36C79119R0006-001.docx

36C79119R0006

1. REQUISITION NO.

2. CONTRACT NO.

3. AWARD/EFFECTIVE DATE

4. ORDER NO.

5. SOLICITATION NUMBER

6. SOLICITATION ISSUE DATE

a. NAME

b. TELEPHONE NO. (No Collect Calls)

8. OFFER DUE DATE/LOCAL

TIME

9. ISSUED BY

CODE

10. THIS ACQUISITION IS

UNRESTRICTED OR

SET ASIDE:

% FOR:

SMALL BUSINESS

HUBZONE SMALL

BUSINESS

SERVICE-DISABLED

VETERAN-OWNED

SMALL BUSINESS

WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS

(WOSB) ELIGIBLE UNDER THE WOMEN-OWNED

SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM

EDWOSB

8(A)

NAICS:

SIZE STANDARD:

11. DELIVERY FOR FOB DESTINA-

TION UNLESS BLOCK IS

MARKED

SEE SCHEDULE

12. DISCOUNT TERMS

13a. THIS CONTRACT IS A

RATED ORDER UNDER

DPAS (15 CFR 700)

13b. RATING

14. METHOD OF SOLICITATION

RFQ

IFB

RFP

15. DELIVER TO

CODE

16. ADMINISTERED BY

CODE

17a. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

CODE

FACILITY CODE

18a. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY

CODE

TELEPHONE NO.

DUNS:

DUNS+4:

PHONE:

FAX:

17b. CHECK IF REMITTANCE IS DIFFERENT AND PUT SUCH ADDRESS IN OFFER 18b. SUBMIT INVOICES TO ADDRESS SHOWN IN BLOCK 18a UNLESS BLOCK BELOW IS CHECKED

SEE ADDENDUM

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

ITEM NO.

SCHEDULE OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES

QUANTITY

UNIT

UNIT PRICE

AMOUNT

(Use Reverse and/or Attach Additional Sheets as Necessary)

25. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

26. TOTAL AWARD AMOUNT (For Govt. Use Only) 27a. SOLICITATION INCORPORATES BY REFERENCE FAR 52.212-1, 52.212-4. FAR 52.212-3 AND 52.212-5 ARE ATTACHED. ADDENDA

ARE

ARE NOT ATTACHED.

27b. CONTRACT/PURCHASE ORDER INCORPORATES BY REFERENCE FAR 52.212-4. FAR 52.212-5 IS ATTACHED. ADDENDA

ARE

ARE NOT ATTACHED

28. CONTRACTOR IS REQUIRED TO SIGN THIS DOCUMENT AND RETURN _______________

29. AWARD OF CONTRACT: REF. ___________________________________ OFFER

COPIES TO ISSUING OFFICE. CONTRACTOR AGREES TO FURNISH AND

DATED ________________________________. YOUR OFFER ON SOLICITATION

DELIVER ALL ITEMS SET FORTH OR OTHERWISE IDENTIFIED ABOVE AND ON ANY

(BLOCK 5), INCLUDING ANY ADDITIONS OR CHANGES WHICH ARE

ADDITIONAL SHEETS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SPECIFIED

SET FORTH HEREIN IS ACCEPTED AS TO ITEMS:

30a. SIGNATURE OF OFFEROR/CONTRACTOR 31a. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (SIGNATURE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER) 30b. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (TYPE OR PRINT) 30c. DATE SIGNED 31b. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (TYPE OR PRINT) 31c. DATE SIGNED

AUTHORIZED FOR LOCAL REPRODUCTION

(REV. 2/2012)

PREVIOUS EDITION IS NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.212

7. FOR SOLICITATION

INFORMATION CALL:

STANDARD FORM 1449

OFFEROR TO COMPLETE BLOCKS 12, 17, 23, 24, & 30

SOLICITATION/CONTRACT/ORDER FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS

36C79119R0006 03-28-2019 Stephanie Lawrence 303-273-6218 05-13-2019

1600ET

36C791 Department of Veterans Affairs Commodities & Services Acquisition Svc (003B6E) 555 Corporate Circle Golden CO 80401-5621 X Y 334510 1250 Employees N/A X As shown on individual delivery orders

Department of Veterans Affairs Commodities & Services Acquisition Svc (003B6E) 555 Corporate Circle Golden CO 80401-5621

As shown on individual delivery orders

Hearing Aids and Wireless Systems See Schedule of Items for details.

