Amendment 0002 70Z02322R11120001 Questions and Answers.pdf

Amendment 000002 70Z02322R11120001 Multi-discipline Healthcare Services Q&A

No. Reference Offeror Question Government Answer 15 In the solicitation and in the PWS there are references for OCONUS locations.

However, we did not see any locations for OCONUS listed.

Can the government please clarify the locations for the OCONUS regions?

Revised Government Answer for question 15.

The OCONUS clinics are in Alaska and Hawaii

42 Attachment 3 PWS 2.4.2.c.

Section defines services provided as personal. This conflicts with FAR Clause 52.237-7 on page 28 of the RFP.

Please clarify if services provided are person or non-personal. If both, please state which positions are personal and which are non-personal?

Revised Government Answer for question 42:

See Attachment Non-personal/personal Labor Categories

55 Reference PWS Section 5.2.11 Acceptance and Start Work

“Contractor must provide a CV/Resume package IAW the position SOW to the COR within thirty (30) calendar days.

After receipt of the CV/Resume package, the USCG will approve/disapprove each candidate within fourteen (14) calendar days.

Any approved permanent provider shall begin working at the site designated within thirty (30) calendar days after Government approval and positive adjudication on the background check.”

Question 1. When does the candidate complete the e-QIP; after the CV/Resume is approved? Or after complete credential package is approved?

Question 2. are there different time frames for CV/resume approval for professional vs non-professional; privileged/nonprivileged?

Question 3. What is the estimated time frame for obtaining a positive or negative Security adjudication?

1. E-Qip is completed after the credential package is approved

2. No there is no set time frame. It all depends on the quality of the resume.

3. USCG cannot give a timeframe because it is different for everyone.

56 Attachment 4 Past Performance Questionnaire

Cell 13 on the Past Performance Questionnaire requires “Complexity of Work (e.g., difficult, routine):”

Please define “Complexity of Work.” What constitutes “difficult” vs “routine?”

The person filling out the PPQ should make a determination of the complexity of the work.

57 Attachment+3+ Performance+Work +Statement;

Section 7.2.1; page

Is the government requiring the contractor to pay all healthcare workers including physicians as employees?

The Prime Contractor can utilize subcontractors/ 1099 as long as the Prime Contractor is in compliance with FAR Clause 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting.

58 Attachment+3+ Performance+Work +Statement;

Can the contractor pay physicians as independent contractors/1099 status?

See answer question 57.

Section 7.2.1; page

59 Attachment+3+ Performance+Work +Statement;

Section 7.2.1; page

A February 2022 GAO report about Coast Guard Healthcare stated that as of July 2021 there were 182 contracted healthcare workers.

a. How many FTEs are currently being provided under the contract with Vesa Health?

b. Does the Coast Guard anticipate the number of FTEs drastically changing?

a. See Amendment 000001 Attachment Current Level of Effort for Historical Purpose.

b. Historically the level of effort has changed 20% from year to year based on USCG needs for that year.

60 Attachment+3+ Performance+Work +Statement;

Section 7.2.1; page

a. Will any of the services be non-personal?

b. If yes, how will we price in the cost of professional liability insurance?

a. Yes.

b. Professional liability insurance is not separately priced. It is up to the individual offeror to determine how it will price in the cost of professional liability insurance.

61 Factor 2: Past Performance Volume 2; page 72

Will the experience and past performance of parent or subsidiary companies be evaluated if the proposal shows that a sister company lending its experience and past performance has made a firm commitment to have a meaningful involvement in contract performance?

Yes.

62 Factor 2: Past Performance Volume 2; page 72

Are there any additional requirements that an offeror must address in its proposal in order to utilize parent or subsidiary company experience and past performance if the proposal shows that a sister company lending its experience and past performance has made a firm commitment to have a meaningful involvement in contract performance?

No, however offeror is required to demonstrate what the involvement of the parent or sister company has to this contract.

63 Factor 2: Past Performance Volume 2; page 72

Are there specific or special evaluation criteria for rating the experience and past performance of an offeror who utilizes parent or subsidiary company experience and past performance if the proposal shows that a sister company lending its experience and past performance has made a firm commitment to have a meaningful involvement in contract performance?

