programmers or analysts or researchers. Researchers should have an advanced degree in a directly relevant field and a proven track record researching Medicaid or CHIP issues.

c) Senior Programmer, Senior Analyst, or Senior Research Scientist: shall have at least five years of experience, of which at least three years must involve work directly relevant to Medicaid or CHIP.

d) Policy Analyst (mid-level): with a master's degree or higher, shall have at least three years of experience conducting policy research and analysis related to Medicaid or CHIP.

e) Research Assistant (entry-level): with a bachelor's degree in public policy, economics, statistics, or related discipline, shall have one to three years of work experience.

f) Programmer (mid-level): shall have at least three years of data processing experience;

experience with Medicaid or CHIP data preferred.

g) Programmer (entry-level): shall have one year of data processing experience or a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, statistics, computer science, or a social science research discipline.

h) Actuary: must possess a current Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) designation from the Society of Actuaries or a similar designation from another actuarial certifying body. The actuary must have a minimum of five years of experience providing actuarial services regarding Medicaid or CHIP.

i) Senior Information Technology Specialist: shall have at least 10 years of experience in information technology software and computer support services.

j) Information Technology Specialist: shall have at least three years of experience in information technology and computer support services.

k) Administrative support staff: as needed.

1.3.2 The fully burdened labor rate schedule and other direct costs pricing tables below should be included in the offeror’s business management and cost/price proposal. These tables may be recreated for inclusion in proposals, but must replicate the exact content of the pricing tables below.

Base Year: Period of Performance: 10/01/2020 through 9/30/2021

CLIN Category Unit Unit Price/Rate 0001 Labor

0002 Cost Reimbursement

Materials

0003 Cost Reimbursement Travel

0004 Other

Option Year One (1): Period of Performance: 10/01/2021 through 9/30/2022

1001 Labor

1002 Cost Reimbursement

Materials

1003 Cost Reimbursement Travel

1004 Other

Option Year Two (2): Period of Performance: 10/01/2022 through 9/30/2023

CLIN Category Unit Unit Price/R ate

2001 Labor

2002 Cost Reimbursement Materials

2003 Cost Reimbursement Travel

2004 Other

Option Year Three (3): Period of Performance: 10/01/2023 through 9/30/2024

Price/R

3001 Labor

3002 Cost Reimbursement Materials

Price/R

3003 Cost Reimbursement Travel

3004 Other

Option Year Four (4): Period of Performance: 10/01/2024 through 9/30/2025

Price/R

4001 Labor

4002 Cost Reimbursement Materials

4003 Cost Reimbursement Travel

4004 Other

2. STATEMENT OF WORK

2.1 Purpose

The statement of work (SOW) describes the types of projects for which MACPAC seeks assistance from qualified contractors under this contract. The contract will provide MACPAC with an expeditious and flexible mechanism for undertaking short- and long-term defined projects on a potentially wide range of topics related to Medicaid and CHIP.

2.2 Agency Background

MACPAC is a non-partisan legislative branch agency that provides policy and data analysis and makes recommendations to Congress, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the states on a wide array of issues affecting Medicaid and CHIP. The U.S.

Comptroller General appoints MACPAC’s 17 commissioners, who come from diverse regions across the United States and bring broad expertise and a wide range of perspectives on Medicaid and CHIP.

MACPAC serves as an independent source of information on Medicaid and CHIP, publishing issue briefs and data reports throughout the year to support policy analysis and program accountability.

The Commission’s authorizing statute, 42 USC §1396, outlines a number of areas for analysis, including:

• payment;

• eligibility;

• enrollment and retention;

• coverage;

• access to care;

• quality of care; and

• the programs’ interaction with Medicare and the health care system generally.

MACPAC’s authorizing statute also requires the Commission to submit reports to Congress by March 15 and June 15 of each year. In carrying out its work, the Commission holds public meetings and regularly consults with state officials, congressional and executive branch staff, beneficiaries, health care providers, researchers, and policy experts. Additional information on MACPAC and its work can be found at www.macpac.gov.

The Commission’s deliberations and recommendations draw from MACPAC staff analysis and research, including work done by contractors under the direction of MACPAC staff. This research can be quantitative (e.g., claims or survey data analysis) or qualitative (e.g., literature reviews, collecting first-hand information via site visits, structured interviews, or expert roundtables).

MACPAC meets publicly and is required to regularly consult with states in carrying out its duties and ensure that input from states is taken into account and represented in MACPAC’s recommendations and reports. MACPAC is also required to examine the federal and state budgetary implications of its recommendations and consults with the Congressional Budget Office on budget estimates.

