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Medical Disability Exams (MDE) Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) As Authorized by P.L. 104-275 Solicitation Number: 36C10X18R0133 Amendment A00004
| Q # |
| FILE AND SECTION |
| PAGE NUMBER |
| VENDOR QUESTION |
| GOVERNMENT RESPONSE |
| 1 |
| Section 7.2 |
| 11 |
| 180 days for ramp-up time is currently applicable to the Contractor. Given the current backlog associated with background investigations and security clearances, will the VA consider adjustment to the ramp-up time should delays in the clearance process impact the Contractor's ability to meet security requirements necessary to perform? |
| If there is any substantial delay caused by the Government’s action and/or inaction, including government-caused delay in processing contractor background investigations, the Contracting Officer may consider extension of the performance start date. |
| 2 |
| Section 8.1 |
| 12 |
| The RFP states that "The Contractor shall not commence performance on the tasks in this PWS until the Contracting Officer (CO) has conducted a kick-off or has advised the Contractor that a kick-off meeting is waived." Conflicting this clear mandate to not perform tasks prior to the kick-off meeting is the apparent requirement to prepare a PMP and a QAP - both Task 1 deliverables, and a Training Plan - a Task 2 deliverable - in advance of the kick-off meeting. Please confirm that the contractor may not commence performance of these tasks, consistent with the clear RFP instructions. |
| See Amendment A00004, which revises PWS Section 8.1, which now states in part, “Except for preparation of the deliverables required at the kick-off meeting, the Contractor shall not commence performance on the tasks in this PWS until the Contracting Officer (CO) has conducted a kick-off meeting or has advised the Contractor that a kick-off meeting is waived.” |
| 3 |
| Various |
| Various |
| It is our understanding that VBMS will replace CAATS by the time of contract award. Will VBMS have fully replaced CAATS by contract award? If CAATS will be in use at contract award, please clarify how the contractor will handle exam requests in the CAATS v. VBMS system. Presently, both CAATS and VBMS are cited in the RFP, and this is generates an excessive amount of questions concerning what contractual obligations the contractor will be held to. |
| The Government anticipates that VBMS will have fully replaced the CAATS system in terms of transmission of Exam Requests and related data between VBA and the Contractors. Reference to the CAATS system is included in the RFP, because the transition from CAATS to VBMS is not complete as of the date of the RFP and related amendments. Accordingly, both CAATS and VBMS requirements are included in the RFP. Awardees will be notified during the kickoff meeting which system is effective at the time of award. The 180-day ramp-up period will allow sufficient time for each Contractor to complete all necessary connections with either the CAATS and/or VBMS system to begin receiving exam requests following the ramp-up period. Should a Government-caused delay require more time beyond the 180-day ramp-up period to allow for all necessary IT connections/authorizations to be completed, the Contracting Officer will extend the ramp-up period via a contract modification to allow sufficient time to complete the process. |
| 4 |
| Section 8.3(b) |
| 14 |
| Paragraph 8.3(b) requires that the “[c]ontractor shall get approval from the COR via email for any additional testing or examination that is not preauthorized or addressed during the triage process.” Can VA please specify what is the expected timeframe within which the contractor will receive a response and decision from the COR? |
| The Government anticipates providing a reasonable response time for any Contractor requests for additional testing or examinations that are not preauthorized or addressed during the triage process. Reasonable response time, for purposes of this issue, is considered approximately 5 calendar days, although this may vary depending on the cirumstances. |
| 5 |
| Section 8.7 |
| 18 |
| Confirm that the PMP, QAP, and Training Plan cannot be due 5 business days after contract award because the kick-off meeting is not held until 5 days after contract award, and the deliverables cannot be started until after the kick-off meeting, consistent with Section 8.1 of the RFP. |
| See Amendment A00004, which revises PWS Section 8.1, which now states in part, “Except for preparation of the deliverables required at the kick-off meeting, the Contractor shall not commence performance on the tasks in this PWS until the Contracting Officer (CO) has conducted a kick-off meeting or has advised the Contractor that a kick-off meeting is waived.” |
| 6 |
| Section 9.2 |
| 19 |
| Paragraph language states "Such payments shall be made in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 111 and governing regulations." Please provide specific "governing regulations" that along with 38 U.S.C.111, will be applicable to Veteran Travel Expenses. |
