SOLICITATION 32591 BENEFEDS 3.10.22 - Amendment 3.pdf

RFP 24361821R0002

Benefits Enrollment and Premium Administration Services for BENEFEDS Program

Indefinite Quantity Contract, Task Order Dependent

Request for Proposal (RFP) #24361821R0002

Issue date: February 16, 2022

Amendment #3: March 10, 2022

United States Office of Personnel Management

1. PURPOSE

The Purpose of this RFP is to solicit proposals for a Contractor to provide benefits enrollment and premium administration services for the BENEFEDS program, as described in the Performance Work Statement (PWS) attached.

2. BACKGROUND

This solicitation is associated to the Sources Sought Notice (SSN)/ Request for Information (RFI) #24361820S0002. Offerors responding to this solicitation are NOT required to have participated in the market research phase or responded to the SSN/RFI to be considered eligible to respond to this solicitation.

3. CONTRACT TYPE and NUMBER OF AWARDS The Government anticipates awarding a single competitive procurement action, open market, unrestricted as to business size. Contract type will be an Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contract. OPM will be the only agency authorized to issue orders against this contract.

Task orders will be used to definitize quantities and contract value (the value the Contractor collects in payment from all sources) regardless of whether any funds are being obligated via that task order.

The IDIQ will have a minimum order guarantee equal to the value of the first task order. The first task order will obligate funds for the Start Up Period / Start Up Costs only. Performance beyond the Start Up Period cannot occur unless and until the Contractor has achieved Authorization to Operate (ATO) during the Start Up Period, and therefore no guarantees can be given for any work beyond the Start Up Period. For Offerors whose Start Up Period is priced at zero dollars $0.00, the minimum order guarantee for the IDIQ will be $100.00. The maximum order value for the IDIQ shall not exceed an aggregate total of $500 million.

Once the awarded contractor successfully achieves the required ATO during the Start Up Period under Task Order 1, the Government intends to also award Task Order 2 to cover the Base Period of Performance.

Although the work may include multiple NAICS codes, the primary NAICS Code for this requirement will be 524292, Third Party Administration of Insurance and Pension Funds. The small business size standard for this NAICS is $35.0 million. The Product Service Code (PSC) is R799, Support – Management Other.

4. PRICING

Contract pricing for the Start-Up Period will be firm fixed price with a separate line for travel expenses at cost. Contract pricing for services in the base and option periods will be Fixed Price, but quantities of those Fixed Price services will be indefinite. Pricing quoted in response to this RFP will be valid for the entire period of the contract and is not subject to redetermination, other than as applicable under the Service Contract Act. Offerors shall include any price increases for performance in future years in their quoted pricing.

5. DATE OF AWARD

Anticipated date of award is on or about June 30, 2022.

6. PERIODS OF PERFORMANCE

The contract will have a maximum of 54 months of performance periods available. Anticipated Periods of Performance and Dates are as noted in the table which follows.

START UP PERIOD Approximately 6 months Date of Award through December 31, 2022

(ATO to be achieved by December 31, 2022) BASE PERIOD 12 months January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023 OPTION PERIOD ONE 12 months January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024 OPTION PERIOD TWO 12 months January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025 OPTION PERIOD THREE 12 months January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026

Refer to PWS for further details.

The start and end dates for each task order will be specified at the time of issuance of each task order and shall not extend beyond the stated periods of performance in the master contract. Task order start and end dates shall align with the periods of performance stated in the IDIQ.

7. COMMITMENT OF PUBLIC FUNDS

A warranted, Government Contracting Officer (CO) is the only individual who can legally commit the Government to the expenditure of public funds in connection with the proposed acquisition or any task orders. Any other commitment, either explicit or implied, is invalid.

8. COMMUNICATIONS PRIOR TO AWARD

All communications are to be in writing. Phone calls will not be accepted. All communications shall be directed to the attention of:

Shireen Belanger, Contract Specialist Shireen.Belanger@opm.gov

Interested parties (offerors and/or their subcontractors) shall not contact anyone at OPM, other than the Contract Specialist noted above for any purpose related this solicitation. Any contact related to this solicitation between any interested party and any OPM personnel other than the Procuring Contracting Officer (PCO) or Contract Specialist (CS) is prohibited and could be considered grounds for removal from participation in this procurement action.

NOTICE: In keeping with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), OPM adheres to the guidelines outlined in the FAR Part 1.102-2(c), which is to conduct business with integrity, fairness, and openness. In order to avoid any appearance of impropriety, the OPM Contracting Officer reserves the right to terminate contractor participation in a Request for Proposal for unauthorized contact with customers, presentation of gifts to Government officials, use of defamatory statements, or other inappropriate behavior.

9. QUESTIONS

All questions regarding this solicitation shall be submitted to the email address indicated above no later than 2:00 pm Eastern Time (ET) on February 24, 2022. Telephone calls will not be accepted.

