36C24525Q0271 0001.pdf

5. PROJECT NUMBER (if applicable)

CODE 7. ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER

CODE

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NUMBER 3. EFFECTIVE DATE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

9B. DATED

PAGE OF PAGES

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER

10B. DATED

BPA NO. 1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODE CODE

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __________ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 11/2016)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office. is not, A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER 16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30 PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

(Type or print) (Type or print)

(Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code)

(If other than Item 6)

(Specify type of modification and authority)

(such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

CHECK

ONE

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

1 8

0001 03-25-2025

None

Department of Veterans Affairs VA Maryland Health Care System Crystal S. Hinton, Contracting Officer P.O. Box 1000, Bldg. 101, Room 26 Perry Point MD 21902

Department of Veterans Affairs VA Maryland Health Care System Crystal S. Hinton, Contracting Officer P.O. Box 1000, Bldg. 101, Room 26 Perry Point MD 21902

To all Offerors/Bidders

36C24525Q0271

X

X X

** HOUR & DATE for Receipt of Offers is EXTENDED to: 04-01-2025 10:00am EDT

See CONTINUATION Page

The purpose of this amendment is to extend the proposal due date to April 1, 2025 @ 10am. ET.

See page 2 regarding questions and answers.

Crystal S. Hinton Contracting Officer

Beckley, WV Home Oxygen Solicitation 36C24525Q0271

Reference

Task 2.6 Performance Requirement: Emergency Protocol c.

The Contractor shall provide a written Emergency Contingency Plan for natural disasters, which provides for continued uninterrupted care and support, in the event of an emergency resulting in an interruption of service. At a minimum, the plan shall address such items as severe weather, power outages, loss of personnel, damage to the Contractor’s site, and communications. A copy of this plan shall be provided in the proposal.

Task 2.13 Performance Requirement: Education/Instruction b.

The Contractor shall provide, as a part of the technical proposal, all patient education materials to be used during the course of the contract. Updates and changes to the education materials must be submitted to the Home Oxygen Coordinator or COR or ACOR prior to making any changes.

Question:

A. The emergency contingency plan and patient educational materials are extensive and will require multiple emails. Does the government want these items included in the proposal or upon request after award?

In the proposal

Reference

B.3 DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATION/PERFORMANCE WORK STATMENT

SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION / BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Question:

A. Can the government provide a list of counties serviced under this solicitation?

Beckley VAMC covers 11 Country Primary Service Area- McDowell, Mercer, Wyoming, Raleigh, Summers, Monroe, Fayette, Greenbrier, Clay, Nicholas, Greenbrier, and Pocahontas counties.

Task 2.3 Performance Requirement: Initial Oxygen Follow Up Visit - Required when initial set-up is performed by a contractor qualified technician.

d.

If the initial home oxygen visit is performed by a contractor technician, a Respiratory Care Practitioner shall follow up within 72 hours to perform the required patient education and develop a Plan of Care. Documentation of patient education, Plan of Care, and all visits shall be in compliance with the current The Joint Commission Home Medical Equipment (HME)

Standards or equivalent and shall be provided to the respective facility Home Oxygen Coordinator or COR or ACOR with the next monthly invoice. Failure to provide the required documentation by the 10th calendar day of each month may result in a 2% reduction applied to the entire monthly billing invoice. Action 1: Modification will be made to the Home Oxygen Vendor Contract to require the vendor make face-to-face in home follow up visits (instead of a phone call) within 30 days of initial oxygen set up to evaluate understanding of equipment use, evaluate safe oxygen use and reinforce safe oxygen practices to patients who have been identified as High Risk. This visit will be documented and communicated to the Home Oxygen Coordinator to ensure coordination of care. For initial set ups* High Risk setups include Veterans that are active smokers or Veterans that have reported incidents of noncompliance with fire safety in the home.

A. Will the government allow the billing of RT visits to compensate for the additional RT visit requirement listed in Action 1?

Yes

Reference The provided QASP Task 2.2 references an annual CRT/RT follow up visit for Home Oxygen patients but nowhere in the PWS is it listed.

A. Are any additional RT visits required for Home Oxygen Patients after the initial 72 hour follow up?

NO

Reference Task 2.4 Performance Requirement: Equipment Monitoring/Maintenance Visit Requirements and Time Frames g.

All prescription revisions will be handled in the manner described under Task 2.3.

A. Will a CRT/RT be responsible for prescription revision visits?

All revisions should be handled at professional level required in accordance with state law.

Pricing for 0015, 1015, 2015, 3015, 4015, and 5015 has the Pulse Conserver Device as a purchase

Question

This is typically a rental item. Does the government intend to purchase issued conserving devices?