| “Governing regulations” may include any provisions put into effect by VA that implement the statute under 38 U.S.C. 111. See the following VA websites for additional provisions regarding beneficiary travel. The information included in these websites is subject to change at any time at the discretion of the Government: |
https://www.va.gov/HEALTHBENEFITS/vtp/beneficiary_travel.asp https://www.va.gov/healthbenefits/resources/BeneTravelFAQ.pdf
| 7 |
| Section 9.13e |
| 22 |
| CLCW is used here (first) and elsewhere in the RFP but is never defined in the RFP. Please define CLCW as it pertains to this RFP. |
| See Amendment A00004, which revises PWS Section 9.13 to clarify that CLCW means, “Camp Lejeune Contaminated Water”. |
| 8 |
| Section 9.15 |
| 23 |
| The RFP states that " If the claim is receiving priority processing the information will be annotated in the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS) under the “Veteran Flashes” and the examination request that was submitted by the Regional Office (RO). These flashes will be identified within the comments section of a CAATS examination request." What is ‘Veteran Flashes’ and how does it impact the exam request processing? Is there special handling and what is the expected/required time to completion? |
| A ”Veteran Flash” is a feature within VBMS that allows the Veteran Service Representative (VSR) to include any specialized information regarding the specific Veteran, including notation of a request for Priority Processing. |
See also Question/Responses under RFP Amendment A00003, at Q # 3, 16, 17, 18, and 133 for related clarification.
| 9 |
| Section 9.20 |
| 24 |
| The RFP states "The Contractor shall post to the Contractor’s website proof of confirmation, (an email read receipt, certified letter receipt signature, cellular text message, or verbal confirmation) that the Veteran received the appointment notification." Please clarify the confirmation methods listed are options and not the complete and only options. Is FedEx tracked package sufficient? |
| See Amendment A00004, which revises PWS Section 9.20 to include FedEx, UPS, or other commercial package delivery service confirmation as “proof of confirmation”. |
| 10 |
| Section 9.28 |
| 26 |
| Paragraph language references an Attachment N. The Solicitation List of Attachments does not include an Attachment N. Please provide clarification |
| See RFP Amendment A00004, which includes Attachment N. |
| 11 |
| Section 9.28.2(b) |
| 28 |
| Paragraph language references Attachment U. When Attachment U is opened, it is labeled as Attachment O. Please provide clarification. |
| See RFP Amendment A00004, which includes revised Attachment U. The revised attachment is identical to the original version included with the RFP, except Attachment O has been deleted from the .zip file. |
| 12 |
| Section 9.35 |
| 30 |
| The RFP indicates that "The Contractor shall prepare an emergency action plan for inclement weather or natural disasters for all scheduled examinations in the Region affected." The RFP does not indicate when this Deliverable is due; please clarify. |
| The Emergency Action Plan is not a deliverable that is due to the Government; therefore, it is not included in the Schedule of Deliverables with a due date. However, the Contractor is required to develop and maintain and Emergency Action Plan so the Contractor has advanced planning and procedures for addressing instances of inclement weather or natural disasters. The Government may review this information during any site visit conducted in accordance with provisions in Section 13.0 of the PWS. |
| 13 |
| Section 9.36 |
| 31 |
| The RFP states that "Examinations impacted by Federal and/or State Declared Emergencies, Force Majeure, or Acts of God shall not be cancelled unless specifically requested by the Veteran, Regional Office, or Program Office." Please confirm that the VA Regional Offices and/or the Program Office will be fully informed of all Federal and/or State Declared Emergencies, Force Majeure, or Acts of God for each region and will notify the Contractor that it may cancel examinations in such cases. What is the process that the contractor is expected to follow in these circumstances? |
| As provided in PWS Section 9.36, Examinations impacted by Federal and/or State Declared Emergencies, Force Majeure, or Acts of God shall not be cancelled unless specifically requested by the Veteran, Regional Office, or Program Office. |
If a Contractor’s ability to process exam requests within the contract performance standards, due to Federal and/or State Declared Emergencies, Force Majeure, or Acts of God, the Contractor may request a waiver of the timeliness requirements for a limited period of time in the affected area. Before relying on such a waiver, the Contractor shall obtain written approval and receipt of the waiver from the Contracting Officer and/or COR. Furthermore, any cancellations resulting from such events shall be pre-approved in writing by the COR.