10. EXCEPTIONS, DEVIATIONS AND ASSUMPTIONS

All offeror proposals shall be devoid of any exceptions, assumptions or deviations. Any stated exceptions, assumptions or deviations shall be considered non-responsive. It is the offeror’s responsibility to seek clarification of any unclear requirements PRIOR to the closing date for the RFP by asking questions during the specified period. New questions cannot be asked or answered once the evaluation process has begun.

11. PREPARATION COSTS

This RFP does not commit the Government to pay for the preparation and submission of a proposal or any part of a proposal.

12. RESPONSIVENESS

Only those proposals that fully meet all the requirements as outlined in this solicitation and respond in accordance with the instructions to offerors will be considered responsive. Proposals that fail in any of the categories included, but not limited to those below may be considered non-responsive:

Failure to submit all required documents Failure to adhere to page limitations or font restrictions Failure to utilize provided templates when required Failure to follow directions on the Quote Schedule regarding pricing Failure to submit documents in separate files as specified Failure to provide proper signature types on documents requiring signature (see Section

16 below)

The Government reserves the right not to seek replacement of missing documents. The Government reserves the right not to seek correction or resubmission of proposals or parts of proposals considered non-responsive or non-compliant. Non-responsive offerors may be eliminated from further consideration.

13. POTENTIAL AWARD WITHOUT DISCUSSIONS

The Government reserves the right to award based on its evaluation of the proposals submitted without discussions.

14. INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS - GENERAL

a) Refer to FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items

b) Definitions:

Proposal modification is a change made to a proposal before the solicitation’s closing date and time, or made in response to an amendment, or made to correct a mistake at any time before award.

Proposal revision is a change to the proposal made after the solicitation closing date, at the request of or as allowed by a CO as a result of negotiations.

c) Amendments to solicitations – If this solicitation is amended, all terms and conditions that are not amended remain unchanged. Offerors shall acknowledge receipt of any amendment to this solicitation by the date and time specified in the amendment(s).

d) Proposal expiration date – Proposals in response to this solicitation shall be valid at least through December 31, 2022.

15. FORMATTING AND PAGE LIMITATIONS

All documents submitted in response to this solicitation shall use a minimum 11-point font size, and paragraphs shall be separated by at least one blank line. Documents shall include appropriate page numbering and identify the company name, solicitation number and date in either the header or footer of each page.

Margins – Top, Bottom, Left, Right – 1” Gutter – 0”

From Edge – Header, Footer - 0.5” Page Size, Width – 8.5” Page Size, Height – 11” Orientation - Portrait

Tables and illustrations may use a reduced font size of not less than 8-point and may be landscape.

Any pages beyond the stated page limits will not be evaluated. Page limits are applicable to tables, graphs, drawings and any other attachments submitted with the proposals and not specifically excluded by the solicitation. Index, divider tabs, table of contents, glossary and Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQs) will not be counted toward the maximum page limitations.

16. SIGNATURES

On any documents which require a signature or dated signature, the Government requires either:

a “wet-ink” signature made on paper with a pen then scanned to a pdf file, or an electronic signature which contains a digital certificate proving the identity of the signer A typed name in script font is NOT acceptable on any form submitted to the Government in response to this solicitation which calls for a signature.

The Government reserves the right not to seek replacement or correction of documents requiring a signature which do not comply with the signature requirements above.

17. SUBCONTRACTING

The Government considers the prime offeror and any subcontractors as a single entity. The prime contractor shall demonstrate the capability of performing the required services, including at a minimum, the management and oversight. Management and oversight functions shall not be subcontracted. Post award changes involving individual subcontractors may be considered with Government approval, however, in addition to the above requirements and any subcontract clauses, the awarded Contractor must be careful to ensure that the small business minimum 30% of TCV is maintained when replacing or eliminating subcontractors. If the offeror intends to use ANY subcontractors, proposal responses SHALL provide details of the subcontracting plan.

For this solicitation, ALL subcontractors proposed regardless of business size of the prime or the subcontractor, SHALL as of the date of initial submission to the Government:

a) Be actively registered in SAM, not subject to any offsets, and not have any active exclusions; AND

b) Be a U.S. owned company, doing business physically in the U.S. or its outlying areas, performing under this contract from within the U.S. or its outlying areas, and all employees supporting the performance of this contract shall be physically located within the U.S. or its outlying areas; AND

c) Disclose any previous company names / DUNS, parent company or subsidiary, related to the current company (including but not limited to any mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, novation, or other changes in name, DUNS number, or structure) for the past eleven (11) years, as well as any bankruptcies filed by any of those entities.

Subcontractors shall have had no bankruptcies under any company names or DUNS used at present or for the past eleven (11) years (from the date of this solicitation).

