36C24424Q0242 - VA Butler Ambulance Transportation Service.docx

Solicitation Number / RFQ – 36C24424Q0242 ALS / BLS Ambulance Transportation Services VA Butler Healthcare System, Butler, PA

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial products or commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in FAR subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.

This Solicitation is being issued as Request for Quote (RFQ) 36C24424Q0242. The government anticipates awarding one five-year firm-fixed price Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract resulting from this solicitation. The 5-year Ordering Period has the approximate start date of March 01, 2024, thru February 28, 2029.

This solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2023-06 (12/14/2023) and can be found at FAR | Acquisition.GOV.

The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 621910 with a small business size standard of $22.5 Million dollars annually (yearly). This solicitation is Unrestricted.

This solicitation requires registration with the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to award, pursuant to applicable regulations and guidelines. Registration information is at www.sam.gov. Confirmation of SAM registration will be validated prior to awarding one IDIQ.

The Contractor shall provide services in accordance with the PWS, Attachment A, and QASP, Attachment B.

A complete description of the services to be acquired, and/or applicable Government need(s) as follows:

See Attachment A: Performance Work Statement.

Contracting Office Address:

Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Procurement Office East Network Contracting Office 4 (NCO 4) Coatesville VAMC 1400 Blackhorse Hill Road Coatesville, PA 19320

Proposals in response to this RFQ are due on 11:00 AM EST, Tuesday, February 06, 2024. They shall be submitted in writing and sent via email to Cynthia Laemmerhirt at cynthia.laemmerhirt@va.gov. Please insert “Solicitation Number 36C24424Q0242- VA Butler Ambulance Transportation Services” in the subject line of your email. All submissions shall be 5MB or less. If the email is more than 5MB, submit multiple emails labeling them 1 of XX, 2 of XX, etc. Late submissions shall be treated in accordance with the solicitation provision at FAR 52.212-1(f). Any questions or concerns regarding this solicitation shall be forwarded in writing via e-mail to the Contracting Specialist by 9:00 AM EST, Thursday, February 1, 2024. Questions will not be accepted after this date. Responses to vendor question(s) will be posted via an amendment on SAM.gov.

See Attachment C: Price/Cost Schedule. Fill out Attachment C and send with your proposal.

To facilitate the award process, all proposals must include a statement regarding the terms and conditions herein as follows:

"The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition."

OR

"The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following:"

Addendum to FAR 52.212-1:

Offerors shall submit Pricing, Technical Capability and Past Performance information as follows:

Submission Information/Instructions:

Offerors shall submit their proposal electronically in four volumes. Volume 1 Introductory, Volume 2 Price, Volume 3 Technical Capability, and Volume 4 Past Performance. Failure to follow these instructions may result in Offerors being determined as non-responsive and be removed from this competition.

A. Volume 1 Introductory Folder (No Page Limit):

The Introductory Folder shall include the information listed below and any other items for which a location has not otherwise been specified.

a. Cover Letter. Offerors shall submit a cover letter identifying their Company name, contact information, CAGE Code, UEI number of the prime and any teaming partner/subcontractor.

b. FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items (Nov 2023).

Offerors shall include a completed copy of the provision with their offer if the Offeror has not completed electronically in the System for Award Management (SAM) accessed through ttps://www.sam.gov/SAM/.

c. All proposals shall be valid for at least 60 days from the proposal response date.

B. Volume 2 – Price Offerors shall complete the Price/Cost Schedule. See Attachment C.

Contracting is asking for one set of pricing for the entire 5 years. Please price accordingly. This RFQ will result in the award of a five (5) year Firm Fixed Price IDIQ. Quotes shall include pricing that represents the vendors best offer and discounts. All pricing is final. Vendors should consider that requests for price adjustment, other than for wage increases due to Wage Determination, will be denied. Pricing structures should include the vendors adjustments for normal economic inflation for the entirety of the five (5) year ordering period.

