S06 0005 Government Responses to Vendor Questions.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 22 KB Posted
- Solicitation number
- 36C10X25R0001
About this file
This document contains a series of questions and answers related to a federal contract opportunity for the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Medical Disability Examination Office (MDEO) recompete in Regions 1-4.
The key details are:
- This is a draft Request for Proposal (RFP) under FAR 15 and FAR 12 to recompete the multiple award IDIQ contract for Medical Disability Examinations (MDE) in Regions 1-4.
- The solicitation number is 36C10X25R0001, and the contract opportunity ID is 04158d77f3bd44d8bb435294044ad3b2.
- The government has provided responses to vendor questions on topics such as pricing, deliverables, ramp-up activities, and compensation plans. Several instructions and requirements have been clarified or revised, including the removal of Solicitation Attachment H.
- The solicitation instructs offerors to submit pricing and compensation plan information, with the "local area" defined as the Region for the purposes of the compensation plan.
- An industry day is scheduled for August 13, 2024, and phase 1 submissions are due by August 26, 2024.
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Sheet 1
| Page # | RFP Section Reference | Question | Answer |
| File Name: S06+0004+MDE+Reg+1-4+PWS_Short_Term+9+11+24 | |||
| 11 | Section 1.6 | It is our assumption that the duration and maximum is "two-year, 6 month life of the contract: 9 million exams." Is this assumption correct? If not, please clarify. | Yes, this assumption is correct. |
| File Name: S06+36C10X25R0001_0001 | |||
| In Amendment 01 responses to vendors (file name S05+Government+Responses+to+Vendor+Questions_Phase+2, line 22), in response to how a contractor might complete Attachment F to “…cover the large geographic span and location requirement”, the Government stated that offerors may add additional rows in Attachment F. |
In order to accurately identify localities, which of the following changes would be acceptable to the Government:
| a. | Add a column in Attachment F indicating the locality associated with a specific labor category |
| b. | Modify the labor category description to add the locality to the labor category (e.g., modify “Nurse Practitioner” to “Nurse Practitioner – Texas” |
| If neither of these options are acceptable, please clarify in what file and what manner should contractors delineate “the local area in which the employee will perform contract work”, as Attachment F does not provide a clear way to include this information while adhering to the solicitation’s instructions. | The Governent prefers Option A. Attachment F is revised via this modificaiton. | ||
| File Name: S06+36C10X25R0001_0004 | |||
| 45 | Proposal Submission Instructions, Volume IV, Price, Excel Spreadsheet 4 (Solicitation Attachment H) | CLIN 0024, Ramp Up Activities are marked as “To Be Determined” and per the B.3 Price Structure and the PWS requirements, they (1) cannot occur during the procurement cycle [PWS Section 1.7 and last sentence of Section 1.10] and are not applicable to the Phase 2B proposal submission [SLINs 0024B and 0024C] or (2) only apply to “New Contractors” per PWS Section 1.10 [SLINs 0024A]. Reference enclosed questions on Attachment H. |
a. It is our assumption that an offeror who is/has been a VBA MDE prime contractor can/would not have associated costs for CLIN 0024 and therefore the associated SLINs would be designated as “$0.00” in Attachment H and there would be no supplemental information available. Is this assumption correct (i.e., yes or no)?
b. If this assumption is not correct, request clarification of the qualifying situations where an offeror who is not a “New Contractor” would price any of CLIN 0024 and have costs and associated supplemental information to provide in the Phase 2B submission.
| Solicition Attachment H is removed. | |||
| 45 | Proposal Submission Instructions, Volume IV, Price, Excel Spreadsheet 4 (Solicitation Attachment H) | CLIN 0021, Deliverables are marked as “Not Separately Priced” and each of the 17 SLINs have no additional cost impact, and therefore no substantiating cost information. Is it acceptable to annotate there is no substantiating information to provide (i.e., yes or no) or will the offeror be deemed non-compliant (i.e., yes or no)? | Solicition Attachment H is removed. |
| 45 | Proposal Submission Instructions, Volume IV, Price, Excel Spreadsheet 4 (Solicitation Attachment H) | The instructions state, “the Offeror shall provide information to substantiate the amounts provided.” If the offeror enters “$0.00” for all the NSP and TBD items, there are no “amounts” to substantiate. It is our assumption that supplemental information is not required for any zero dollar NSP or TBD item. Is this assumption correct? If not, request clarification of the potential situations and types of information to be provided. | Solicition Attachment H is removed. |
| 45 | Proposal Submission Instructions, Volume IV, Price, Excel Spreadsheet 4 (Solicitation Attachment H) | The instructions state, “If applicable, the Offeror shall document how these prices are |
incorporate into B.3.” If the offeror enters “$0.00” for all the NSP and TBD items, there are no “prices” that would be incorporated into B.3. It is our assumption that no documentation is required for any zero dollar NSP or TBD item. Is this assumption correct? If not, request clarification of the potential situations and types of documentation to be provided.