Teaming Agreements and Joint Ventures:

a) Contractor Teaming Agreements: OPM is not considering Contractor Teaming Agreements in response to this solicitation. A single prime contractor is necessary for the issuance of ATO, and because of the payment process required for this particular service.

b) Joint Ventures: A Joint Venture (JV) is equivalent to a single entity and will be considered as one (1) company. Offerors proposing as a JV shall submit their JV agreement (exempt from page limitations) in addition to all other required documentation. Post-award changes to the JV agreement shall not be considered.

NOTE: Large (“Other than Small”) business offerors shall also submit a Small Business Subcontracting Plan using Attachment 9. Large businesses shall submit acceptable small business subcontracting plans to be eligible for award. Small business subcontracting plans shall reflect and be consistent with the commitments offered in the Small Business Participation Commitment Document (Attachment 7).

The Small Business Subcontracting Plan is not a requirement for evaluation, but rather, a requirement for award to a large business and will be incorporated and conformed into the resulting contract. Large / “Other than Small” Business Offerors that have commercial subcontracting plans shall still submit both Attachments 7 and 9.

18. SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION

All offerors (regardless of business size) shall complete and submit a Small Business Participation Commitment Document (SBPCD). A template is provided for use as Attachment

7. The SBPCD will be evaluated on the extent of proposed participation/commitment to use of

U.S. small businesses in the performance of this requirement (as small business prime offerors or small business subcontractors) relative to the objectives and requirements established. Refer to Evaluation Factors for further detail. If assistance is needed to locate small business sources, please contact the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Small business prime contractors are required to perform at least 50% of the work under the contract themselves, including the management and oversight, using the labor of their own employees before subcontracting any remaining portions. Management and oversight of the contract shall not be subcontracted, regardless of the business size of the prime or the subcontractor.

The baseline percentage required for Small Business Participation on this solicitation is 30% of Total Contract Value. This means that no less than 30% of the total contract value of the work performed under this contract shall be performed by a small business, regardless of the business size of the prime contractor.

The work to be performed directly by a small business prime offeror will also be considered as Small Business Participation. The Small Business Participation Commitment Document will become part of the resultant contract. Offerors whose proposal includes an enforceable commitment to include more than the baseline percentages and involve small business in more technically complex work will be evaluated more favorably for the relative evaluation factor.

As a point of reference, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has the following Small Business goals as an agency for Fiscal Year 2022:

PRIME SUB

All Small Business 42% 25.0% Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB) 29.30% 5.0% Women-Owned Small Businesses

(WOSB)

5.0% 5.0%

HUBZone small businesses 3.0% 3.0% Service-Disabled, Veteran Owned Small Business Concerns (SDVOSB)

3.0% 3.0%

19. EVALUATION PROCEDURE and BASIS FOR AWARD In accordance with FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation – Commercial Items, the Government will award a SINGLE Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contract to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation is considered most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered.

In determining the most highly rated proposal, the Government will employ a Two-Phase Proposal and Evaluation Process which utilizes both Pass/Fail and Confidence Ratings. The Government may utilize multiple evaluation teams to evaluate different factors, and in doing so, these separate evaluation teams may not have access to an offeror’s entire proposal.

a) PHASE ONE - PASS / FAIL FACTORS In Phase One of the evaluation process, the Government will utilize PASS/FAIL criteria to determine the offerors who meet certain minimum standards. Following completion of the PASS/FAIL Evaluations, a firm downselect will take place, which will remove offerors from further consideration who have FAILED in one or more of the PASS/FAIL Factors. All PASS/FAIL Factors are of equal importance. Only offerors who have PASSED all PASS/FAIL Factors will remain in consideration and have the opportunity to submit a full proposal package for Phase Two evaluation.

The following factors will be evaluated with PASS/FAIL criteria:

Factor 1: Minimum Financial Viability Factor 2: Bankruptcies Factor 3: Minimum Experience Factor 4: Ownership and Place of Performance Compliance

In addition to the Phase One Evaluation Factors, the Contracting Officer/Contract Specialist will perform a responsibility determination in which includes verifying the SAM registrations of the PRIME and SUBS, and the Section 889 Compliance of the Prime. Non-compliance with SAM registration or Section 889 may be grounds to remove an offeror from further consideration regardless of the other evaluation factors.

As previously stated, following completion of the PASS/FAIL Evaluations, a firm downselect will take place, which will remove offerors from further consideration who have FAILED in one or more of the above factors. Only offerors who have PASSED all of the PASS/FAIL factors will remain in consideration.

Phase One Evaluation Factors will be evaluated as follows:

Factor 1: Minimum Financial Viability The Government will use the Offeror’s DUNS number (as provided in response to Factor 5 below) to obtain a Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) “Business Information on Demand” Report. The Government will review five (5) pre-determined key elements from that report to determine whether the offeror meets a pre-established minimally acceptable level of financial capability to achieve either a PASS or FAIL rating. The five elements that will be reviewed in the Phase One Minimum Financial Viability evaluation are:

Overall Business Risk Paydex® Summaries and Risk Delinquency Predictor Score and

Risk

Financial Stress Score and Risk Supplier Evaluation Risk

Offerors which D&B rates as “LOW” “LOW-MODERATE” and/or “MODERATE” in these elements will PASS

Factor 2: Bankruptcies Using the provided form, Offerors shall disclose any bankruptcies filed under their current name / DUNS for the past eleven (11) years (from the date of this solicitation).

