Home Oxygen RFP Question and responses 36C24521R0034.docx

Questions & Responses to RFP 36C24521R0034

Q1) Our understanding is that the provided estimated quantities are annual counts. Hence, to calculate the annual amounts, we will be multiplying the estimated quantities with the unit price. Please verify if this is true for all Items Numbers. True

Q2) We assume that all Item Numbers are monthly rentals except "Firesafe Valves/ Oxysafe Valves" and refills. Please kindly confirm if this assumption is accurate. Otherwise, please kindly advise which Item Numbers are monthly rentals and which ones are one-time purchases.

0016 Air Compressor – not a monthly rental either a one-time purchase or VA will replace Vendor-owned compressor when issued.

Q3) CLIN 2021 appears to have a quantity typo (119140) – all other years have the quantity of 1191. Can you please clarify?

Portable system for new set ups consists of “E”, “D”, or “B” (M6) size aluminum (or equivalent eight metal) cylinder with regulator, flow meter, handcart, pouch and disposable supplies.

35594

EA

Q4)How does the VA anticipate the Contractor being compensated for portable cylinder refills, if the CLINS are the Quantity N/A?

Q5) • P. 7, 2.4 a), second paragraph reads “In the event a monthly visit will not occur, the COR will be notified and provided details of attempts to contact the veteran for service.” o Question: Is the contractor required to visit patients monthly or every two (2) months?

On Page 8, under 2.7 reads “Every two (2) months the contractor shall visit all patients on concentrators to reassess equipment compliance and educational needs” Every 2 months

Q6) • P. 23, Inventory, 14.1 reads “The contractor shall maintain inventory controls and prepare a perpetual inventory control record of all government-owned equipment, new and retrieved, held in storage under the terms of this contract. The contractor shall perform monthly inventory counts in order to maintain the required inventory levels and to ensure that proper inventory procedures are operating effectively.” o Question: In the Price/Cost Schedule, Item Numbers 0015, 1015, 2015, 3015 and 4015 reference VA owned Electric Air Compressors. Is this the only VA owned equipment used to perform the requirements of the contract?

THERE WILL BE NO VA OWNED EQUIPMENT

Q7) • P. 25, Price/Cost Schedule. Item Numbers 0005/0006; 1005/1006; 2005/2006; 3005/3006; 4005/4006 all reference “E” Refills. o Question: Shouldn’t 0006, 1006, 2006, 3006, 4006 reference “D” Refills?

0004 – THIS EST is for all portable tanks/refills issued annually – this includes e,d,m6

Q8) • P. 25, Price/Cost Schedule. Item Numbers 0004, 1004, 2004, 3004, 4004 read “All Portable Tanks E, D, M6. Portable System for new setups consists of E, D, M6 size aluminum (or equivalent weight metal) cylinder with regulator, flow meter, handcart, pouch and disposable items.”

Line Items 0005/0006/0007/0010; 1005/1006/1007/1010; 2005/2006/2007/2010; 3005/3006/3007/3010; 4005/4006/4007/4010 reference “Cylinder Refills” but there is an N/A in the quantity section for each.

· o Question: Is the 35,594 in 0004/1004/2004/3004/4004 to be representative of the estimated number of portable tank refills per year? YES

Thus, is it accurate to assume that all portable tank refill and portable system rental charges are to be lumped under 0004/1004/2004/3004/4004? YES Most procurements allow the contractor to bill these charges under separate line items. By combining all of the different size tanks under one line item, the prospective bidder has no idea as to the number percentage of each type of portable tank needed for contract performance.

The current contract vendor bills separately for E, D and M6s but our billing package combines the tanks. The breakdown was not available at the time the Clin was developed.

Q9)• P. 25, Price/Cost Schedule. Item Numbers 0019/1019/2019/3019/4019, Ventilators (40 Each) are referenced.

On Page 92 Under Factor 1 – Technical Capabilities it reads “This factor will be used to assess the Offeror’s experience providing contracted in-home ventilator services to patients in their place of residence. Offerors shall provide a narrative describing their specific experience providing in-home oxygen services and contracted in-home ventilator services to patients in their place of residence. Government wants assurance that the selected firm is capable of performing mission-critical home oxygen services. Offeror shall describe in detail its approach to providing the services required in the Performance Work Statement (PWS).

· o Question: Based on the above, it’s obvious how important home ventilator care and management is for this procurement. Based on the estimated quantity in Item Numbers 0019/1019/2019/3019/4019, it appears there are 3-4 patients receiving home ventilator care and management. Is this number accurate? Exactly how many ventilator patients are there currently?