No. The Government will evaluate the prime and any subcontractors/parent/su bsidiary companies equally.

64 FACTOR 3 Price:

Volume 3 (Written);

Proposal Format;

The solicitation states (p.71) “Price proposals shall consist of a Cover letter, narrative for professional compensation, and the Pricing Spreadsheet attached to this solicitation, Attachment 1 Pricing Schedule.”

The solicitation also states (p.63) “Pricing Information (Schedule of Prices) shall be in

Yes, the correct submission is two electronic files. See Amendment 0002 for revision.

Microsoft Excel format using only the file provided to the offerors as an attachment; no other version is permitted.”

Will the Government confirm that the correct submission of Volume 3 - Factor 3 Price Proposal should consist of two electronic files; one in Microsoft Word or PDF format containing cover letter and narrative for professional compensation; one in Microsoft Excel format containing completed Attachment 1 Pricing Schedule.

65 FACTOR 3 Price:

Volume 3 (Written);

Can the Government confirm that one proposal submission is sufficient if the offeror plans to propose pricing in all three regions?

Yes, only one proposal submission is sufficient.

66 Reference page 65;

Volume 3 – Factor 3 Price Proposal

Is there a page count restriction for the narrative for compensation rates?

No. See Amendment 0002 for revision.

67 Reference page 65;

Volume 3 – Factor 3 Price Proposal

Professional compensation does not include non-exempt, Service Contract Act Employees. These include registered nurses, dental hygienists, medical laboratory technicians and others. Are we allowed to provide a narrative compensation for all positions?

In accordance with the RFP “The offeror shall address FAR Provision 52.222-46 -- Evaluation of Compensation for Professional Employees (Feb 1993).”

The Government is not requiring the offeror to provide compensation for non-professional positions.

68 Section 1.4 Organizational Chart:

Joint Ventures (JVs) are required to be approved in writing by the Small Business Administration (SBA) prior to award (verification by the SBA that they have received your JV Submission is required to be submitted with your proposal.). No corrections or changes to the agreement are allowed after award. (These copies of the agreement will not be included in the page count).

Our SBA Rep believes this was an incorrect copy and paste as there is nothing for him to approve with our JV. If awarded, the Govt. will call him and he then verifies the information, but he said there isn't anything for him to approve now for us to submit with our proposal and feels this in an error in the solicitation.

Can you please clarify is we are to submit our entire JV Agreement submitted as stated in this section?

The FAR has a rule change that is affective October 28th, that removes the requirement of SBA approving the JV Agreement. Therefore USCG has revised the solicitation. See

69 Management Approach

Do all subcontractors, both major and/or minor, need to be listed at the time of the proposal?

Yes, all subcontractors, both major and/or minor shall be listed in the proposal.

70 Management Approach

Management Approach: Can subcontractors be added after award?

As long as the contractor is in compliance with all the terms and conditions of the contract, the contractor can add/change its subcontractors.

71 Management Approach/Past Performance

If a subcontractor will have serve in a minor role (less than 10% of the work)

a. do they need to submit past performance?

b. Do they need to be listed in the organizational chart as a subcontractor?

c. Do they need to be listed in the teaming arrangement?

a. This is the offeror’s choice for subcontractor.

Providing the past performance record of a subcontractor helps the offeror demonstrate the ability of the proposed team.

b. Yes, all team members shall be listed in the organizational chart

c. Yes.

72 Staffing Approach

(written) The PM/APM must have Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Healthcare Management, Health Services Administration, Healthcare Resource Management or other area that demonstrates the ability to fulfill the requirements of the Contract. Can you please expand on “or other area that demonstrates the ability to fulfil the requirements” Would any bachelor’s degree suffice as long as that person has 5+ years of relevant experience?

Not any Bachelor’s Degree will suffice.

Degree should be in one of the stated fields or in an area that demonstrates the ability to fulfill the requirements.