Offerors shall also disclose any previous company names / DUNS, parent company or subsidiary, related to the current company (including but not limited to any mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, novation, or other changes in name, DUNS number, or structure) for the past eleven (11) years, as well as any bankruptcies filed by any of those entities. Only Offerors with no history of bankruptcy in the past 11 years in their current or any previous or affiliated company name will PASS.

Factor 3: Minimum Experience Offerors shall describe a clear history of providing enrollment, premium administration, and customer services/call center functions. Offerors for Phase One shall be prepared to propose key personnel staff in Phase Two who are highly qualified and experienced, and who have a proven success record in the development and delivery of benefits enrollment, premium administration (financial services) and customer service/call center operation services of similar size, scope, and complexity to BENEFEDS within the last ten years (from the date of this solicitation). The PRIME shall have experience administering concurrent program(s) totaling at least 40% the number of current BENEFEDS participants and including more than ten (10) separate payroll systems.

Only those with the recent and relevant experience defined in this paragraph will PASS.

Factor 4: Ownership and Place of Performance Compliance Offerors shall disclose on the provided response sheet: (1) whether they are a U.S.

Owned company, (2) from where their contract performance will operate, (3) where employees will be located, and (4) that they understand the restrictions regarding the type of financial institutions that shall be used. Contractors and subcontractors shall be U.S.

owned, physically doing business within the 50 U.S. states and District of Columbia (D.C.) only, that performance under this contract shall be conducted within the 50 U.S.

states and D.C. only, and all employees supporting the performance of this contract shall be located physically within the 50 U.S. states or D.C.. Offerors shall disclose the cities, counties and states in which they plan on services being performed under this contract so that the appropriate Service Contract Act Wage Determinations can be added to the successful offeror’s contract prior to award. Definitions of the types of remote/telework employees and how place of performance is determined for each are provided in the Performance Work Statement (PWS). Offerors shall acknowledge that they understand that all financial institutions used to house participant accounts for BENEFEDS shall also be U.S. owned and have FDIC insurance, and that they will include full details of the financial institutions they intend to utilize in their full proposal package. Responses that indicate full compliance and acceptance of all elements will PASS.

b) PHASE TWO – CONFIDENCE RATED FACTORS In Phase Two of the evaluation process, the Government will utilize BEST VALUE TRADE OFF to determine the best value among the offerors remaining in consideration after the PASS/FAIL factors have been evaluated. Award will be made to the responsible offeror whose proposal provides the best value to the Government.

The Government will evaluate each technical proposal against the non-price evaluation factors described below. Evaluation factors are listed in descending order of importance, and each subfactor is of equal importance to the other subfactors under that Factor.

Offerors are cautioned that the award may not necessarily be made to the lowest priced Offeror. The four non-price factors, when combined, are significantly more important than price.

All non-price factors, when combined, are considered significantly more important than price. If there are no significant technical differences among two or more of the most highly rated offerors, and they are considered “technically equal,” then price may be the determining factor for selection.

Factor 1: Technical

Subfactor 1: General Technical Approach (Non-IT) Subfactor 2: IT Compliance & IT Technical Approach (including qualifications of IT Key Personnel and Security Measures) Subfactor 3: Quality Control Approach (including QASP)

Factor 2: Management Subfactor 1: Management, Staffing & Supervision Plan Subfactor 2: Small Business Participation

Factor 3: Financial Capability Factor 4: Past Performance

Phase Two Evaluation Factors 1 through 3 will use Confidence Ratings for evaluation as defined in the table below:

Rating Definition High Confidence The Government has high confidence that the Offeror understands the requirement, proposes a sound approach, and will be successful in performing the contract with little or no Government intervention.

Some Confidence The Government has some confidence that the Offeror understands the requirement, proposes a sound approach, and will be successful in performing the contract with some Government intervention.

Low Confidence The Government has low confidence that the Offeror understands the requirement, proposes a sound approach, or will be successful in performing the contract even with Government intervention.

Phase Two Evaluation Factor 4, Past Performance will be evaluated using the Confidence ratings defined in the table below:

Rating Definition Exceptional/

High Confidence Based on the offeror’s performance record, the offeror exceeded many of the customer’s requirements, no problems. Essentially no doubt exists that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort.

Very Good/ Significant Confidence

Based on the offeror’s performance record, the offeror exceeded some of the customer’s requirements, few minor problems and was effective in taking corrective action. Little doubt exists that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort.

Satisfactory/ Confidence

Based on the offeror’s performance record, the offeror met all of the customer’s requirements, some minor problems and was satisfactory in taking corrective action.