· o Currently there are 15 patients on AVAPs/Trilogy

Q10)• P. 25, Price/Cost Schedule, there are either “N/A” or Zero (0) under estimated quantities for the following Item Numbers (note these numbers do not include the Item Numbers associated with Portable Tanks that are addressed in Questions 3 & 4) 0008/1008/2008/3008/4008; 0011/1011/2011/3011/4011; 0012/1012/2012/3012/4012; 0013/1013/2013/3013/4013; 0014/1014/2014/3014/4014; 0016/1016/2016/3016/4016; 0017/1017/2017/3017/4017; 0020/1020/2020/3020/4020; 0022/1022/2022/3022/4022. o Question: Since there are no quantity estimates under the Item Numbers above, is the contractor expected to enter a monthly / weekly rate or purchase fee for all of these items in the event there might be future activity? i.e. there are presently no liquid patients, overnight pulse oximetry usage, oxymizer cannulas being provided, correct?

o Clin 8 - currently provided by contract vendor at n/c at the prescribed rate for ensure supplies for changes.

o Clin 11 – we do not use liquid o2 o Clin 12n/a o Clin 13 n/a o Clin 14 – currently not charged o Clin 15 – not VA Owned - however VA will order to replace Vendor owned/issued compressor o Clin16 – no overnight pulse ox o Clin 17 - no pulse ox o Clin 20 - POCs for travel should bill at the monthly rate – typically 3 travel pts at any given time. - approx. 30 per year - combined with Clin 21 o Clin 22 – We Currently do not utilize home fill units

Q11) • P. 25, Price/Cost Schedule. Item Numbers 0021/1021/2021/3021/4021 address portable oxygen concentrators (POCS). o Question: The estimated quantity is 1,191 or 99 per month. Are there currently 99 POCS being rented by the Huntington VAMC from the current contractor? 99 patients YES approximately

Q12) • P. 45, B.5. This mentions an evaluation preference for Hub-Zone Small Business concerns rather than SDVOSB concerns. Can this be corrected to reflect the set-aside? It has been removed, will be reflected on the new RFP.

• Is there a current contract for the work being solicited for the Huntington VAMC service area? o If so, please provide that awarded contract number or task order number.

o Please provide the name of the current contractor.

o Please provide the annual contract amount.

o CO to answer o Is the level of effort being performed under the current contract fundamentally the same as what will be required to fulfill the work in solicitation #36C24521R0034? If not, please explain how the work differs under this solicitation. Basically, the SAME except currently the Contract Vendor is required to see patients monthly

1. Are Items listed on the price table with the quantity N/A and 0 billable items on the contract? All items that indicate N/A have been removed.

2. Item 0004 is listed as “All Portable tanks E, D & M6 Portable system for new setups” Is this a one-time setup fee for the portable system or is this for future cylinder refills also? Only for the refills

3. The line item 0018 “Annual Assessment by RRT” is stated in the price table to be done quarterly. However, it is listed in section 7.1 of Contractor Visits that the visit is completed annually. Is this visit Annual or Quarterly for all O2 patients? Annual

4. There is no item listed for D cylinder refill. Will item 0005 or 0006 be updated to reflect this? Yes

· On Page #6, In section 2, 2.3 the VA mentions “contractor’s next scheduled visit”. Later in 2.7 on page #8, “Every two (2) months the Contractor shall visit all patients on concentrators to reassess equipment compliance and education needs”... In the last paragraph on page #8 it reads, “If the patient also has a concentrator, they will remain on the quarterly visit schedule.”

· Q – Would the VA please clearly the intended delivery schedule? Are Home Oxygen patients with concentrators to be seen bi-monthly or quarterly? Was the quarterly visit mentioned for Cluster Headache patients with a concentrator? The CLIN address this on the new RFP page 24

· Page #7 – The VA outlines that Initial setups are to be 24 hours. In letter f, it states that “No additional charge for same day delivery.”

· Q - Is it the VA’s intent that there is to be no emergent charge for less than 24 hour delivery requirements for any work or solely setups?

· Page #9, Section 2.7-k. A Clinical Assessment by Respiratory Therapist…

· Q - Under what circumstances and criteria would a Clinical Assessment be performed? What factors define the “if ordered” statement.

· Page #10, Section 5 Emergency service – state that services will be provided at the patient’s residence within six (6) hours of a call by patient or family member.

· Q - Is it the VA’s intent that there is to be no emergent charge for after-hour or emergent event services? There does not appear to be a CLIN for Emergency Services.