C. Volume 3 - Technical Capability – (No Page Limit):

Offerors shall submit a Technical Capability which shall address the following at a minimum:

Technical Evaluations:

1) Describe how the offeror will ensure they meet various peak time periods to ensure requests for service response time meets PWS requirements. (Paragraph 4.5.1.10)

2) If the offeror is an Other than Small Business, describe your subcontracting plans to help meet VA’s requirements. If the Offeror is Small Business and plan to subcontract, describe your subcontracting plan to help meet the VA’s requirement.

3) Provide a description of your communication system (i.e., VetRide, cell phone, computer, etc.), dispatch, and capability of real time communication for patient tracking purposes. (Paragraph 4.5)

4) Explain how you will manage scheduled and unscheduled Veteran patient pick-ups and transports. (Paragraph 4.5.1.2, 4.5.1.10)

5) Describe your reporting process for patient complaints. (Paragraph 4.8)

6) Provide your quality control program to ensure prompt and quality service to include your action plan in the event of a vehicle breakdown, inclement weather or natural disaster, and other emergency situations.

7) Explain how you safeguard sensitive data / Veteran information.

8) Offerors shall provide the following documents with their offer:

a. Copy of EMS operating certification for state of PA.

b. Copy of vehicle and liability insurance certificate(s) or within 10 days after notification of pending award.

c. Copy of business license(s)

d. Copy of PA PUC

e. Provide your plan to ensure Contractor vehicles are properly licensed and meet minimum requirements as stated in the Performance Work Statement. (Paragraph 4.4)

f. Provide your plan to ensure drivers and EMTs are credentialed and licensed in accordance with requirements as stated in the Performance Work Statement.

(Paragraph 4.3)

g) Must complete and sign the Local Business Associate Agreement (BAA) (Attachment D) or attach a copy of a National BAA.

*Please insert your business name on all highlighted areas, unhighlight, and sign last page.

**Not required if you have a National BAA.

Under no circumstances shall pricing information be included in the Technical Capability.

D. Volume 4 - Past Performance – (No Page Limit)

Vendors shall provide up to three (3) references demonstrating experience providing the services required in the PWS, preferably of Government work, performed in the last three (3) years. Past performance information shall be recent (performance within the last three years) and relevant to this scope of work. All past performance references shall be completed by the evaluator. The evaluator shall submit Past Performance Questionnaire (Attachment E) directly to the Contract Specialist at Cynthia.Laemmerhirt@va.gov prior to solicitation closing date. The apparent awardees past performance will be evaluated as part of the contractor responsibility determination to ensure the presence of an acceptable performance record in accordance with FAR 9.104-1.

Offeror must demonstrate experience providing ALS and BLS Ambulance Transports by identifying three (3) references for whom contracts of similar scope, size and complexity completed within the past three years. Include the following information:

Company name and address Name, telephone number and e-mail address of Company POC Dates of contract performance, aggregate award amount, and Contract number

Greater consideration will be given that involve transports conducted within fifty (50) miles of the VA Butler Healthcare. The Government reserves the right to seek past performance information from any sources not included in your past performance references and available to the Government to include, but not limited to, CPARS or other databases; interviews with Program Managers, customers, and Contracting Officers.

Service Contract Act Wage Determination apply and can be found in Attachment F.

(End of Addendum to 52.212-1)

FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation Commercial Items (Nov 2021) applies to this acquisition:

Addendum to FAR 52.212-2: EVALUATION—COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES (NOV 2021)

The Government will perform an evaluation using a comparative evaluation of each quote. The Government will compare quotes to one another to select quote that best benefits the Government by fulfilling the requirement. Comparative evaluation will be conducted in accordance with FAR 13.106-2(b)(3). The following factors shall be used to evaluate Quoters:

The Government will award one, five-year firm-fixed price Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) resulting from this RFQ to the responsible Quoter whose quote conforming to the RFQ is most advantageous to the Government. The Government will evaluate technical capability, past performance, and price.