Some doubt exists that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort.

Marginal/ Little Confidence

Based on the offeror’s performance record, the offeror did not meet some of the Government’s requirements, serious (recoverable) problems and was marginally effective in taking corrective action; substantial doubt exists that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort. Changes to the offeror’s existing processes may be necessary in order to achieve contract requirements.

Unsatisfactory / No Confidence

Based on the offeror’s performance record, the offeror did not meet most of the Government’s requirements, serious (non-recoverable) problems and was ineffective in taking corrective action extreme doubt exists that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort.

Neutral/ Unknown Confidence

No performance record identifiable. (No PPQ’s were received on behalf of the offeror and no record exists in PPIRS)

During Phase Two evaluations, the Contract Specialist (CS) will re-review the SAM registrations of the apparent successful offeror and its subcontractors for compliance.

The CS will also review FAR 52.212-3 Representations and Certifications and verify Section 889 Compliance of subcontractors of the apparent awardee prior to preparing the award decision document. The inclusion of an Exceptions and Assumptions Disclaimer in the Phase Two proposal submission will be reviewed as a matter of compliance.

Phase Two Evaluation Factors will be evaluated as follows:

Factor 1 – Technical

Factor 1, Subfactor 1: General Technical Approach (Non-IT):

OPM is seeking innovative thinking and creative but realistic solutions.

Implementation (Start-Up and Transition-In Plan) Financial Management Plan / Financial Approach (how they plan to segregate the BENEFEDS funds from other funds they handle for other clients)

Banking / Financial Institution Compliance Plan (all financial institutions used to house participant accounts for BENEFEDS shall be U.S. owned and have FDIC insurance, and the offeror has provided names and addresses of the financial institutions along with the ownership status of same in their proposal)

FEDVIP Enrollment Plan Administer a secure and compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation

Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794d (“Section 508”) web-based enrollment system for dental/vision enrollments and changes to enrollments.

Staff and operate an active customer service/call center.

Notify FEDVIP carriers of enrollments, including demographic and dependent information, with enhanced reporting during open season.

Maintain accounting of enrollments and perform enrollment reconciliation with carriers on a regular schedule.

Onboarding newly eligible groups The Contractor shall propose how it will manage enrollment validation with a self-certification system including proposing its own specific solutions.

Incapable of Self-Support (IOSS) Determination (Optional Requirement, ref 7.3.1 of PWS): The offeror shall describe the manner in which it will execute this optional requirement, if OPM chooses to include it in performance. (Pricing shall be included on the Attachment 2 Quote Schedule, not in the body of the Technical Proposal)

Contractor Proposed Enhancements (Optional Requirement, ref 7.3.2. of PWS): The offeror shall describe enhancements and improvements it is willing to offer in its proposal submission for consideration by the Government. (Pricing shall be included on the Attachment 2 Quote Schedule, not in the body of the Technical Proposal)

FEDVIP, FSAFEDS & FLTCIP Premium Administration Plan Calculate premium or allotment amounts due, then request, receive or remit premiums/allotments to/from payroll/annuity providers or directly to/from enrollees.

Protect the integrity of program funds from receipt through reconciliation and disbursement to carriers.

Remit premium to carriers and funds to OPM.

Develop and apply appropriate tools and procedures to “find” enrollees whose payroll/annuity provider did not remit a premium or allotment payment.

Take action with payroll/annuity providers to resolve instances in which requested deductions were not remitted.

Administer a direct billing system including automatic bank withdrawal processing for select enrollees.

Generate extensive reporting at varying intervals (weekly, monthly, and quarterly) to OPM, FEDVIP, FSAFEDS, and FLTCIP carriers.

Administer a direct pay system appropriate to the various benefit programs that offers payment options to enrollees to include automatic bank withdrawal, electronic funds transfer, credit card and direct bill.

Customer Service Plan (Their plan for how to deliver good customer service)

Offerors shall describe how they will handle written or telephone inquiries from employees and retirees working and living overseas, and address a plan for on-call language translation support for callers using other than English or Spanish.

Education, Marketing, and Enrollment Plan (how they will spread the word among Federal employees about the value of and enrollment for the program, a detailed plan for the annual enrollments that occur during the Federal Benefits Open Season)

Communications Plan (the offeror’s proposal for how to best handle the various communications required in the PWS and Appendices)

End of Contract / Transition-Out Plan

The Contractor’s solution shall describe in detail the method it will use to address these constraints.

Lack of eligibility file/enrollee self-certification Types and structure of funding sources Payment for eligible, confirmed enrollees only

Back-end validation required Number of payroll providers and lack of standardization

The Contractor’s solution shall describe in detail the method it will use to address constraints regarding continued performance through government furloughs and shutdowns (see PWS Section E.10.)