73 Volume 3 (Written) Is there a page limit for the price narrative? See answer to question 64.

74 RFP Can the government release an updated conformed copy of the RFP that incorporates the revisions made in Amendment 00001 as well as any other changes as a result of subsequent amendments?

The Government will provide a conformed copy of the continuation pages. Please note that the conformed copy starts at page 7.

75 RFP Please confirm that while listed as part of Volume 1, the slides can be submitted as a separate stand-alone file from the other elements of the Technical Plan Proposal (Management Approach, Transition Plan & Staffing Approach).

Yes, the slides can be submitted as a separate stand-alone file as part of Volume 1 Technical Plan Proposal.

76 RFP On page 7 of the original solicitation, the Government states that they intend to award up to three single award IDIQ regional

No.

contracts. Is there a limit to the number of regions than an offeror may be awarded?

77 RFP Page 28-29 of the solicitation references that the resulting contract is a non-personal services contract, while page 4 of the PWS references personal services. Please confirm that this solicitation requires both personal and non-personal services.

In accordance with the Continuation to Blocks 19 through 24, Schedule of Supplies/Services of

SF 1449

SCHEDULE OF

SUPPLIES/SERVICES

AND PRICES

The contractor shall provide Multidiscipline Personal and Non- Personal Healthcare Services at the Coast Guard, in accordance with the Performance Work Statement (PWS);

terms and conditions (clauses/provisions);

wage determination; all attachments, technical exhibits and publications; and schedule and prices herein.

78 PWS The provided PWS for the Health Care Quality Improvement Professional requires “Military health care quality improvement/quality assurance experience.”

Will the Government consider an otherwise qualified candidate who has this type of experience outside of a military health care setting?

No.

79 SOW Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Referencing the PWS for the Licensed Clinical Social Worker position, will the Government consider a candidate who has an LMSW license if the candidate has comparable experience and otherwise meets the qualifications?

No.

80 SOW Paramedic position

The PWS provided for the Paramedic position references a current certificate in the state of Massachusetts as a paramedic. Can the Government confirm that any state license will be acceptable for this position?

Yes any state license is acceptable. See Amendment 0002 for revision.

81 SOW Athletic Trainer

Referencing the PWS for the Athletic Trainer, the PWS requires a current unrestricted license to practice Athletic Trainer services in the assigned state. However, in our experience, Athletic Trainers are not typically licensed in all states, but rather receive board certification through the National Athletic

The USCG will NOT remove the license requirement. It is currently a requirement in all states except for California.

Trainers Association (NATA). Would the Government consider removing the license requirement for this position?

See Amendment 0002 for revision Athletic Trainer SOW change to show the only exception is California.

82 SOW Dentist with Exodontias

The PWS for the Dentist with Exodontias services requires a “certificate from the Navy’s Advanced Clinical Program in Exodontia or a certificate from an ADA accredited OMFS program.” Will the Government also accept an advanced clinical program in exodontia if completed through another branch of the military?

No, currently the Navy is the only service that offers this program.

83 SOW Registered Nurse

The PWS for the Registered Nurse position requires a “minimum of five (5) years of professional experience in the field in the past 3 years; with at least one year of ambulatory care experience in family practice or internal medicine in the past 5 years.”

a. We assume the first part was an error and that the Government is requesting a minimum of three years of professional experience in the field in the past five years. Can the Government confirm that this assumption is correct?

b. To enhance the pool of potentially qualified candidates, will the Government consider revising this to one year of professional experience within the past 3 years?

a. The assumption is incorrect. To clarify this statement, it should read that “a minimum of 5 years of experience as a Registered Nurse with at least 3 of those years being recent.

b. No.

84 SOW Optometrist Referencing the PWS for the Optometrist position, the current PWS requires potential Optometrist candidates to maintain an active DEA registration. This is unusual for Optometrists as they do not typically have prescriptive authority in the private or government sectors. Will the Government consider removing this requirement?

Yes, DEA will be removed. See Amendment 0002 for revised Optometrist

SOW.

85 SOW Physical Therapist

Referencing the PWS for the Physical Therapist position, the PWS requires a “current certification in the field of Physical Therapy.” In our experience, board-certified physical therapists are typically not working in a general setting. Would the Government consider removing this requirement so long as the Physical Therapist has a degree from an accredited university and an active state license?