MACPAC staff also oversee external research contracts that provide additional technical expertise, data collection, and analytic support. Most staff and contractor work is focused on specific policy questions; staff and contractors may develop policy options but do not provide recommendations to the Commission. When the Commission meets publicly, it considers the results of staff research, presentations by policy experts, and comments from interested parties; they discuss policy issues and formulate recommendations.

Most contractor work is expected to be completed within a report cycle, which begins in early summer with the appointment of new Commissioners and ends in early spring the following year with the approval of content for the reports to Congress.

2.3 Description of Services

2.3.1 The contractor(s) under this project shall be able to implement one or more of the listed types of projects, as described in Clause 2.5 (Discussion of Project Types and Tasks) below, on behalf of MACPAC. A description of the Commission's objectives related to these types of projects is contained in Clause 2.4 (Objective) below.

2.3.2 The contractor(s) selected under this IDIQ should anticipate working closely with MACPAC in the execution of project tasks. For example, MACPAC staff typically review and provide comments on all draft deliverables, participate in stakeholder interviews, and guide the direction of the research. In addition, all correspondence requesting participation in MACPAC research (e.g., letters requesting participation in an interview or expert panel) must be coordinated with MACPAC and be issued on MACPAC letterhead.

2.3.3 Under MACPAC’s current IDIQ contract, between October 2015 and April 2020 there have been approximately 75 IDIQ tasks awarded to the current 21 IDIQ contractors. Awards range from approximately $5,000 to $300,000 per task and are generally awarded for periods of one year or less. In some cases, tasks may be modified to include additional related tasks (e.g., a task order to compute data from national surveys that is modified to produce additional data runs as needed); such modifications may require additional funds to be added. All tasks have required multiple staff members on the teams that conduct the work. Some IDIQ contractors have used subcontractors to fulfill specific task orders.

2.4 Objective

2.4.1 MACPAC seeks to identify and contract with a group of organizations that possess the skills and knowledge to complete projects on a wide variety of topics the Commission addresses on Medicaid and CHIP. Offerors may demonstrate competence in one, several, or all of the categories referenced in Clause 2.5 (Discussion of Project Types and Tasks) below.

2.4.2 MACPAC's goal is to assemble a group of contractors possessing complementary knowledge and skill sets to facilitate MACPAC access to a range of expertise commensurate with the array of issues that the Commission must address. MACPAC does not seek to limit the contractors chosen as a result of this solicitation to a predetermined number, nor does it have a preference for Contractors who demonstrate competence in one category or multiple categories referenced in Clause 2.5.

2.4.3 Offerors should clearly indicate which of the project types described in Clause 2.5 they seek consideration for in their IDIQ proposal and document their expertise in these areas through proposed staff and corporate experience. MACPAC expects to invite entities to bid on and complete specific tasks based upon the types of projects identified in offerors’ responses to this IDIQ as well as the qualifications of the individual(s) included in the task order proposals.

To ensure consideration for the broadest range of task orders, offerors should provide qualifications for all types of tasks for which they have appropriate expertise. MACPAC may, from time to time during the duration of this contract, offer contractors chosen as a result of this solicitation the opportunity to submit updated staff and corporate qualifications.

MACPAC may also, at its discretion, send requests for task order proposals to offerors who did not include information on that project type or task in response to this IDIQ.

2.4.4 For purposes of qualifying for the IDIQ award, only qualifications of the prime bidding organization and its staff will be considered. In other words, qualifications of subcontractors bid in this overall IDIQ proposal will not be considered in scoring because MACPAC’s contractual relationship is only with the prime contractor. When bidding on specific task orders, organizations may propose working with subcontractors of their choosing (including other prime contractors on this IDIQ) for specific tasks to strengthen their team for specific tasks, subject to MACPAC approval. In these specific task proposals, qualifications of the full team, including subcontractors, will be considered in scoring.

2.4.5 All proposals must demonstrate sufficient understanding of the role of MACPAC and the political and regulatory context in which it operates. Based upon the types of projects in which the offeror has identified an interest, proposals must demonstrate that the offeror has the requisite substantive knowledge, technical capacity, and experience to complete such projects and corresponding tasks. Substantive knowledge and technical expertise can be in any or all areas related to Medicaid or CHIP policy, including understanding state programs and state operations, having experience at both the federal and state levels.