The Contractors’ solution shall describe its specific financial controls, including its cash management procedures, banking arrangements, accounting reconciliation and audit procedures. The Contractor shall describe clearly and in detail how it will account for and manage funds from receipt through disbursement as well as the supporting documentation it will provide to carriers and to OPM. Any short-term investment strategy the Contractor intends to employ for the funds it collects under this contract shall be fully disclosed to and approved of by the Government.

Any changes post award shall be communicated to the Government prior to implementation.

Subfactor 1 will be evaluated to determine how well the offeror’s described General Technical Approach meets the requirements of the solicitation, conveys the offeror’s understanding of the requirements and how well it indicates the probability of success in contract performance. Offerors who simply “mirror back” the Government’s requirements as stated in the PWS, attachments, appendices, or exhibits, or make statements that they “will comply” without providing detail addressing “how”, will be considered non-responsive.

Factor 1, Subfactor 2 – IT Compliance & IT Technical Approach (including qualifications of IT Key Personnel and Security Measures):

IT Systems and Systems Administration (describe the systems they will use to perform the services)

Compliance with IT Clauses (evaluate the details of their proposal to determine if each proposal meets or exceeds the IT clause requirements based on detailed description of HOW they will comply with the IT Clauses/requirements)

Offeror’s plan for achieving FedRAMP compliance, if Cloud Computing will be utilized.

Offeror’s plan for achieving initial ATO during start-up period, prior to December 31, 2022, in accordance with OPM Clauses 1752.239-76 and 78.

Validation Certificate number referenced in OPM Clause 1752.239-84(b) Diagrams depicting system boundaries and data flows.

Qualifications of the IT Key Personnel Secure Maintenance of PII (Compliance with OMB M-06-16 and OPM

Information Technology Clauses

Offerors shall provide a complete description of its project plan and deliverables in its offer.

1. A document that details the BENEFEDS workflows and data flows.

2. Development, delivery, operation, and maintenance of a system that specifically addresses the unique requirements as outlined in the PWS and RTM for enrollment, premium administration, and related services.

3. A plan which details the tasks and activities required during the transition phase. This plan should include, but is not limited to, a thorough analysis of all tasks, activities, and an inventory of documentation and software that shall be developed by the Contractor. The plan should also include level of effort and an estimated timeline of completion.

4. A plan that details the approach/methodology for managing the project.

This plan should include, but is not limited to, a work breakdown structure, weekly progress reporting schedule, key risks, key stakeholders, and key staff.

5. A plan for requirements management. This plan should include, but is not limited to, the requirements gathering methodology, the establishment and creation of a requirements traceability matrix, and methodology for use case development and system requirements specification.

6. Evidence of a Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) management plan/system that meets industry best practices and/or maps to OPM’s ITSM. The SDLC shall:

Include a plan for documenting, reporting, implementing approved change and requests (includes change control requests [CCRs] from OPM, Users, Stakeholders, and Contractors).

Address the Configuration Control Board (CCB) and its members, regular and emergency CCBs, and the method for submitting and documenting change requests.

Describe the methodology used to ensure documentation stays updated and accurately reflects the production system, including all change requests.

Describe how the system will remain in compliance with security and other Federal IT policies and OPM’s IT policies and procedures.

7. A plan that details the test activities and artifacts. This plan should include, but is not limited to, the methodology for developing test scripts, functional and system testing of software and interfaces. This plan should also address the software the Contractor intends to use during testing.

8. A document which describes the high-level and low-level detailed design specifications, describes design goals and considerations, provides a high-level overview of the system architecture, and describes the data associated with the system, as well as the human to system interaction.

This document should also detail system components, including hardware, internal communications, software, system integrity controls, and external interfaces.

9. A plan which outlines the methodology for obtaining Certification and Accreditation (C&A) for an ATO and maintaining its C&A status with an approved provider.

10. A plan which details the system security activities, methodology, and ongoing compliance with FISMA and Federal Privacy requirements.

11. A document which describes the target architecture.

Diagram the target architecture including the identification of entry and exit points into carrier and government existing systems, including but not limited to payroll providers, EHRI and OPM annuity.

Identify the interfaces and the associated security controls.

Provide data format information used in exchanging, retrieving and/or disseminating data. Please Note: All data remains the property of the Government.

Detailed plan to maintain 508 compliance.

12. A plan which describes and outlines the level of service controls. This plan should describe:

The process for scheduling maintenance, what it includes, and propose a maintenance schedule The process for monitoring and ensuring that service level goals are met, and necessary corrective actions are taken

13. A detailed contingency/continuity of operations plan

Identify communication procedures and protocols for activating and de-activating disaster recovery situations (in providing contingency and continuity of operations)

Specify assumptions used in the continuity of operations plans where reliance upon OPM systems, data or resources is expected

Offerors shall provide signed dated resumes of all IT Key Personnel as an attachment to their proposal, as resumes are excluded from page limitations.

The Contractor should indicate how they would implement the comparison tool with the ADA/CDT codes. Some FEDVIP Carriers consider the cost information proprietary, therefore, the Contractor will need to include how they will address this issue.