The Government will perform a comparative evaluation (comparing offers to each other) to select the contractor that is best suited and provides the best value, considering the evaluation factors in this solicitation. Quoters should provide documentation with their quote that demonstrates their technical capability. The documentation should, at a minimum, demonstrate that the contractor is able to provide all the requirements listed within the Performance Work Statement. Additional capabilities above the minimum may also be included and may be reviewed by the Government by completing a one-to-one comparison of the quotes to each other. If the Government determines that there will be a benefit in selecting the contractor that exceeds the minimum requirements, the Government has the discretion to accept the other than lowest priced quote that provides additional benefits to the Government. This Comparative Evaluation will be conducted in accordance with FAR 13.106-2(b)(3).

A written notice of award or acceptance of a quote, mailed, or otherwise furnished to the successful Quoter within the time for acceptance specified in the quote, shall result in a binding IDIQ without further action by either party. Before the offer's specified expiration time, the Government may accept a quote, whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.

The Contracting Officer will award one, firm fixed price IDIQ resulting from this RFQ to the responsible Quoter whose quote conforming to the RFQ is most advantageous to the Government.

Failure to follow these instructions may result in quoters being determined as non-responsive and will be removed from competition.

The following solicitation provisions apply to this acquisition:

1. FAR 52.252-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS-COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES (SEP 2023)

2. FAR 52.204-7 SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT (OCT 2018)

3. FAR 52.204-16 COMMERCIAL AND GOVERNMENT ENTITY CODE REPORTING (AUG 2020)

4. FAR 52.204-24 REPRESENTATION REGARDING CERTAIN TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND VIDEO SURVEILLANCE SERVICES OR EQUIPMENT (NOV 2021)

5. FAR 52.209-7 INFORMATION REGARDING RESPONSIBILITY MATTERS (OCT 2018)

6. FAR 52.216-1 TYPE OF CONTRACT (APR 1984)

7. FAR 52.229-11 TAX ON CERTAIN FOREIGN PROCUREMENTS—NOTICE AND REPRESENTATION (JUN2020)

8. FAR 52.233-2 SERVICE OF PROTEST (SEP 2006)

Protests, as defined in section 33.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, that are filed directly with an agency, and copies of any protests that are filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), shall be served on the Contracting Officer (addressed as follows) by obtaining written and dated acknowledgment of receipt from:

Emailing Address:

Cynthia Laemmerhirt – cynthia.laemmerhirt@va.gov

(b) The copy of any protest shall be received in the office designated above within one day of filing a protest with the GAO.

(End of Provision)

9. VAAR 852.215-72 NOTICE OF INTENT TO RE-SOLICIT (OCT 2019)

10. VAAR 852.233-70 PROTEST CONTENT/ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (OCT 2018)

11. VAAR 852.233-71 ALTERNATE PROTEST PROCEDURE (OCT 2018)

(a) As an alternative to filing a protest with the Contracting Officer, an interested party may file a protest by mail or electronically with: Executive Director, Office of Acquisition and Logistics, Risk Management and Compliance Service (003A2C), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420 or Email: EDProtests@va.gov.

(b) The protest will not be considered if the interested party has a protest on the same or similar issue(s) pending with the Contracting Officer.

(End of Provision) PLEASE NOTE: The correct mailing information for filing alternate protests is as follows:

Or for solicitations issued by the Office of Construction and Facilities Management:

(End of Provision)

12. VAAR 852.239-75 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY ACCESSIBILITY NOTICE (FEB 2023)

13. FAR 52.212-3 OFFEROR REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS-COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES (NOV 2023) Quoters shall include a completed copy of the provision with their quote if the Quoter has not completed electronically in the System for Award Management (SAM) accessed through https://www.sam.gov/SAM/.

The following contract clauses apply to this acquisition:

14. FAR 52.252-2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998)

FAR | Acquisition.GOV VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) - Office of Acquisition and Logistics (OAL)

15. FAR 52.212-4 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS-COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES (NOV 2023)

16. FAR 52.212-5 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT STATUTES OR EXECUTIVE ORDERS-COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES (MAR 2023) The following subparagraphs are applicable:

Subparagraph b 1/4/5/8/9/12/13/16/20/21(i)/24/26/31/33/34(i)/35/36/37/38/39(i)/40/48/51(i)/55/62/66. Subparagraphs c 1/2/3/7/8.