No, USCG requirement is for certification in the field of physical Therapy.

USCG preference would be orthopedics or sports board certification, but it is NOT required.

All applicants shall have at least 3 years’ experience working in outpatient orthopedics.

See Amendment 0002 Physical Therapist SOW for revision.

86 SOW Primary Care Physician

Regarding the PWS for the Primary Care Physician:

a. Will the Government consider accepting a physician who has completed an accredited residency, but who is not board-certified?

b. If not, can experience gained in residency count towards total years of clinical experience?

a. The candidates must be board-certified.

b. Residency will NOT count towards clinical experience.

87 SOW Psychiatrist Regarding the PWS for the Psychiatrist:

a. Will the Government consider accepting a physician who has completed an accredited residency, but who is not board-certified?

b. If not, can experience gained in residency count towards total years of clinical experience?

a. No.

b. No.

88 SOW Psychologist Regarding the PWS for the Psychologist position, will the Government accept Psychologists who have been accredited through APPIC?

No.

89 SOW General Dentist

Regarding the PWS for the General Dentist, will the Government accept candidates for this position with at least six months of experience?

a. If the dentist completed a general dentistry residency program, can experience gained in residency count towards total years clinical experience?

No. The residency program cannot be substitute for the required time for clinical experience

90 RFP Would the Government consider granting a one week extension to the October 24th due date for solicitation 70Z02322R11120001 due to the impact of Hurricane Ian? This would make the due date October 31st. We thank you for your consideration.

No extension will be provided with this amendment.

91 PWS Will the Government accept Electronic credentialing packages?

Yes, this is the preferred method.

92 PWS Do candidates need to have credentials finalized prior to starting work, or can they start working during the interim clearance?

No, all credentials must be finalized to begin work

93 RFP Can the Government please explain what information should be provided in the Unit, Unit Price and Extended Price for Item numbers 0001, 0003 and 0005?

The Offeror is not required to fill out Continuation of SF1149 CLINs. The offeror is only required in accordance with the RFP to fill out Attachment 1 Pricing Schedule and provide a narrative in accordance with FAR Provision 52.222-46 -- Evaluation of Compensation for Professional Employees (Feb 1993).”

94 PWS “In order to capture a PM that can also manage more than the healthcare services, will the Government amend the requirement to: "“A minimum of five (5) years of experience managing complex healthcare contracts.” This will allow the offerors to include potential PM candidates that have experience completing work on Government healthcare contracts and managing impacts to treatment facilities.”

No.

95 PWS Would the Government consider broadening the requirement to allow for other healthcare worker PMs to be eligible as this widens the pool of highly qualified program managers that have experience managing complex multi-disciplined healthcare programs?

No.

96 PWS To expedite the onboarding process, retain identified incumbents, provide the maximum number of potential candidates, and ensure full operations and quality of service, would the Government consider allowing an approved interim clearance?

No.

97 PWS Will the Contractor be penalized for delays in obtaining fingerprints at local bases/installation? Although we do not foresee this issue with USCG, we have historically struggled to obtain fingerprint appointments in a timely manner.

Fingerprint cards are sent out by the USCG and it is up to the potential employee to get these completed and sent back in a timely matter.

98 PWS Will the government supervisor interview the candidates? If so, will the Contractor be penalized if the Government Supervisor conducting interviews has significant delays?

Although we do not foresee this issue with USCG, we have historically struggled to obtain timely hiring interview appointments, which has caused lag in the hiring processes.

No. It is up to the contractor to provide an employee that meets the requirements of the position and that can pass the background check.

99 RFP In light of file size limits for transmission via email, would the Government make clear the requirement for multiple copies of single volumes to be submitted? More specifically, would the Government allow for one original version of each Volume to be submitted via email.

Only 1 copy is required.

See Amendment 0002 for revision.

100 RFP To clarify the Government’s recommendation for multiple proposals for each region, will one proposal covering all three regions be evaluated independently for award to each region?