NO- Rent

Pricing for 0004, 1004, 2004, 3004, 4004, 5004 does not specify if the Trilogy is purchased or a rental

Question

Are Trilogy units to be a rental or a purchase?

We rent from Contractor.

Reference

Page 17, section a. second paragraph:

All patients receiving services under this contract shall be visited by a Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) or a Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) within 24 hours after initial set up and at least annually thereafter. In the event a monthly visit will not occur, the Home Oxygen Coordinator will be notified and provided details of attempts to contact the veteran for service.

Page 22, 7.1 Contractor Visits, second paragraph:

The RT sees all initial oxygen setups within 24-72 hrs. Once yearly home visit by

RT.

All patients receiving services under this contract shall be visited by a Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) or a Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) within 24-72 hours after initial set up and at least annually thereafter. In the event a monthly visit will not occur, the HOC will be notified and provided details of attempts to contact the veteran for service.

Question:

Which is intended for the initial Respiratory visits, 24 hours after setup or 24-72 hours?

24-72hrs

1. Page 6 states: “Period of Performance shall be for 5 years ordering periods starting 07/01/2025 - 06/31/2030, but this is an estimate only, subject to” Question: This appears to be missing the remainder of the sentence. Please clarify.

Subject to change.

2. Page 7 states: “The contractor shall provide all management, tools, supplies, equipment, and labor necessary for the delivery of Home Oxygen within the Baltimore, VA Medical Center.”

Question: Looks like Baltimore is listed in error. Please clarify. Yes, typo should state Beckley VA Medical Center.

3. Contract Line Item 0014, 1014, 2014, 3014, 4014 Demand Nasal Cannula (e.g.

Oxymzer) Reservoir or Pendant/Equivalent.

Question: The Unit of Measure is listed as LB. I believe this should be listed as EA.

Please clarify. Yes, Each.

4. Contract Line Item 0016, 1016, 2016, 3016, 4016 Recovery of VA-Owned Equipment

Question: Is there VA-owned equipment in this contract? If the answer is no, then why have a line item for recovery of VA-owned equipment?

Yes

5. Contract Line Item 0017, 1017, 2017, 3017, 4017 Relocation of Equipment Due to Change in Beneficiary Question: I assume this is meant to say: “Relocation of Equipment Due to Change in Beneficiary’s Address.” Please clarify.

Yes. Change in address.

6. Page 15 states: “1.1 The intent of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to award a single Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite - Quantity (IDIQ) contract…” Question: The SF1449 states this solicitation is a Request for Quote. Please clarify.

It’s a IDIQ Request for Quote.

7. Pages 15 states: “The Contractor shall maintain at the proposed servicing facility adequate licensed registered respiratory therapy staff to provide instructions, safety management, perform respiratory evaluation (under the direction of the physician), and follow-up and/or emergency visits. The use of the term’s “beneficiary”, “Veteran”, and “Patient” are used interchangeably and refer to the recipient of required supplies, equipment, and incidental services required under the contract.”

Question: Please provide further detail on the roles of Respiratory Therapists. Are Respiratory Therapists used solely for Ventilator patients? Or are they required for all patients? If for all patients, how often will RTs be required to visit all patients?

RTs done on all the Ventilator patients, All Portable concentrator evals and setups, and all initial home oxygen setup evals.

8. Page 17 states: “All patients receiving services under this contract shall be visited by a Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) or a Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) within 24 hours after initial set up and at least annually thereafter. In the event a monthly visit will not occur, the Home Oxygen Coordinator will be notified and provided details of attempts to contact the veteran for service.

Question: This paragraph is very confusing, please clarify how often RTs are visiting patients.

The RT sees all initial oxygen setups within 24-72 hrs. Once yearly home visit by

RT.

9. Page 18 states: “2.7 Every, one (1) month the Contractor shall visit all patients on concentrators to reassess equipment compliance and educational needs. A qualified service technician shall perform this service. A report shall be developed, signed and dated by the contract staff and the patient/care giver and a copy shall be left with the patient/care giver. The reports shall be legible and attached to the invoice. All reports shall be submitted to the COR or designee in alphabetical order, with the monthly bills by the 10th business day of the month following service.” It then goes on to say:

“The Contractor's assessment form shall include the diagnosis of the veteran for the visiting respiratory therapist to provide ongoing education, assess equipment and supplies, and to submit a quarterly report, (for patients who are using oxygen therapy for cluster headaches, the respiratory therapist visit schedule will only require an annual visit. If the patient also has a concentrator, they will remain on the quarterly visit schedule. The Respiratory Therapist will document the average frequency of use of the therapy by the patient and remind the patient that the oxygen prescription needs to be renewed yearly by either the patient’s primary care or the neurology doctor.