2.4.6 Where quantitative skills are necessary (e.g., conducting data analysis, sampling for surveys), proposals must demonstrate that ability. Likewise, for projects where qualitative skills are more relevant, (e.g., convening expert panels, arranging site visits) relevant abilities and experience must be demonstrated.

2.4.7 Attachment B contains the criteria by which proposals will be judged. The Commission may use different scoring criteria for task orders issued during the course of this IDIQ award. The scoring criteria that will apply to any specific task order will be provided to bidders as part of the invitation to bid on that task order.

2.4.8 The decision to pursue any of the identified project types will be made solely by the Commission's staff during the course of the contract. The Commission cannot predict its needs far in advance. Accordingly, MACPAC cannot guarantee that each individual and entity awarded a contract under this request for proposal (RFP) will in fact be chosen to complete a project under the contract. Contractors for specific tasks will be selected based on the type of project at hand and the Contractor's demonstrated technical or methodological expertise.

IDIQ contractors selected to compete for a task will submit a technical and business proposal and tasks will be awarded based on MACPAC review of the competitors’ proposals.

A contractor may refuse a task (or not bid on that task order proposal) if it is unavailable to complete the tasks within the required time frame.

2.5 Discussion of Project Types and Tasks

2.5.1 The offeror must demonstrate expertise and experience in one or more of the following areas.

Offerors will not be penalized for demonstrating expertise and experience in only a subset of these six areas, nor will extra consideration be given to offerors who demonstrate expertise and experience in all six.

2.5.1.1 Convening/soliciting information from experts/stakeholders. Offerors may demonstrate capabilities and expertise in collecting and synthesizing information from experts and stakeholders through a number of mechanisms (e.g., site visits, structured interviews, and expert roundtables), including identifying and soliciting participants, developing interview or discussion guides, scheduling and planning structured interviews, taking and verifying meeting notes, and analyzing and communicating themes and findings.

2.5.1.2 Conducting environmental scans/information syntheses. Offerors may demonstrate capabilities and expertise in collecting and synthesizing information from variety of sources (e.g., published or grey literature, state and federal policies, case studies, evaluations) including identifying relevant sources, developing templates or frameworks for organizing information, collecting and validating information, and writing summary memos and issue briefs.

2.5.1.3 Developing and framing policy options. Offerors may demonstrate capabilities and expertise in evaluating sources of evidence to assess policies; conducting analyses of policy options; and developing various materials (e.g., briefs, reports, tables, presentations) to allow the consideration of findings to support decision making.

2.5.1.4 Conducting limited surveys and focus groups. Offerors may demonstrate capabilities and expertise in conducting limited surveys (e.g., state officials, beneficiaries), facilitating focus groups, or using other methods to gather individual-level data, including identifying participants and securing their participation, developing interview or discussion guides, scheduling and planning sessions, developing templates or frameworks for organizing information, and analyzing, and communicating themes and findings

2.5.1.5 Analyzing survey and administrative data. Offerors may demonstrate their capabilities and expertise in using Medicaid and other administrative data to support policy analysis. While MACPAC has separate task order contracts for Medicaid administrative and survey data analysis, contractors on this IDIQ may also be selected to compete for tasks that involve analysis of survey and administrative data. MACPAC is also interested in learning about sources of data that offerors have access to, while noting that for most MACPAC data analyses, national datasets are preferred.

2.5.1.6 Modeling, actuarial analysis and policy simulations. Offerors may demonstrate capabilities in actuarial modeling of Medicaid policies, and simulations of changes in Medicaid policy.

2.6 Human Resource Management

2.6.1 Personnel Qualifications

2.6.1.1 Contractors shall provide qualified personnel with all necessary certifications and competencies to perform the requirements as specified in this contract and resulting task orders at the performance start date(s).

2.6.1.2 Offerors shall propose an IDIQ project director who will be responsible for overseeing the performance of all task orders awarded under this contract and be considered key personnel on this contract. Offerors may propose an alternate point of contact for correspondence related to the contract who will not be considered key personnel. The IDIQ project director does not need to be the project director on specific task orders awarded under this contract but will retain responsibility for overseeing performance and quality control on all task orders.

2.6.2 Personnel Maintenance

2.6.2.1 Contractors shall ensure continuation of services during personnel absences due to sickness, leave, and voluntary or involuntary termination from employment such that impact to MACPAC is minimal. The contractor agrees that, during the first 30 days of the contract performance period, no personnel substitutions will be permitted unless such substitutions are necessitated by an individual's sudden illness, death, or termination of employment. After the first 30 days, all proposed substitutions must be submitted to the contracting officer in writing, at least 15 days in advance of the proposed substitutions. Each request for approval of substitutions under this contract must be in writing and provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating the proposed substitutions. The request must contain a complete resume for the proposed substitute.