See the answer to question 22 of Amendment 000001.

101 RFP page 63, Proposal Format

Are there any font requirements for the slide submission for the oral presentation?

Slides are considered part of the written proposal and shall be in accordance with the proposal format.

102 RFP page 65, Volume 4

#2 requires completed terms and conditions, while #6 requires completion of paragraphs

(b) of FAR 52.212-3. Please clarify what must be completed for the terms and conditions since the representations and certifications are covered under item #6.

There are provisions other than 52.212-3 that each offeror shall fill out and submit.

103 Amendment 00001 Q&A

Q&A number 42 states that “Paramedic and EMT are the only labor categories that are non-personal.” The SOWs provided for these two positions as well as 18 other positions include a requirement under Credential Review for copies of “proof of insurability against malpractice in the amount of one million ($1,000,000) dollars per occurrence” while also including the requirement for “the Contractor to provide an individual to provide personal medical services.” Please confirm that only the Paramedic and EMT labor categories are non-personal meaning that the Offeror does not need to provide malpractice insurance for all 20 labor categories per location.

See Amendment 0002 Attachment Non-personal/personal Labor categories for revised listing of personal vs non-personal labor categories.

104 RFP Volume 1 Amendment 000001 page 6 adds a 5-page limit for the written transition plan. Please clarify what part of the transition plan should be written, and what will be covered as part of the Transition Plan (Oral) on page 8.

In accordance with Amendment 000001

Offeror shall provide written transition/project schedule to reflect a successful transition in 30 days.

In accordance with the RFP Oral Presentation section:

Transition Plan - The transition plan shall discuss the strategy for fulfilling positions, an approach to accomplishing the phase-in, and a discussion of challenges to transitioning to include how healthcare provider vacancies will be minimized during start-up.

105 RFP Given that this acquisition is likely to generate 30-35 proposals (as a similar requirement for ICE medical staffing did), consider whether it may be in the Government’s interest to use two phases to the competition so that it does not have to sit through that number of oral presentations. In the referenced ICE acquisition, for example, that contracting office utilized as a “Phase I” approach that called for written proposals, and the Government issued those offerors with the highest-rated proposals advisory notices to proceed to Phase II, which included oral presentations and additional written presentations. Because such invitations were merely advisory, they cannot give grounds for protests by lower-rated offerors. This approach may be more efficient for the Government and also help save resources for offerors who have no likelihood of award.

No.

106 RFP Page 66: The Government requests a copy of the “approved [Mentor/Protégé] agreement” and states that joint ventures “are required to be approved in writing by the Small Business Administration (SBA) prior to award”.

However, SBA no longer approves joint venture agreements prior to award except for 8(a) sole source procurements.

See https://www.sba.gov/federal-contracting/contracting-assistance-programs/joint-ventures (“SBA no longer approves joint venture agreements formed to pursue competitive 8(a) contracts.”) Please clarify if the Government instead wishes to see the Mentor/Protégé relationship approval letter, the actual JV agreement without “approval”, or whether this provision will be removed from the solicitation.

See answer to question number 68.

107 RFP Page 69: Will all offerors participating in oral presentations be given the same questions?

If not, how will the Government control for the possibility of different evaluation criteria for different proposals?

In accordance with the RFP: “Each offeror will be provided with a standard set of questions/scenarios previously developed by the government involving issues/scenarios the offeror should reasonably expect when performing the contract.”