X X Kyle Shaffer Contracting Officer

Table of Contents

A.2 ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINITIONS

As used through this solicitation/contract the following abbreviations, words or terms are used as defined.

Abbreviations

Definitions

Adaptive – any variable change in a hearing aid’s settings, frequency response or directional characteristics that results from acoustic input to the instrument’s environment that are made in order to improve the quality of signal presented to the listener (e.g., variable polar plots that shift based on the relative locations of signal and noise sources, variable amount of noise suppression or compression applied a hearing aid’s output based on the input levels to the instrument). Adaptive changes are typically automatic.

Automatic – any engagement or disengagement of a feature in a hearing aid based on a preset criterion for specific environmental factors (e.g., on/off of directional microphones, t-coil activation in magnetic field). Automatic characteristics are typically on or off and not variable (See Adaptive).

Bluetooth - wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances (using short-wavelength UHF radio waves in the Industrial Scientific Medical (ISM) band from 2.4 to 2.485 GHz[3]) from fixed and mobile devices, and building personal area networks; managed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), which has more than 30,000 member companies in the areas of telecommunication, computing, networking, and consumer electronics.

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) - wireless personal area network (PAN) technology designed and marketed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (Bluetooth SIG). Bluetooth Low Energy is intended to provide considerably reduced power consumption and cost while maintaining a similar communication range and the same 2.4 GHz radio frequencies as classic Bluetooth, which allows dual-mode devices to share a single radio antenna. BLE uses a simpler modulation system.

Far Field connectivity - for the purposes of this contract, Far Field Connectivity is a means of delivering signals to a device (either directly to a hearing aid or to the hearing aid via an intermediary NFMI conversion device – See Near Field Connectivity) over a distance greater than 2 meters. This is accomplished by using a radio frequency (RF) transmitter connected to the originating source to convert the signal to the appropriate RF signal for receiving by the hearing aids or intermediary device. The signal being transmitted may be a converted acoustic or other information carrying (e.g., programming) signal to be used by the hearing instrument.

HIMSA – Hearing Instrument Manufacturers’ Software Association (HIMSA) is a privately owned company, founded in 1993 with the objective of developing, marketing and supporting Noah, which provides one standard for integrated hearing care software.

HI-PRO – Universal hardware interface for programming hearing instruments. HI-PRO includes HI-PRO, HI-PRO USB, and HI-PRO 2.

Individually-Identifiable Health Information – subset of health information, including demographic information collected from an individual, that is created or received by a health care provider, health plan, or health care clearinghouse; relates to the past, present, or future condition of an individual and provision of, or payment for, health care; and identifies the individual or a reasonable basis exists to believe the information can be used to identify the individual.

Mic-in-Helix – A variant of the in-the-canal hearing aid where the microphone is located outside the body of the hearing aid. The body of the hearing aid is located within the ear canal.

Noise Reduction – Circuitry that attempts to optimize signal to noise ratio by attenuating steady state low level noise in the environment.

Note: rechargeable hearing aid charging units are considered primary features and are included in the package price at half of the offered price as reflected on Attachment D-1.

Protected Health Information (PHI) – is individually-identifiable health information held by a covered entity or by a business associate acting on its behalf. PHI excludes education records covered by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, as amended, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, records described at 20 U.S.C. § 1232g(a)(4)(B)(iv), and employment records held by a covered entity in its role as employer. Within VA, VHA is the only covered entity. Certain other VA components, such as OIT, are business associates of VHA.

Receiver-in-the-Canal – Any hearing aid where the receiver is located in the ear canal. The remaining chassis may be located anywhere on or behind the pinna. Includes receiver-in the-ear (RITE) hearing aids.

Severe Hearing Loss – Hearing loss where the air conduction thresholds fall within the range of 61 dB and 90 dB HL, referenced to ANSI S3.6-2010.