2.6.3 Replacement/Substitution

2.6.3.1 The contractor shall designate the key personnel necessary to the successful performance of work under task order assignments resulting from this contract. The contractor agrees to assign these persons to the performance of work under the contract and shall not replace or substitute for such personnel without written authorization from the MACPAC contracting officer.

2.6.3.2 Prior to replacing/substituting key personnel performing on task orders under this contract, the contractor shall notify the contracting officer at least 15 days in advance of the proposed replacement/substitution. Notice shall include written justification for the change and a sufficiently detailed qualification summary/resume of proposed personnel to permit MACPAC’s evaluation and acceptance, as well as fully-loaded hourly rates, labor categories for proposed key personnel and any other information requested by the contracting officer in order to approve or disapprove the proposed substitution. All substitutions proposed must have at least substantially equal ability and qualifications of the person being replaced.

2.6.3.3 MACPAC reserves the right to disapprove of any successors to key personnel, both on the overall IDIQ contract and on any task orders issued pursuant to IDIQ contract award. The contracting officer will notify the contractor within five business days of approval or disapproval of such substitutions.

2.6.4 Financial Management – Cost Controls

2.6.4.1 Contractors shall demonstrate effectiveness in forecasting, managing, and controlling contract and task order costs. Contractors shall provide total accountability, accuracy, disclosure, control, forecasting, estimating, and overall management of all efforts at the task order level.

2.7 Task Order Requirements

2.7.1 General Information

2.7.1.1 Contractors shall provide services and perform tasks in accordance with separately issued task order assignments as specified therein. Contractors shall not start performance on any requirement until the contracting officer issues a task order. The contracting officer may designate a contracting officer’s representative (COR) for each task order, who shall be the authorized representative of the contracting officer and will provide technical direction and monitoring of task order performance on a day-to-day basis.

2.7.2 Content

2.7.2.1 Requests for task order proposals will be prepared by MACPAC and may include a detailed description of the goals to be accomplished and desired outcomes, in the form of a statement of work; security instructions if any; any required MACPAC inputs; expected completion date(s); a list of deliverables; and additional data, as appropriate, to assist the contractor in understanding the task. For firm fixed price tasks, dollar amounts will be assigned to each deliverable after award.

2.7.3 Changes/Deviations

2.7.3.1 Changes to task order contents, estimated costs, schedules and deliverables shall be documented by a revision/modification to the task order or sub-task in the same manner as the basic task order. Only the contracting officer may authorize changes to any resulting task order awarded under this contract.

2.7.4 Performance Expectations

2.7.4.1 Throughout the life of the contract, the contractor will be evaluated on the basis of the performance measures delineated in each executed task order. Each task order will include an SOW detailing the services required. The contractor will be evaluated on the performance measures and must provide acceptable quality work to continue services under the contract. All work described in the SOW to be delivered under each task order is subject to final inspection and acceptance by the contracting officer and contracting officer’s representative.

2.7.4.2 The performance expectations are described below.

Performance area Required service Performance indicator

Monitoring method

Accuracy/completeness technical proficiency

All work products must be complete, accurate, and conducted with techniques commensurate to the task.

Analytic exercises and literature reviews must be free of errors and sufficiently comprehensive;

accounts of site visits, interviews, and expert panels must accurately reflect content of proceedings. Logistical arrangements (e.g., site visits, panels, etc.) must be conducted without disruptions.

Draft and final work products are complete and accurate and conducted in a technically-competent and appropriate manner.

Work is appropriately cited, neutral in tone, and final deliverables incorporate feedback from the

MACPAC

contracting officer’s representative.

MACPAC contracting officer’s representative review of work products may include external peer review of deliverables. MACPAC reserves the right to perform any inspection and audit as deemed necessary to assure that the Contractor’s services conform to prescribed requirements.

Timeliness All work products - both interim and final - must be completed on schedule in order for MACPAC to use them most effectively.

Contractor deliverables are provided on schedule as indicated in the task order contract unless modified by the

MACPAC

contracting ffi

MACPAC contracting officer and contracting officer’s representative will review task deliverables with respect to the schedule defined in the task order.

Responsiveness The contractor shall be responsive to requests for clarifications on submitted work products or to refinements to the task work based on changing needs of MACPAC (within the scope of work).