The home oxygen prescription must be reviewed with the veteran. The quarterly report (used for all patients except for those stated above using oxygen therapy for cluster headaches) shall include the following data:”

Question: First it is stated that all patients on concentrators are to be visited monthly and that a qualified service technician shall perform this service. Then it says the assessment form used for the visiting respiratory therapist… Then it says for patients who are using oxygen therapy for cluster headaches, the respiratory therapist visit schedule will only require an annual visit. Please provide clarity on how often patients are visited and whether the visits are to be visited by a respiratory therapist or a qualified service technician.

Should read as the qualified service technician instead of respiratory therapist.

10. Page 20 states: “4.2 Patients receiving oxygen services under this contract are authorized a maximum of thirty (30) days travel, with a maximum of four (4) set-up charges within a one (1) year period from the latest prescription date. Question 1:

Please clarify the maximum number of set-up charges per year.

Is it two (2) or four (4)? It’s Four (4)

Question 2: There are no contract line items for set-up charges for traveling patients.

Please add a contract line item for set-up charges per the PWS.

11. Page 22 states: “All patients receiving services under this contract shall be visited by a Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) or a Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) within 24-72 hours after initial set up and at least annually thereafter. In the event a monthly visit will not occur, the HOC will be notified and provided details of attempts to contact the veteran for service.”

Question: Please clarify, is it annually or monthly? Yearly

Yearly for Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT)

12. Page 32 states: “NOTE: Failure to obtain a signature from the patient for deliveries shall result in suspension of payment for these invoices.”

Question: This statement appears to show we are to bill the VA for deliveries, however there is no contract line item referring to deliveries. Please add a contract line item for deliveries in accordance with the PWS.

13. Page 94 states: “Vendors who minimize risk to the VA and demonstrate greater insight and understanding of the effort required to successfully perform under the task, will be rated higher on the Technical Capability evaluation factor.”

Question: What are the various levels of ratings the government will be using in the evaluation of quotes? Will be rated competitively higher.

14. Page 94 states: “Please provide information about your organization’s past experience fulfilling home oxygen services. Provide a listing of government contracts that offer same or similar services to government agencies. Contractor past performance records in CPARS and other government and publicly available information sources will be used to evaluate past performance. Note: A lack of experience will not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on the Past Performance evaluation factor.”

Question: I notice that a past performance questionnaire was provided in this solicitation, however the evaluation factors for award under past performance mentions nothing about utilizing past performance questionnaires in the evaluation of past performance. Are contractors required to have our references fill out the past performance questionnaires? Or can contractors submit copies of recent CPARS reports? If we are required to use past performance questionnaires, then you will need to update the evaluation factors for award to reflect the use of past performance questionnaires.

An amendment to the solicitation will be included with the questions. Page 94 Past Performance will be adjusted. Completed Past Performance Questionnaire will be part of the evaluation factors.

15. Attachment 5 ( Past Performance Questionnaire) states the following “Offerors should instruct their chosen references that completed questionnaires must be submitted by the exact date and time specified for receipt of offers, that is, March 27, 2025, 1400 EST, to Crystal S. Hinton, Department of Veterans, VA Medical Center, email:

crystal.hinton@va.gov” Page 87 of the solicitation shows that “Complete and sign D.5 Three (3) Past Performance Questionnaire” are to be include with document # 2 (Pricing).

Question: Please clarify whether PPQs should be included in Document #2, or should references complete the PPQ and send them directly to contracting?

Past Performance can be accepted from the references.

QUESTION # 1

In B.2 Price Cost Schedule On Page 8, Item Number 0014 mailto:crystal.hinton@va.gov

On Page 9, Item Number 1014 On Page 10, Item Number 2014 On Page 11, Item Number 3014 On Page 13, Item Number 4014 On Page 14, Item Number 5014

Demand Nasal Cannula (eg Oxymyzer) Reservoir or Pendant/Equivalent Unit is listed as “LB”

(EACH)

Question Should unit be “Each” instead of “LB”?

QUESTION # 2

In B.3 Description / Specification / Performance Work Statement Page 17, 2.4 Initial Setups a) Second Paragraph reads “all patients receiving services under this contract shall be visited by a Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) or a Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) within 24 hours after initial setup and at least annually thereafter”.

In B.3 Description / Specification / Performance Work Statement Page 22, 7 Contractor Visits, 7.1 Paragraph 2 reads “All patients receiving services under this contract shall be visited by a Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) or a Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) within 24-72 hours after initial setup and at least annually thereafter.”

Question Does the Contractor have 24 hours or 24-72 hours to complete followup visit? 24-72 hours.