| Solicition Attachment H is removed. | |||||
| 45 | Proposal Submission Instructions, Volume IV, Price, Excel Spreadsheet 4 (Solicitation Attachment H) | Request description of any situation(s) where the provision of supplemental information is not required. | Solicition Attachment H is removed. | ||
| 45 | Proposal Submission Instructions, Volume IV, Price, Excel Spreadsheet 4 (Solicitation Attachment H) | PWS Section 4.9.2, Ad-Hoc Reports and Requests for Information states “The Contractor shall provide ad-hoc reporting at no additional charge as required by MDEO (for example, when natural disasters occur, when requests for information are submitted by outside entities, when special situations involve investigating alleged issues with examinations).” The corresponding B.3 item, SLIN 0021O, Ad-hoc Reporting and Requests for Information in accordance with Section 4.9 of the PWS, is appropriately designated as “Not Separately Priced.” Based on this requirement, an offeror cannot enter a price in Attachment H for SLIN 0021O, and it would require an entry of zero dollars and would not have associated supplemental information. The designation that this Deliverable is at no additional charge infers that the government considers these costs incidental. Request additional clarification on how to support Attachment H instructions. | Solicition Attachment H is removed. | ||
| 45 | Proposal Submission Instructions, Volume IV, Price, Excel Spreadsheet 4 (Solicitation Attachment H) | The PWS identifies that there are additional costs for many of the requirements and states “Additional costs for coordinating these types of appointments may be invoiced (see B.3 Schedule of Prices for definition).“ For example PWS Sections 2.7.1, 2.7.9.4, and 2.7.16.4 align with CLIN 0025 and PWS Section 2.7.18 and SLIN 0004D. The PWS sections related to the Deliverables listed in CLIN 0021 do not contain this language, which supports the designation of “Not Separately Priced.” Request clarification on the instructions to provide a dollar value entry in Attachment H and provision of supplemental information for the Deliverables. | Solicition Attachment H is removed. | ||
| 45 | Proposal Submission Instructions, Volume IV, Price, Excel Spreadsheet 4 (Solicitation Attachment H) | The costs related to each item in CLIN 0021, Deliverables are overall incidental and not directly incremental to B.3 priced items, i.e., no associated identifiable costs and no associated supplemental information to provide. It is our assumption that stating this situation in the Phase 2B submission is sufficient and compliant. Is our assumption correct (i.e., yes or no)? If not, please clarify. | Solicition Attachment H is removed. | ||
| 55 | Volume IV, Price Factor Evaluation Methodology | The instructions for Solicitation Attachment H states the supplemental information is being used for informational/evaluation purposes only and will not be incorporated into the price schedule at award. The solicitation E.2, Evaluation states “Offerors who fail to provide information substantiating the amounts in Solicitation Attachment H will be found non-compliant and as such ineligible for award.” Request that “will” be changed to “may” to provide the government the flexibility in making such a determination based on the informational material. Also request stating that the substantiating information is only required "if applicable." | Solicition Attachment H is removed. | ||
| The solicitation requires contractors to provide “Excel Spreadsheet 3 (Solicitation Attachment F): The Offeror shall submit proposed professional compensation plans for various professional employees (i.e., physicians, medical examiners, physician’s assistant, nurse practitioner, etc.) providing examinations for each geographic region proposed.” Subsequently, the solicitation instructs the offeror: “In addition to the materials referenced above, the proposal shall include a Professional Employee Compensation Plan that identifies each proposed medical professional position, the local area in which the employee will perform contract work, and the proposed compensation rate inclusive of fringe benefits.” | |||||
| a. | Please confirm that reference to “a Professional Employee Compensation Plan that identifies each proposed medical professional position…” refers to Solicitation Attachment F, or if the Government intends the contractor to submit a separate, additional professional employee compensation plan in addition to the Attachment F submission. | In addition to Attachment F, the Offeror is instructed to include the professional compensation plan within the 3 page doc/docx/pdf price volume for supplemental information. | |||
| Please confirm the Government’s definition of “local area” as it relates to the requirement to “include a Professional Employee Compensation Plan that identifies each proposed medical professional position, the local area in which the employee will perform contract work, and the proposed compensation rate inclusive of fringe benefits.” Does “local area” mean the Region, the state, or zip code? | Local Area for the purposes of the Competinsation Plan means the Region. | ||||
| File Name: S06+0003+Solicitation+Attachment+H+-++NSP+Info | |||||
| N/A | SLIN 0024A | Based on the price structure, SLIN 0024A, Ramp-up: Initial Contract Award presents as a non-priced description-only SLIN and should contain "N/A" in the three columns for (1) "% of Medicare Baseline Rate," (2) Base Yr Unit Price," and (3) "Opt Yr Unit Price." Reference B.3 Price Schedule entries for SLINs 0001F and 0001G. |
a. It is our assumption that SLIN 0024A is a non-priced description-only SLIN. Is this assumption correct (i.e., yes or no)?