The contractor is able to provide requested information or make adjustments in task work without undue delays.

MACPAC contracting officer’s representative will review the contractor's ability to adjust task work in response to changing conditions, needs, and unexpected circumstances.

Performance area Required service Performance indicator

Monitoring method

Communication The contractor shall proactively keep MACPAC apprised of all issues related to the conduct of the task including, but not limited to progress of work, any issues that affect the contractor's ability to meet schedule or budget requirements, unforeseen logistical issues, changes to the contractor's internal operations (e.g., personnel changes) relevant to the work, etc.

The contractor provides both regular updates on the progress of work under the task order and notifies the contracting officer’s representative of any unanticipated circumstances that affect either the analytics / logistics of the project, the project schedule, or the project budget.

MACPAC contracting officer’s representative will review both regular and ad hoc status reports on the applicable task order. MACPAC contracting officer’s representative should have the ability to brief MACPAC executive staff on the status of the task order project at any point in the conduct of the work.

Cost The contractor shall ensure that work conducted under the task order is completed within the limits of the specified budget, unless otherwise negotiated with and approved by the MACPAC contracting officer’s representative and contracting officer.

Work is completely and accurately performed within budget.

MACPAC contracting officer’s representative and contracting officer will regularly jointly review progress toward final deliverables at each significant milestone in the task order work to ensure that the project's expenditures are commensurate with each stage of work.

2.7.5 Potential Remediation for Failure of Contractor to Meet Acceptable Level of Quality

2.7.5.1 Contractors will have an opportunity to correct nonconforming services at the expense of the contractor, within a time period specified by the contracting officer’s representative, before MACPAC makes an equitable adjustment to the contract.

2.7.5.1.1 MACPAC reserves the right to refuse deliverables or a work product that is deemed to be deficient in one or more areas specified in the above measures.

2.7.5.1.2 MACPAC reserves the right to obtain remuneration from the contractor for work deemed to be unusable as a result of poor quality.

2.7.5.1.3 Written acceptance, conditional acceptance, or rejection will be sent to the contractor via email.

2.7.6 Unsatisfactory Work

2.7.6.1 Performance by the contractor to correct defects found by MACPAC as a result of quality review and by the contractor as a result of quality control shall be at the contractor’s own expense and without additional reimbursement by MACPAC. Unless otherwise negotiated, the contractor shall correct or replace all nonconforming services or deliverables no later than the time and date granted by the contracting officer’s representative.

2.7.7 Quality Control

2.7.7.1 The contractor shall have a quality control approach to ensure that tasks performed under this contract are accurate, complete, and timely. The IDIQ project director and other contractor staff with appropriate seniority shall provide oversight of quality control for all work conducted under this contract.

2.7.7.2 The contractor may be asked to submit a quality control plan as part of a task order proposal, which shall include the following:

2.7.7.2.1 Specifics as to the scope of reviews conducted (e.g., data quality, deliverable content, statement of work compliance), frequency of reviews, and role/title of quality reviewers.

2.7.7.2.2 A description of the methods to be used for identifying and preventing defects in the quality of services performed.

2.7.7.2.3 A description of the records to be kept to document quality reviews and corrective or preventative actions taken.

2.7.7.3 All records of inspections performed shall be retained and made available to MACPAC upon request throughout the contract performance period, and for the period after contract completion, until final settlement of any claims under this contract.

2.7.7.4 MACPAC will evaluate the contractor's performance in following the method of surveillance specified herein. When an observation indicates less than satisfactory performance, the contracting officer or other designated representative will immediately notify the contractor, in writing, of such finding(s) and will request correction of the noted discrepancy. Any action taken by MACPAC as a result of surveillance will be according to the terms of the contract.

Questions Concerning the Request for Proposal Questions regarding this Request for Proposal (RFP) must be submitted via email no later than Wednesday, June 17, 2020 at 4:00pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Offerors may email questions to contracts@macpac.gov. MACPAC will work to answer all questions as expeditiously as possible to assist offerors with preparation of their proposals. Responses to questions posed by offerors will be issued as an amendment to the solicitation and posted no later than June 24, 2020 at 4:00pm EDT on https://beta.sam.gov/.

Proposal Submission

Separate technical proposals and business management and cost/price proposals must be submitted in electronic format (either MSWord or .pdf) by no later than Friday, July 17, 2020 at noon EDT to contracts@macpac.gov.

Proposals received after this date and time will be deemed late and not considered for award.