108 RFP Page 70: In the first paragraph for Factor 2, will the Government please clarify to what “(45)” pertains?

Per the pre-proposal conference, this was a typo. See Amendment 000001 for revision.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.sba.gov_federal-2Dcontracting_contracting-2Dassistance-2Dprograms_joint-2Dventures&d=DwMF-g&c=tnPw9yRHa20_HV5YVoVFtg&r=E0Kef5dXIKhHv0DTiieOYTcOageihKQIQIJHcl5AAmA&m=KY5Xr5JsaTIts6IDdjRRsNrcQERvmAJGBtT__Fqiw_YyUtlVzXgOzi_xB2bbpPGe&s=iXsOV4lRjwU4ftB6_Y8p4zRNmoXJ6Pg2a43j9dNJBIU&e= https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.sba.gov_federal-2Dcontracting_contracting-2Dassistance-2Dprograms_joint-2Dventures&d=DwMF-g&c=tnPw9yRHa20_HV5YVoVFtg&r=E0Kef5dXIKhHv0DTiieOYTcOageihKQIQIJHcl5AAmA&m=KY5Xr5JsaTIts6IDdjRRsNrcQERvmAJGBtT__Fqiw_YyUtlVzXgOzi_xB2bbpPGe&s=iXsOV4lRjwU4ftB6_Y8p4zRNmoXJ6Pg2a43j9dNJBIU&e= https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.sba.gov_federal-2Dcontracting_contracting-2Dassistance-2Dprograms_joint-2Dventures&d=DwMF-g&c=tnPw9yRHa20_HV5YVoVFtg&r=E0Kef5dXIKhHv0DTiieOYTcOageihKQIQIJHcl5AAmA&m=KY5Xr5JsaTIts6IDdjRRsNrcQERvmAJGBtT__Fqiw_YyUtlVzXgOzi_xB2bbpPGe&s=iXsOV4lRjwU4ftB6_Y8p4zRNmoXJ6Pg2a43j9dNJBIU&e=

109 RFP Page 71: Was an IGE of compensation levels conducted sufficiently recently as to take account of heightened inflation?

Yes.

110 RFP Page 11: Please remove the direction to “NOT ESCALATE LABOR RATES” for positions subject to wage determinations.

This direction conflicts with the Service Contract Labor Standards, is an undue restriction on competition, and, in any event, would hurt the Coast Guard if enforced. Most on point, on any contract covered by the Service Labor Contract Standards (SCLS), a contractor is not limited to paying service employees only the minimum monetary wage. Congruence with the wage determination requires the contractor to "not pay less than" the minimum monetary wage.

Moreover, the FAR and Department of Labor (DOL) regulations permit a contractor to choose to pay a service employee more, which is what Arora here proposes. Under the incorporated FAR clause, “[e]ach service employed in the performance of this contract by the Contractor or any subcontractor shall be paid *not less than the minimum monetary wages* . . . as specified in [the applicable] wage determination”. FAR 52.222-41(c)(1) (emphasis added). The FAR and the U.S.

Department of Labor have long recognized that covered contractors may choose to pay service employees at a rate greater than the minimum rate. See FAR 52.222-43(d)(1) (explaining how the Government must evaluate price increase adjustment requests when the contractor paid the service employee more than the minimum monetary wage under the wage determination); 29 C.F.R. § 4.177(c)(2) (explaining how a contractor may fulfil certain SLCS requirements when “the employee's regular rate of pay is greater than the minimum monetary wage”).

See Amendment 000001 for revision.

111 During the pre-proposal meeting, the KO stated that there were certain fill-in contract provisions that offerors would need to submit that were DHS-specific and not part of SAM registrations. Could the Government please clarify exactly which provisions it requires to be submitted that are not part of SAM representations?

There are provisions other than SAM registration that are required to be filled in. It is the offeror responsibility to review the solicitation and provide the filled-in provisions.

112 RFP

70Z02322R1112000 1 page #11, para (g): Invoice Reductions

a. How long does it take to begin working when a candidate is hired?

b. If Non-Personal Services must the Government approve the candidates for hiring?

a. It depends on each individual candidate.

b. For Personal/Non- Personal the

c. Does the invoice reduction process stop once a candidate has been identified?

d. During the time the Government is reviewing or credentialing new employees will the invoice reduction stop?

candidate must meet the requirements for the position. If the candidates passes the labor category accreditation they will be approved.

c. No. The position is considered vacant until the services are being provided.

d. No. The position is considered vacant until the services are being provided.