· Page 25, CLIN 5 & 6 – They both say “E refill”.

· Q – Should once be designated as “D refill”?

· B.3 Price/Cost Schedule. Base Year and al Option Years:

· CLIN 0001:

· a) Rental Concentrator with back-up system consisting of compressed gas source, regulator, stand (nasal cannula or mask and humidifier when specified). Concentrator will have flow rate capacity up to 5LPM.

· (b) Rental concentrator with backup system consisting of compressed gas source, regulator, stand, (nasal cannula or mask and humidifier when specified). Concentrator must have flow rate capacity up to 10 LPM.

· Q: Are we supposed to provide a separate unit price for a) and b)? Or are you requesting us to provide a combined price including both a) and b)? If you require a separate price for both a) and b), I suggest simply making 2 separate line items.

· CLIN 0003 - Cylinder, size M or H refill/Primary

· Q: I understand this is for the refill of an M or H tank that is being used as a primary source of oxygen. However, I don’t see a line item for refills of M or H tanks that are used solely for backup purposes. I suggest adding a line item for refills of M or H tanks that are used solely for backup purposes.

· CLIN 0004 -

· All Portable tanks E, D & M6 Portable system for new set ups consists of “E”, “D”, or “B” (M6) size aluminum (or equivalent eight metal) cylinder with regulator, flow meter, handcart, pouch and disposable supplies.

· Q: Is this a monthly rental fee for each portable tank E, D & M6? Or is this a monthly rental fee for each portable system?

· CLINs 0005, 0006 and 0007

· 0005 Cylinder, size “E” refill for #00004

· above. Aluminum (or metal of

· equivalent weight) tanks required.

· 0006 Cylinder, size “E” refill for #00004

· above. Aluminum (or metal of

· equivalent weight) tanks required.

· 0007 Cylinder, size “B” (M6) refill for

· #00004 above. Aluminum (or metal of

· equivalent weight) tanks required.

· Q: The estimated quantities on all 3 are N/A. Are you saying there are no refills on this contract? Or are you saying the VA does not want to pay for refills? How will contractors be reimbursed for tank refills on this contract? Further if these line items are not applicable, why even have them listed on the price schedule?

· CLIN 0008 - Demand Nasal Cannula (e.g. Oximyzer) Reservoir or pendant/equivalent.

· Q: The estimated quantity column is blank. Please provide an estimated quantity for this line item.

· CLIN 0010

· See 0004 Rental “E” cylinders (aluminum, each) complete portable system (e.g. tank, regulator, etc.) for each Medical Center for availability to issue home oxygen beneficiaries who deplete their portable units during appointments or to send home with new start-up (e.g. discharged from inpatient).

· Q: This line item has an estimated quantity of N/A. Is the Government asking contractors to provide a unit price for this line item?

· CLIN 0004 - Delivery for re-supply and/or relocation of equipment due to change in beneficiary’s residence.

· Q: This line item has an estimated quantity of N/A. Are you asking contractors to provide a unit price for this line item? If not, and the line item is not applicable, why have it on the price schedule?

· CLIN 0016 - Pulse Oximetry (Not part of routine assessment) Yearly.

· Q: This line item has an estimated quantity of N/A. Are you asking contractors to provide a unit price for this line item? If not, and the line item is not applicable, why have it on the price schedule?

· CLIN 0017 - Overnight Pulse Oximetry Yearly.

· Q: The estimated quantity column is left blank. Please provide an estimated quantity for this line item.

· CLIN 0018 - Annual Assessment by RRT Follow- up visit (after initial set-up). This is done by a RRT or CRTT for patient evaluation and instruction. Done Quarterly.

· Q: Please clarify if the RRT is required to perform an annual assessment or a quarterly assessment.

· CLIN 0020 – Battery operated portable concentrator for traveling PTS. This requires the approval of the Home O2 Coordinator (s). Offeror shall insert a weekly rate.

· Q: This line item has an estimated quantity of N/A. Are you asking contractors to provide a unit price for this line item? If not, and the line item is not applicable, why have it on the price schedule?

· CLIN 0021 – All POCS includes medically eligible and approved travel

· Q: I have no idea what you are asking for on this line item. Are you asking for a rental price for a POC? Is this a weekly rental or a monthly rental?

· CLIN 0022 - Concentrator with Home Fill capabilities for PTS with special needs as determined by the Home 02 Coordinator(s). Offeror shall insert a monthly rate

· Q: This line item has an estimated quantity of N/A. Are you asking contractors to provide a unit price for this line item? If not, and the line item is not applicable, why have it on the price schedule?