Offerors’ proposals shall describe, in detail, how the offerors’ approach accounts for the constraints described in Section L (File Security and Ownership) of the

PWS.

The Offeror’s solution shall describe in detail the method it will use to address these constraints.

1. Section 508 Compliance – All applications to be used by enrollees or potential enrollees shall be Section 508 compliant; this includes test sites.

This compliance is subject to review by OPM.

2. Federal Security and Privacy – There are several constraints that may have an impact on the services the Offeror shall provide:

Compliance with Federal Information Security Management Act

(FISMA) to include the National Institute of Standards and

Technology (NIST) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance

C&A process shall be successfully completed, and C&A status maintained

Compliance with the Privacy Act of 1974 and related OMB guidance Compliance with the privacy provisions of the e-Government Act and related OMB guidance Refer to OPM Clause 1752.224-74 Privacy Act (Dec 2015) for additional information

Subfactor 2 will be evaluated to determine how well the offeror’s described IT Compliance & Technical Approach (including the qualifications of Key IT Personnel) meets the requirements of the solicitation, conveys the offeror’s understanding of the requirements and how well it indicates the probability of success in contract performance. Offerors who simply “mirror back” the Government’s requirements as stated in the PWS, attachments, appendices, or exhibits, or make statements that they “will comply” without providing detail addressing “how” will be considered non-responsive.

Factor 1, Subfactor 3 - Quality Control Approach (including QASP). Offerors will be evaluated based on their approach to quality control processes that ensure website, call center and other tools to serve enrollees are maintained and have a proven track record of low incidents and high customer satisfaction. Those proposing more stringent performance standards and/or larger financial deductions for failure to meet standards will be rated more favorably.

The offeror shall respond to the performance standards included in the QASP. In addition, the offeror may include more stringent standards and/or additional standards. As noted in the technical evaluation factors, OPM will more favorably consider offerors who propose additional meaningful standards.

The offeror shall utilize the assigned Acceptable Quality Levels (AQLs) where indicated and shall agree to the minimum deduction for failure to meet AQLs. In addition, for those standards with an assigned AQL, the offeror may propose more stringent AQLs or more aggressive deductions.

For several of the customer service-oriented performance measures, OPM will accept a different AQL for the fourth quarter of the calendar year, which includes the Federal Benefits Open Season.

Factor 2 – Management

Factor 2, Subfactor 1- Management, Staffing and Supervision Plan: The offeror shall describe how they will manage, staff and supervise all those performing service under the contract. Management, Staffing and Supervision plan includes:

How will they recruit, train, and retain qualified employees

Offerors shall describe their staffing model, training program (including ongoing training) and procedures you will utilize in the call center. OPM is interested in your quality assurance (QA) process, and especially how you will monitor calls for quality.

Offeror’s proposals shall detail their project management plan to address all aspects of Section E.7.2.5 of the PWS

How many they will need for each type of service How they will be trained for their positions Any benefits offered to their employees to encourage recruitment and retention Qualifications of all non-IT Key Personnel Intent and plan for subcontracting Full disclosure of place(s) of performance

Note that IT Key Personnel qualifications are being evaluated in Phase Two Factor 1 above. The prime offeror shall handle management and oversight of the contract themselves, regardless of the business size of the prime. Non-IT Key Personnel positions shall be in the direct employ of the PRIME, not employed by a subcontractor or an independent contractor. Staffing and Supervision Plan includes the places of performance where contractor and subcontractor staff will physically be located when performing services under the contract. There is no exception to the restriction on place of performance for either IT or non-IT personnel.

OPM is most interested in receiving offerors’ innovative ideas and processes on utilizing current or emerging technology, including chatbot, AI, etc. to minimize costs while maintaining excellent customer service including:

Successfully managing call center volume, including “spikes” Providing enhanced Voice Response Unit (VRU) capabilities Providing first call resolution Matching call types to CSR capabilities Expanding/adding customer service staff in a short period of time

Management of the contract also includes the intent and plan for subcontracting, if any. If using subcontracting, a subcontracting plan shall be included regardless of business size of the prime or subs. All subcontractors being proposed shall have been disclosed in Phase One in order to have been evaluated for SAM registration compliance. New subcontractors being disclosed for the first time in Phase Two SHALL be identified as an OMISSION from the offeror’s Phase One submission, and the reason for omission from Phase One explained by the offeror. The Contracting Officer reserves the right to REJECT any offeror’s submission if any previously omitted subcontractors are found to have been non-compliant with SAM registrations at the time Phase One submissions were due, regardless of the reason given by the offeror.

Subfactor 1 will be evaluated to determine how well the offeror’s described Management, Staffing and Supervision Plan (including the company’s experience, qualifications of non-IT Key Personnel and subcontracting plan) meets the requirements of the solicitation, conveys the offeror’s understanding of the requirements and how well it indicates the probability of success in contract performance. Offerors who simply “mirror back” the Government’s requirements as stated in the PWS, attachments, appendices, or exhibits, or make statements that they will comply without providing detail addressing “how,” will be considered non-responsive.