SECTION B - CONTINUATION OF SF 1449 BLOCKS

B.1 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

1. Contract Administration: All contract administration matters will be handled by the following individuals:

a. CONTRACTOR:

(1) Contractor. Contractor must maintain a letter designating primary or primary/alternate points of contact(s) with contractual authority to be contacted for prompt contract administration. Designation should be on company letterhead with the following information:

Any changes to the designated individual(s) must be provided to the Contracting Officer, in writing, with the proposed effective date of the change.

(a) The contractor shall contact the Contract Specialist or Contracting Officer on all matters pertaining to administration. Only the contracting officer is authorized to make commitments or issue changes that will affect the price, quantity, delivery or terms of the contract.

(b) The contractor shall designate a primary or primary/alternate person to serve as the contract administrator for the contract. The contract administrator is responsible for overall compliance with contract terms and conditions. The contract administrator is also the responsible official for issues concerning the Contractor’s Report of Sales and Customer User Fee (CUF). The contractor’s designation of representatives to handle certain functions under this contract does not relieve the contract administrator of responsibility for contract compliance.

b. GOVERNMENT:

Contracting Officer 36C791 Department of Veterans Affairs Commodities & Services Acquisition Svc (003B6E) 555 Corporate Circle Golden CO 80401-5621 Phone: 303-273-6205 Fax: 303-215-9074 Email: DALCAcquisition@va.gov Alternate: Contract Specialist Phone: 303-273-6205 Fax: 303-215-9074 Email: DALCAcquisition@va.gov

2. CONTRACTOR REMITTANCE ADDRESS: All payments by the Government to the contractor will be made in accordance with:

3. INVOICES: Invoices shall be submitted in arrears:

4. GOVERNMENT INVOICE ADDRESS: All Invoices from the contractor shall be submitted electronically in accordance with VAAR Clause 852.232-72 Electronic Submission of Payment Requests.

As shown on individual delivery orders

B.2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF AMENDMENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS: The offeror acknowledges receipt of amendments to the Solicitation numbered and dated as follows:

36C79119R0006

Page 1 of Page 1 of

B.3 DUN AND BRADSTREET NUMBER / TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBER

B.4 AFFILIATED COMPANIES RESTRICTION

Only one company from a group of affiliated companies shall be allowed to receive an award for the commodities required under this solicitation. “Affiliated” is defined, for the purpose of this solicitation, as: Any business concerns, organizations or individuals are affiliated with each other if, directly or indirectly, (a) either one controls or has the power to control the other or (b) a third-party controls or has the power to control both. Indicia of control include, but are not limited to, interlocking management or ownership, identity or interests among family members, shared facilities, equipment, and common use of employees. This restriction extends to novation agreements after award.

B.5 BACKGROUND

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has identified Digital Hearing Aids, Simple Wireless Remotes, Wireless Systems, and Hearing Aid Earmolds as uniform preferred products for consolidated contracting through the VA National Hearing Aid Program.

B.6 PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVE

B.7 SCOPE

B.8 PRICING

B.9 DELIVERY INFORMATION

B.10 INSTRUCTIONS FOR PRICING

This requirement is for “package pricing”. Pricing shall be provided for all years for Groups offered and all “Required” Groups and Categories shall be submitted to be considered. Provide an Excel spreadsheet showing offered prices and commercial prices for each Group and Category subset, following instructions in Attachment D-1, New Model Submission. Items offered shall be by commercial name only. DO NOT include the Customer User Fee (CUF) in the prices submitted in your proposal. A 4.0% CUF will be added by the Contracting Officer, if receiving an award, to the agreed upon price, which will become the contract price.

See table below for specific group and category requirements.

Required

Required

Optional

Group 5

Required

Group 6

Optional

Separately Price Items

(c) Pricing for Group 2 Category 1, Behind-the-Ear Digital Hearing Aids Non-Rechargeable.

(d) Pricing for Group 2 Category 2, Behind-the-Ear Digital Hearing Aids Rechargeable.

(e) Pricing for Group 3 Category 1, Receiver-in-the-Canal Digital Hearing Aids Non-Rechargeable.

(k) Pricing for Group 7 Category 2, Wireless CROS Transmitters Rechargeable.