Upon Contractor recognition of such event, the Contractor shall provide a weekly update of all impacted examinations to the COR. If approved by the COR or Contracting Officer in writing, the timeliness calculation will be adjusted based on written guidance from the Program Office and the Contracting Officer. Reporting on above incidents should start as soon as possible in conjunction with the COR.
| 14 |
| Section 10.15 |
| 37 |
| What formats are acceptable for x-ray deliverables? |
| See Amendment A00004, which updates PWS Section 10.15 to stated that x-ray deliverables shall be in .pdf format. |
| 15 |
| Section 17.1 |
| 61 |
| Please confirm that the language in bold print should be added following the last sentence in this paragraph as follows: A physician may conduct an examination pursant to this PWS at any location in any State, the District of Columbia, or a Commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States, so long as the examination is within the scope of the PWS. No one may be an examiner: |
| See Amendment A00004, which updates PWS Section 17.1 to clarify this matter. |
| 16 |
| Section 19.9.3 |
| 69 |
| Third sentence states "19.8.4". Please provide clarification. |
| See Amendment A00004 which corrects this formatting error. What was previously referenced as PWS Section 19.8.4 is not shifted to be Section 19.9.4. |
| 17 |
| Section Table |
| 105 |
| The Technical Volume instructions indicate that the QAP is to be included in the 30-page limit; including the QAP in the Technical Volume directly conflicts with the mandate that "The Contractor shall not commence performance on the tasks in this PWS until the Contracting Officer (CO) has conducted a kick-off or has advised the Contractor that a kick-off meeting is waived." Please see questions concerning Section 8.1. |
| See Amendment A00004, which revises PWS Section 8.1, which now states in part, “Except for preparation of the deliverables required at the kick-off meeting, the Contractor shall not commence performance on the tasks in this PWS until the Contracting Officer (CO) has conducted a kick-off meeting or has advised the Contractor that a kick-off meeting is waived.” |
| 18 |
| General |
| General |
| Please provide the anticipated award date. In order to develop pricing, all Offerors will need to know the anticipated contract start date. |
| Assuming proposal discussions become necessary, including allowance for final revised proposals, the anticipated award date (as of Amendment A00004) is 9-30-2018. The kickoff meeting would take place within five calendar days of the award date, and actual contract performance would begin on the same date as the kickoff meeting. The 180-day ramp-up period will affect the date by which contractors shall begin receiving exam requests under the new contracts. The 9-30-2018 estimated award date is subject to change due to many factors either in control of the Government or not, and no reliance on that estimated award date shall be made by any Offeror in preparation of its proposal. |
| 19 |
| VOLUME IV – PRICE FACTOR SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS |
| 117 |
| Since all of our physicians are paid on 1099’s as a sub-contractor would that satisfy the 50% sub-contracting rule? In other words, Since each physician is paid as a sub-contractor not as an employee we pay them on 1099’s. Does each individual physician then count towards our subcontractor requirement even if they aren’t technically a small business? |
No. If the subcontractor is not a small business, then you cannot count them as a small business in your small business subcontracting plan, regardless of whether they are 1099 employees or not.