Factor 2, Subfactor 2 – Small Business Participation: All offerors (regardless of business size) shall complete and submit a Small Business Participation Commitment Document (SBPCD). A template will be provided for use. The SBPCD will be evaluated on the extent of proposed participation/commitment to use of U.S.-owned small businesses in the performance of this requirement (as small business prime offerors or small business subcontractors) relative to the objectives and requirements established. The Government will evaluate the following to determine if the offeror met or exceeded the requirements for Small Business participation.

The extent to which small business firms as defined in FAR Part 19, are specifically identified in proposals;

The extent of commitment to use small business firms (written enforceable commitments will be considered more favorably than non-enforceable ones);

Identification of the type and variety of the work small firms are to perform;

The extent of participation of small business prime offerors and small business subcontractors in terms of the percentage of the value of the Total Contract Value (TCV). The TCV for purposes of this solicitation is the Total Evaluated Price as identified on the offerors’ submitted Quote Schedule using the estimated quantities provided by the Government;

The extent to which the offeror meets or exceeds goals established in the solicitation for small business participation.

The Government will evaluate each proposal to determine the extent to which the offeror includes Small Business Participation. The work to be performed directly by a small business prime offeror will also be evaluated as Small Business Participation.

The Small Business Participation Commitment Document will become part of the resultant contract.

All offerors, including both Small Business (SB) and Other than Small Business, will be evaluated on the level of proposed participation of small businesses in the performance of this requirement to the objectives and goals established in the solicitation.

Factor 3 - Financial Capability:

In Phase One, we used the offeror’s Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) “Business Information Report on Demand” report to determine a minimally acceptable level of financial capability. In Phase Two, we will review the offeror’s full D&B report to assign a confidence rating that represents the offeror’s relative level of financial capability, stability and risk.

Factor 4 - Past Performance:

Past Performance shall be evaluated to determine the extent and quality to which the Offeror has performed services similar in size and scope to this requirement. This factor will assess the expectation that the Offeror will successfully perform the required effort based on its efforts with the identified references, considering all supplemental data. This assessment will result in the application of a Confidence Rating developed considering the extent to which that performance is relevant to the requirements listed in the PWS.

The Government will evaluate the Offeror’s submitted references as well as information from Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQs) and data available in CPARS/PPRIRS.

Past Performance of the Subcontractor(s) can be used to amplify the rating either positively or negatively, but not replace it entirely.

The Offeror shall list at least three (3) and up to ten (10) recent and relevant references / projects from contracts (including those of the prime and proposed subcontracting partners). For purposes of this procurement, a project /reference will be considered:

1. “Recent” if the Period of Performance began or ended within the ten (10) years preceding the solicitation release.

2. “Relevant” if that performance specifically included enrollment and premium administration services for health care benefits concurrently totaling at least 40% the number of current BENEFEDS participants (as defined in the Appendices) and including more than ten (10) separate payroll systems.

3. Was performed for any combination of Federal, State, Local or Private entities.

At least half of the provided references shall be for the prime offeror. References concerning the prime offeror shall be provided first, followed by the references for any proposed major subcontractor. Offeror shall make it clear whether each reference applies to themselves or a subcontractor. Major subcontractors are defined as those who are expected to perform twenty percent (20%) or more of the remaining services after the work performed by the prime has been accounted for.

Details provided for each reference shall include (at a minimum):

1. The organization’s name and address

2. Details for a point of contact (including telephone number, title and e-mail address)

3. Dollar value

4. Period of performance

5. A brief description of the work, including – at minimum:

a. How the work was similar to and different from this requirement, including scale and complexity.

b. Whether the work was performed for a Government or private entity.

c. Any significant problems or issues that occurred during performance of the contract and how the Offeror resolved those issues.

For all references provided, the offeror and/or their subcontractor shall forward the Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) included with this solicitation to each reference listed and request submission of the completed PPQ by the date and to the email address as specified on the PPQ form.

c) In addition to the Evaluation Factors noted above, the Government reserves the right to consider the Offerors’ compliance with Solicitation Instructions and Attention to Detail in evaluation of proposals. Offerors failure to comply with all Solicitation Instructions with regard to formatting, page limitations, section breaks, completeness, timeliness, or which contain spelling or other editing errors may indicate an Offeror who may require significant Government oversight post-award in order to get reports and other deliverables submitted correctly or timely and an increased risk of performance problems post-award. The Government reserves the right to reject any Offeror’s proposal which is found non-compliant with Solicitation Instructions.

d) During Phase Two evaluations, the Government will review all administrative documents submitted, the offeror’s responses to the FAR 52.212-3 Reps & Certs, either those submitted online if the offeror asserts they are fully compliant, or those submitted separately, specific to this solicitation.