(1) Ear scans - This CLIN is to facilitate the Contractors’ ability to get paid for the utilization of third party ear scan vendor cloud service. Pricing shall be fixed price and only reflective of the cost the contractor incurs for utilizing said service.

B.11 SCHEDULE OF ITEMS

Hearing Aids – Digital custom (CHA), behind-the-ear (BTE), receiver-in-the-canal (RIC) These items correspond to Group 1, Group 2, Group 3 and Group 8, Category 1, respectively.

Simple Remote Controls – Remote controls are compatible with hearing aids in Groups 1-3, Group 7 and Group 8, if offered.

Wireless Systems – Wireless systems consist of a full suite of transmitters, receivers, adaptors, and interfaces designed to function with hearing aids as an integrated system to optimize communication in various listening environments and interface various devices such as TV, telephones, and computers to the hearing aids. Wireless systems shall be compatible with at least one device in Groups 1-3 if offered.

Earmolds – Earmolds are integral parts of the hearing aid (Group 2, 3, 7 and 8).

CROS transmitters – A transmitter that is designed to send the signal from one hearing aid to another for the purpose of creating a CROS, BICROS, or Multi-CROS system. The transmitter does not use any adaptors (such as boots or audio shoes) to achieve this function. The transmitter may be compatible with other wireless devices.

Cochlear Implant (CI) Compatible Device –A device designed to wireless communicate with a CI processor.

Models – Offerors shall designate models of their hearing aids on the basis of their commercial designation. Detailed explanation may be found in B.12 Product Technical Requirements Section XI Models.

Estimated Quantities – Estimated quantities are based on average annual total quantities and thus reflect quantities to multiple vendors. Estimated quantities noted represent the VA and OGAs noted within the Scope.

Instructions – In addition to completing this section, refer to Attachment D-1 New Model Submission Format for additional pricing requirements. Worksheets for offered Groups must be completed and submitted with proposal.

Contract Periods – The contract performance is: November 1, 2019 through October 31, 2024.

Group 1 Category 1 – Custom (CHA) Digital Hearing Aids Non-Rechargeable Power (Required – Minimum of 1, Maximum of 4)

*Pricing Includes Three Year Warranty (estimated quantity includes years 1-5)

Est. Qty. Unit Price Est. Total Price

212,573 $__________ $_______________

Model Names:

Group 1 Category 1 – Custom (CHA) Digital Hearing Aids Non-Rechargeable Power (Required – Minimum of 1, Maximum of 4)

*Pricing Includes Three Year Warranty (estimated quantity includes years 1-5)

Est. Qty. Unit Price Est. Total Price

243,833 $__________ $_______________

Model Names:

Group 1 Category 1 – Custom (CHA) Digital Hearing Aids Non-Rechargeable Power (Required – Minimum of 1, Maximum of 4)

*Pricing Includes Three Year Warranty (estimated quantity includes years 1-5)

Est. Qty. Unit Price Est. Total Price

184,192 $__________ $_______________

Model Names:

Group 1 Category 1 – Custom (CHA) Digital Hearing Aids Non-Rechargeable Power (Required – Minimum of 1, Maximum of 4)

*Pricing Includes Three Year Warranty (estimated quantity includes years 1-5)

Est. Qty. Unit Price Est. Total Price

119,700 $__________ $_______________

Model Names:

Group 1 Category 2 – Custom (CHA) Digital Hearing Aids Rechargeable Power (Optional - Maximum of 8)

*Pricing Includes Three Year Warranty (estimated quantity includes years 1-5)

Est. Qty. Unit Price Est. Total Price

49,702 $__________ $_______________

Model Names:

TOTAL – GROUP 1 (CLINs 1-5) $_____________________

Group 2 Category 1 – Behind-the-Ear (BTE) Digital Hearing Aids Non-Rechargeable Power (Required – Minimum 2 Power, Maximum of 8)

*Pricing Includes Three Year Warranty (estimated quantity includes years 1-5)

Model Names:

Group 2 Category 2 – Behind-the-Ear (BTE) Digital Hearing Aids Rechargeable Power (Optional - Maximum of 8)

*Pricing Includes Three Year Warranty (estimated quantity includes years 1-5)

Est. Qty. Unit Price Est. Total Price

49,182 $__________ $_______________

Model Names:

TOT…