17. FAR 52.203-16 PREVENTING PERSONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST (JUN 2020)

18. FAR 52.203-17 CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEE WHISTLEBLOWER RIGHTS (NOV 2023)

19. FAR 52.204-4 PRINTED OR COPIED DOUBLE-SIDED ON POSTCONSUMER FIBER CONTENT PAPER (MAY 2011)

20. FAR 52.204-13 SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT MAINTENANCE (OCT 2018)

21. FAR 52.204-18 COMMERCIAL AND GOVERNMENT ENTITY CODE MAINTENANCE (AUG 2020)

22. FAR 52.204-21 BASIC SAFEGUARDING OF COVERED CONTRACTOR INFORMATION SYSTEMS (NOV 2021)

23. FAR 52.232-19 AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR (APR 1984)

24. FAR 52.232-40 PROVIDING ACCELERATED PAYMENTS TO SMALL BUSINESS SUBCONTRACTORS (MAR 2023)

25. VAAR 852.203-70 COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING (MAY 2018)

26. VAAR 852.228-71 INDEMNIFICATION AND INSURANCE (MAR 2018)

27. VAAR 852.232-72 ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF PAYMENT REQUESTS (NOV 2018)

28. VAAR 852.237-74 NONDISCRIMINATION IN SERVICE DELIVERY (OCT 2019)

29. VAAR 852.237-75 KEY PERSONNEL (OCT 2019)

30. VAAR 852.242-71 ADMINISTRATIVE CONTRACTING OFFICER (OCT 2020)

Clauses included in this solicitation in full text:

31. MANDATORY WRITTEN DISCLOSURES

Mandatory written disclosures required by FAR clause 52.203-13 to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General (OIG) must be made electronically through the VA OIG Hotline at http://www.va.gov/oig/contacts/hotline.asp and clicking on "FAR clause 52.203-13 Reporting." If you experience difficulty accessing the website, call the Hotline at 1-800-488-8244 for further instructions.

32. FAR 52.216-18 ORDERING (AUG 2020)

(a) Any supplies and services to be furnished under this contract shall be ordered by issuance of delivery orders or task orders by the individuals or activities designated in the Schedule. Such orders may be issued from March 1, 2024, through February 28, 2029.

(b) All delivery orders or task orders are subject to the terms and conditions of this contract. In the event of conflict between a delivery order or task order and this contract, the contract shall control.

(c) A delivery order or task order is considered "issued" when—

(1) If sent by mail (includes transmittal by U.S. mail or private delivery service), the Government deposits the order in the mail;

(2) If sent by fax, the Government transmits the order to the Contractor’s fax number; or

(3) If sent electronically, the Government either—

(i) Posts a copy of the delivery order or task order to a Government document access system, and notice is sent to the Contractor; or

(ii) Distributes the delivery order or task order via email to the Contractor’s email address.

(d) Orders may be issued by methods other than those enumerated in this clause only if authorized in the contract.

(End of Clause)

33. FAR 52.216-19 ORDER LIMITATIONS (OCT 1995)

(a) Minimum order. When the Government requires supplies or services covered by this contract in an amount of less than $3,000.00, the Government is not obligated to purchase, nor is the Contractor obligated to furnish, those supplies or services under the contract.

(b) Maximum order. The Contractor is not obligated to honor—

(1) Any order for a single item in excess of $3,000.00;

(2) Any order for a combination of items in excess of $400,000.00; or

(3) A series of orders from the same ordering office within 1 day that together call for quantities exceeding the limitation in paragraph (b)(1) or (2) of this section.

(c) If this is a requirements contract (i.e., includes the Requirements clause at subsection 52.216-21 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)), the Government is not required to order a part of any one requirement from the Contractor if that requirement exceeds the maximum-order limitations in paragraph (b) of this section.