SECTION 2: Attachments

ATTACHMENT A

Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors: Single or Multiple Awards Based on its needs, MACPAC may elect to award a one or more contracts under this IDIQ selection process. The awards are dependent on the quality of the proposals. There is no predetermined number of qualified applicants that MACPAC will select. As stated in Clause 2.4.8 above, MACPAC cannot guarantee that each individual and entity awarded a contract under this request for proposal (RFP) will in fact be chosen to complete a project under the contract.

1.0 Instruction to offerors

a. The following instructions establish the acceptable requirements for the format and content of proposals. Offerors’ special attention is directed to the requirements for technical and business mailto:contracts@macpac.gov https://beta.sam.gov/ mailto:contracts@macpac.gov proposals to be submitted in accordance with Sections 3.0 (Technical Proposal Format) and 4.0 (Business Proposal Format and Instructions) of this attachment.

2.0 General instructions

a. Any resultant contract will include MACPAC’s standard terms and conditions applicable to the selected offeror's organization and type of contract awarded. These are not included in this RFP because there are separate terms and conditions for university-based firms and others, available on request.

b. The proposal shall be in two parts: a) technical proposal and b) business management and cost/price proposal. Each part shall be separate and complete in itself so that evaluation of one may be accomplished independently of, and concurrently with, evaluation of the other. The technical proposal shall not contain reference to costs; however, resource information such as data concerning labor hours and categories, materials, subcontracts, etc., shall be contained in the technical proposal so that the offeror's understanding of Clause 2.0 (Statement of Work) may be evaluated. Page limits specified for each section are binding; font size is not prescribed, but should be sufficiently large as to permit ease of reading.

c. The proposal shall be signed by an official authorized to bind the offeror’s organization, including all content contained within the offeror’s proposal. Proposals should be emailed to contracts@macpac.gov.

d. Proposals shall be emailed to MACPAC by noon EDT on Friday, July 17, 2020. Email separate technical and business proposals to contracts@macpac.gov.

e. MACPAC shall evaluate proposals in accordance with the evaluation criteria set forth in Attachment B of this RFP.

f. Offerors' proposals must disclose the technical approach in as much detail as possible, including, but not limited to, the requirements specified in Section 3.0 (Technical Proposal Format) of this attachment. In addition, offerors must comply with the requirements of Section 4.0 (Business Proposal Format and Instructions) of this attachment.

g. It is understood that the offeror’s proposal shall become part of the official contract file.

h. The RFP does not commit MACPAC to pay any cost for the preparation and submission of a proposal.

3.0 Technical proposal format

a. To facilitate technical proposal evaluation, the offeror shall submit a separate enclosure entitled, "Volume I, Technical Proposal". To expedite evaluation of submitted proposals, each offeror's technical proposal shall contain the following major sections in the order listed:

1. Executive summary

2. Understanding of MACPAC’s mandate and need for contractual services

3. Management plan

4. Proposed personnel qualifications

5. Organizational qualifications and past performance

6. Appendix A: Resumes for all proposed professional personnel

7. Appendix B: Work samples

b. To assist in preparing each section of the proposal, offerors are furnished the following information:

1. Executive summary

i. This section shall consist of a brief summary of the major elements of the offeror's proposal, including a list of which areas listed in Clause 2.5 the offeror will specifically address in its proposal.

ii. This section shall be submitted once and not exceed two pages.

2. Understanding of MACPAC’s mandate and need for contractual services

i. This section should describe the offeror’s understanding of MACPAC’s role in advising Congress, the types of projects that may be conducted under this contract, and its understanding of MACPAC’s role in informing Medicaid and CHIP policy

ii. This section shall be submitted once and shall not exceed three pages.

3. Management plan

i. This section shall describe the structure of the organization or portion of the organization that will be primarily responsible for responding to task order requests under this contract, including lines of authority and responsibilities of key staff members.

ii. Describe how the offeror manages and coordinates tasks, including how staff would be chosen and assigned to projects under the contract and the offeror’s procedures for ensuring that tasks and deliverables for proposed projects are successfully completed within required time frames.

iii. Describe the offeror’s approach for working with MACPAC staff, including how effective communication and interaction will be maintained between contractor staff and MACPAC staff, and how MACPAC staff will be updated on a regular basis.

iv. Describe how subcontractors or consultants are managed and effectively integrated into projects.

v. Describe how potential problems on task order projects will be identified and mitigated, including risks to timely completion and quality of work products. This description should demonstrate an understanding of the nature of the tasks and potential problems and how issues will be identified in a timely manner and at the proper level of authority.