b. It is also our assumption that the entry of "N/A" in the two unit price columns and no provision of associated supplemental information is compliant. Is this assumption correct (i.e., yes or no)?
c. If these assumptions are not correct, request clarification of the scope and definition of SLIN 0024A as it appears to be a label only.
| Solicition Attachment H is removed. | ||
| N/A | SLINs 0024AA and 0024AB | SLINS 0024AA and 0024AB correspond to PWS Section 1.10, Ramp-up Performance Under “For New Contractors:” where the last sentence of this sub-section states “Initial IT and Examiner Network build costs associated with ramp-up may be invoiced (see B.3 Schedule of Prices for definition).” |
a. It is our assumption that this sentence only applies to "New Contractors," which are entities that have never held a VBA MDE contract as a prime contractor. Is this assumption correct (i.e., yes or no)?
b. It is also our assumption that the PWS requirement, and subsequent use of SLIN 00024A, is restricted to "New Contractors" only and that an entity that has/does hold a VBA MDE contract as a prime contractor is restricted from the use of this SLIN. Is this assumption correct (i.e., yes or no)?
c. Presuming these assumptions are correct and the offeror has been/is currently a VBA MDE prime contractor, it is our assumption that the entry of "$0.00" in the two unit price columns and no provision of associated supplemental information is compliant (i.e., the offeror does not have incremental costs associated with the ramp-up of the new Regional contracts that the government will pay for). Is this assumption correct (i.e., yes or no)?
d. If the assumptions are not correct, request clarification of the scope and definition of these two SLINs.
| Solicition Attachment H is removed. | ||
| N/A | SLIN 0024B | Based on the price structure, SLIN 0024B, Ramp-up: Major Contract Modification presents as a non-priced description-only SLIN and should contain "N/A" in the three columns for (1) "% of Medicare Baseline Rate," (2) Base Yr Unit Price," and (3) "Opt Yr Unit Price." Reference B.3 Price Schedule entries for SLINs 0001F and 0001G. |
a. It is our assumption that SLIN 0024B is a non-priced description-only SLIN. Is this assumption correct (i.e., yes or no)?
b. It is also our assumption that the entry of "N/A" in the two unit price columns and no provision of associated supplemental information is compliant. Is this assumption correct (i.e., yes or no)?
c. If these assumptions are not correct, request clarification of the scope and definition of SLIN 0024B as it appears to be a label only.
| Solicition Attachment H is removed. | ||
| N/A | SLINs 0024BA and 0024BB | SLINS 0024BA and 0024BB correspond to PWS Section 1.10, Ramp-up Performance where the last sentence states “IT and Examiner Network build costs associated with ramp-up to comply with updated requirements in a contract mod may be invoiced (see B.3 Schedule of Prices for definition),” which only applies to situations during an active contract and cannot occur during the procurement of a contract. |
a. It is our assumption that SLINs 0024BA and 0024BB cannot occur during the procurement cycle and is not applicable to the Phase 2B proposal submission. Is this assumption correct (i.e., yes or no)?
b. It is also our assumption that for these two SLINs, the entry of "N/A" in the two unit price columns and no provision of associated supplemental information is compliant. Is this assumption correct (i.e., yes or no)?
c. If these assumptions are not correct, request clarification of the scope and definition of SLINs 0024BA and 0024BB.
| Solicition Attachment H is removed. | ||
| N/A | SLIN 0024C | SLIN 0024C correspond to PWS Section 1.7, Examination Request Allocation where the last sentence states “Additional IT and Examiner Network build costs associated with ramp-up due to workload distribution may be invoiced (see B.3 Schedule of Prices for definition),” which only applies to situations during an active contract and cannot occur during the procurement of a contract. |
a. It is our assumption that SLIN 0024C cannot occur during the procurement cycle and is not applicable to the Phase 2B proposal submission. Is this assumption correct (i.e., yes or no)?
b. It is also our assumption that for the entry of "N/A" in the two unit price columns and no provision of associated supplemental information is compliant. Is this assumption correct (i.e., yes or no)?
c. If these assumptions are not correct, request clarification of the scope and definition of SLIN 0024C.
| Solicition Attachment H is removed. | ||
| Can the government amend page 39 of the Solicitation to reflect that offerors intending to submit pricing for multiple geographic regions only need to submit a single Vol IV Price document (VendorName_Price.doc/docx/pdf (for supplemental information only)? Based on instructions received in prior QA Amendment 0003 "Only one Volume IV is to be provided using the naming convention provided. The Offeror is to complete the tabs within the workbook which align with the Regions for which it is proposing.” | Solicition Attachment H is removed. |
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