(d) Notwithstanding paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, the Contractor shall honor any order exceeding the maximum order limitations in paragraph (b), unless that order (or orders) is returned to the ordering office within 3 days after issuance, with written notice stating the Contractor's intent not to ship the item (or items) called for and the reasons. Upon receiving this notice, the Government may acquire the supplies or services from another source.

(End of Clause)

34. FAR 52.216-22 INDEFINITE QUANTITY (OCT 1995)

(a) This is an indefinite-quantity contract for the supplies or services specified, and effective for the period stated, in the Schedule. The quantities of supplies and services specified in the Schedule are estimates only and are not purchased by this contract.

(b) Delivery or performance shall be made only as authorized by orders issued in accordance with the Ordering clause. The Contractor shall furnish to the Government, when and if ordered, the supplies or services specified in the Schedule up to and including the quantity designated in the Schedule as the "maximum." The Government shall order at least the quantity of supplies or services designated in the Schedule as the "minimum."

(c) Except for any limitations on quantities in the Order Limitations clause or in the Schedule, there is no limit on the number of orders that may be issued. The Government may issue orders requiring delivery to multiple destinations or performance at multiple locations.

(d) Any order issued during the effective period of this contract and not completed within that period shall be completed by the Contractor within the time specified in the order. The contract shall govern the Contractor's and Government's rights and obligations with respect to that order to the same extent as if the order were completed during the contract's effective period; provided, that the Contractor shall not be required to make any deliveries under this contract after February 28, 2030.

(End of Clause)

35. VAAR 852.211-76 LIQUIDATED DAMAGES – REIMBURSEMENT FOR DATA BREACH COSTS (FEB 2023) ALTERNATE I (FEB 2023)

(a) Definition. As used in this clause, ‘‘contract’’ means any contract, agreement, order or other instrument and encompasses the definition set forth in FAR 2.101.

(b) Non-disclosure requirements. As a condition of performance under a contract, order, agreement, or other instrument that requires access to sensitive personal information as defined in VAAR 802.101, the following is expressly required—

(1) The Contractor, subcontractor, their employees or business associates shall not, directly or through an affiliate or employee of the Contractor, subcontractor, or business associate, disclose sensitive personal information to any other person unless the disclosure is lawful and is expressly permitted under the contract; and

(2) The Contractor, subcontractor, their employees or business associates shall immediately notify the Contracting Officer and the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) of any security incident that occurs involving sensitive personal information.

(c) Liquidated damages. If the Contractor or any of its agents fails to protect VA sensitive personal information or otherwise engages in conduct which results in a data breach, the Contractor shall, in place of actual damages, pay to the Government liquidated damages of $37.50 per affected individual in order to cover costs related to the notification, data breach analysis and credit monitoring. In the event the Contractor provides payment of actual damages in an amount determined to be adequate by the Contracting Officer, the Contracting Officer may forgo collection of liquidated damages.

(d) Purpose of liquidated damages. Based on the results from VA’s determination that there was a data breach caused by Contractor’s or any of its agents’ failure to protect or otherwise engaging in conduct to cause a data breach of VA sensitive personal information, and as directed by the Contracting Officer, the Contractor shall be responsible for paying to the VA liquidated damages in the amount of $37.50 per affected individual to cover the cost of the following:

(1) Notification related costs.

(2) Credit monitoring reports.

(3) Data breach analysis and impact.

(4) Fraud alerts.

(5) Identity theft insurance.

(e) Relationship to termination clause, if applicable. If the Government terminates this contract in whole or in part under the Termination for cause paragraph, FAR 52.212–4(m), Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Products and Commercial Services, the Contractor is liable for damages accruing until the Government reasonably obtains delivery or performance of similar supplies or services. These damages are in addition to costs of repurchase as may be required under the Termination clause.

(End of Clause)

Attachments:

See Attached document: Attachment A – PWS See Attached document: Attachment B – QASP See Attached document: Attachment C – Price Schedule See Attached document: Attachment D – BAA See Attached document: Attachment E – Past Performance Questionnaire See Attached document: Attachment F – Wage Determination

End of Document