vi. All offerors are expected to have appropriate computer hardware and software, telecommunications equipment, and office space to support the type of task orders anticipated under this contract, but if the offeror proposes to use specialized hardware, software, or equipment, the offeror shall describe it here.

vii. The offeror shall disclose any known and/or perceived organizational conflicts of interest that have or may have the potential to impact work conducted for MACPAC under the terms of this IDIQ. For any known and/or perceived conflicts of interests identified, the offeror should provide a strategy for mitigating each identified conflict and eliminating any potential associated risks.

viii. The offeror shall state whether or not acceptance of a contract for this project shall impact performance of other federal government contracts. If "yes," indicate the nature and extent of the impact.

ix. The offeror must provide the name and a brief summary of the qualifications and role of the proposed IDIQ project manager, the key staff person responsible for oversight of all tasks issued under the contract. (This is distinct from the information requested in Section 4, "Proposed Personnel Qualifications," which asks for information on all of the offeror's staff who could be potentially assigned to tasks issued under this contract.)

x. This section shall be submitted once and shall not exceed three pages.

4. Proposed personnel qualifications

i. This section (in narrative form), together with the appendix (resumes), shall contain sufficient evidence to permit evaluation of the qualifications of the proposed project staff for each of the project types described in Clause 2.5 that the offeror is choosing to bid on.

For additional information, consult Attachment B, Evaluation Factors for Award. The offeror must submit a separate response to this section for each project type, identifying which staff members would work on that project type. Resumes only need to be submitted once.

ii. In this section, the offeror shall discuss the qualifications of the proposed personnel in the proposed project area. The offeror shall describe experience, education, specific scientific or technical accomplishments, highlighting how skills would align with the needs of the particular project types proposed and the relevant experience with the Medicaid and CHIP programs. The proposal shall include (in Appendix A) resumes for these personnel and the IDIQ project director.

iii. Resumes contained within Appendix A should be no more than four pages each. Only publications, presentations, and previous relevant work (e.g., methodological work such as statistical modeling or survey design may not be related to Medicaid policy but may be relevant for specific methodological projects) to this contract should be included.

iv. This section should be no more than five pages (not including resumes) and a separate response should be submitted for each of the project types described in Clause 2.5 that the offeror is choosing to bid on. The offeror may choose to bid on one or more of the project types described in Clause 2.5. Each response to this section should be labeled with the corresponding project type. The total length of this section will depend on how many project types the offeror is proposing to respond to, but the five page maximum applies to each project type response.

5. Organizational qualifications and past performance

i. This section shall describe the offeror’s general background, experience, qualifications, and past performance, including organizational experience with the skills, techniques, and substantive areas required to successfully complete the work for each of the project types described in Clause 2.5 that the offeror is choosing to bid on. The offeror should also discuss its past performance with other government-related projects, particularly for agencies such as MACPAC. For additional information, consult Attachment B, Evaluation Factors for Award. The offeror must submit a separate response to this section for each project type, identifying examples of organizational qualifications relevant to that project type.

ii. In particular, examples of previous relevant experience from the past 5 years shall be furnished to demonstrate the offeror’s capacity to fulfill the objectives of the Statement of Work. Experience may have been with federal or state government, commercial or nonprofit organizations. This information shall include a summary of the project scope, period of performance, key staff, and the names, addresses and phone numbers of contract and technical supervision officers.

iii. Each response to this section should be no more than seven pages and a separate response should be submitted for each of the project types described in Clause 2.5 that the offeror is choosing to bid on. The offeror may choose to bid on one or more of the project types described in Clause 2.5. Each response to this section should be labeled with the corresponding project type. The total length of this section will depend on how many project types the offeror is proposing to respond to, but the seven page maximum applies to each project type response.

iv. Offerors may also submit relevant Medicaid- or CHIP-related work samples, prepared within the last three years, to illustrate relevant organizational qualifications and past performance. Only one set of work samples may be submitted per proposal, not per project type response. Work samples should be submitted as a separate attachment.

6. Appendix A: Resumes for all proposed professional personnel.

i. There is no page limit for this section. However, note that each resume should not exceed four pages as stated in Proposed Personnel Qualifications (ii). Resumes should highlight relevant project experience in each of the applicable project types listed in section Clause 2.5.

7. Appendix B (optional): Work samples.

i. There is no page limit for this section. Work samples should illustrate relevant organizational qualifications and past performance, relate to Medicaid or CHIP, and be prepared within the last three years.

4.0 Business proposal format and instructions

a. To facilitate proposal evaluation, the offeror shall submit as part of the proposal a separate enclosure entitled "Business Management and Cost/Price Proposal".

b. General Instructions:

i. These instructions are to assist offerors in submitting information that is required to evaluate the reasonableness of the proposed cost/price. Compliance with these instructions is mandatory and failure to comply may render an offeror’s proposal ineligible for an award.

ii. All information relating to an offeror’s proposed cost/price must be included in the section of the proposal designated as “Volume II, Business Management and Cost/Price Proposal”. Under no circumstances shall this cost/price data be included elsewhere in the proposal. Data beyond that required by these instructions shall not be submitted, unless it is considered essential to document or support the proposed costs/prices.

iii. Note that unreasonably low or high proposed costs/prices, initially or subsequently submitted, may be grounds for eliminating a proposal from this source selection's competition. The elimination of a proposal will be based on either an offeror's lack of understanding of MACPAC’s expressed requirement and/or the submittal of unreasonable costs/prices.

iv. List any exceptions taken to the cost/price requirements stated herein and provide any cost/price assumptions. Offerors shall provide complete rationales for exceptions taken and assumptions made.

c. Volume Organization

i. The “Volume II, Business Management and Cost/Price Proposal” shall consist of the following sections:

1. Table of Contents

2. Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms

3. Fully Burdened Labor Rate Schedule and Other Direct Costs

4. Exceptions/Assumptions and Rationales

5. Financial Statements

d. Pricing Information

i. The cost/price information for this source selection is limited to the submission of fully burdened firm fixed price (FFP) type hourly labor rates against all labor categories identified by the offeror, in response to Clause 1.3.2 of the contract, as well as indirect and profit rates applicable to other direct costs (ODCs). Note however, that no fee or profit will be paid on material/travel/per diem costs.

ii. The labor categories and definitions provided in the technical proposal will be considered to meet the minimum labor qualification requirements for this source selection.

iii. Fully burdened labor rates are defined as consisting of hourly base labor rates plus out-year escalations, applicable home office type indirect burden costs (fringe benefits, overhead, general & administrative), and profit. All fully burdened FFP labor rates shall be rounded to the nearest cent.

iv. Only one fully burdened FFP labor rate for each labor category shall be inserted per team

(either the prime Contractor's rate or a team member's rate) into the Fully Burdened Labor Rate Schedule.

v. Failure to propose labor rates for all labor categories will render an offeror's proposal incomplete and the entire proposal will be subject to rejection.

vi. Fully burdened FFP labor rates shall be proposed based on the following assumptions: all labor categories and associated labor rates will be proposed in accordance with the Fully Burdened Labor Rate Schedule anticipated performance periods. The contractual period of performance will begin October 1, 2020 and end September 30, 2025. The contractual period of performance for base period will be October 1, 2020 and end on September 30, 2021 with option periods 1 through 4 beginning October 1 annually and ending September 30 annually. Only fully burdened FFP labor rates against associated labor categories per Fiscal Year shall be proposed. Travel and other expenses will be proposed at the task order level on cost-reimbursement basis (no fee or profit will be paid on reimbursements for travel and per diems). The indirect rates and profit rates applicable to ODCs will only be used for pricing future task orders.

vii. Alterations to the Fully Burdened Labor Rate Schedule are not allowed. Offerors shall only insert their fully burdened FFP labor rates, indirect costs, profit rates, and labor category classifications.

viii. Successful offerors' fully burdened FFP labor rates, indirect costs, and profit rates will be incorporated into resulting basic contracts as proposed against this source selection's Fully Burdened Labor Rate Schedule and will be used as maximum rates for pricing future competitive and non-competitive task orders.

ix. Offerors will describe any exceptions, assumptions, and rationales for developing the

Fully Burdened Labor Rate Schedule and Other Direct Costs, in response to Clause 1.3.2 of the contract.

x. MACPAC is exempt from all sales and use taxes imposed by the U.S. government and the

District of Columbia.

xi. Bid price proposals must be valid for at least ninety (90) calendar days as of the closing date of this RFP.

e. Financial Responsibility

i. Offerors shall provide the last three years of financial statements, and year-to-date financial information through the last quarter available. If audited, reviewed, compiled or certified financial statements are available, these shall be submitted.

ii. Historical and year-to-date financial data shall be submitted and the ability to fund contract performance shall be addressed.

ATTACHMENT B

Evaluation Factors for Award

The technical evaluation will be…