113 RFP

70Z02322R1112000 1 page #11, SCHEDULE OF

SUPPLIES/SERVIC

ES AND PRICES:

States “The contractor shall provide Multidiscipline Personal and Non-Personal Healthcare Services at the Coast Guard, in accordance with the Performance Work Statement (PWS);…” and RFP 70Z02322R11120001 page #28-29, FAR Clause 52.237-7 – Indemnification and Medical Liability Insurance (Jan 1997): Para

(a) states “It is expressly agreed and understood that this is a non-personal services contract,…” Would the Government provide a list of those positions that are considered Personal Services and those that are considered Non-Personal Services?

See Amendment 0002 Attachment Non-personal/personal Labor categories

114 Statement of Work (SOW) for individual positions:

The majority of the SOWs state that the contractor will be providing personal services and must have valid licenses from one of the 50 states or US territories, but they also state that must provide proof of insurability for $1,000,000.

a. Would the Government clarify which positions are non-personal and require malpractice coverage and

b. whether a license from the state in which the employee is working is required for those Non-Personal Services?

a. See Amendment 0002 Attachment Non-personal/personal to determine which labor categories are non-personal vs personal.

b. The SOW for each individual labor category tells the offeror what is required for that position.

115 RFP

70Z02322R1112000 1 page #11, SCHEDULE OF

SUPPLIES/SERVIC

ES AND PRICES,

para i:

Is it the Government intension that Service Contract Act (SCA) positions will only be quoted at the wage determination rate even if the local market is requiring higher rates to recruit/retain employees?

No, that is not the Government’s position.

Wage determination is a determination of the prevailing wage for the area and it is the minimum requirement for a federal contract.

116 RFP

70Z02322R1112000 1 page #11, SCHEDULE OF

SUPPLIES/SERVIC

ES AND PRICES,

para i:

To avoid any confusion would the Government provide a list of those positions that are to be considered Wage Determination Positions?

This information was provided in the RFP in accordance with FAR Clause: 52.222-42, Statement of Equivalent Rates for Federal Hires (May 2014)

117 RFP Are all the positions being requested on the current contract?

There are additional positions being adding to this contract. See Amendment 000001 for the current level of effort for historical purpose.

Please note, that all positions for every clinic is required to be priced.

118 RFP Which positions and locations have vacancies?

See answer to Amendment 000001 question 36

119 RFP Would the Government consider changing the hours of performance from 1880 to 1856 to account for all the vacation, sick leave and holidays required by the Service Contract Act?

No.

120 PWS 5.2.9.1 The Curriculum Vitae (CV)/Resumes

Shall include the following:

Request Government remove Date of Birth from this requirement

The date of birth is required.

121 RFP – Oral Presentation

Can GOV’T provide examples of Oral Presentation Questions/Scenarios for Management Approach, Staffing Approach, and Technical Approach.

No.

122 1. Will the Government update the evaluation provision for Factor 3: Price to state that the pricing proposal must not only be reasonable, but also realistic?

During the pre-proposal conference the Government stated that Offerors with a price which is unrealistic or below the current incumbent would be evaluated as not meeting the requirements of the Contract.

Currently, the evaluation section for Factor 3:

Price reads as follows:

“The offeror’s pricing proposal will be checked for completeness. If the pricing proposal is incomplete, the Government will consider it deficient, and may not be considered for award. The offeror’s pricing proposal submissions will be evaluated to determine whether the labor rates are

No.

The KO was referring to the professional compensation clause when discussing this issue. The clause discusses recruitment and retention and the Government’s desire to have reasonable rates.

For SCA categories, the WD provides a “floor”.

https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-52#FAR_52_222_42 reasonable. The Government will also analyze offers to determine whether proposed burdened labor rates are unbalanced.”

Prices or compensation rates that are too high are generally referred to in proposal instructions as "unreasonable".

Compensation rates that are too low are generally referred in proposal instructions as "unrealistic".

To be consistent with the comments that were made during the pre-proposal conference concerning too low proposed compensation, will the Government make the evaluation section for Factor 3 read as follows:

“The offeror’s pricing proposal will be checked for completeness. If the pricing proposal is incomplete, the Government will consider it deficient, and may not be considered for award. The offeror’s pricing proposal submissions will be evaluated to determine whether the labor rates are reasonable and realistic. The Government will also analyze offers to determine whether proposed burdened labor rates are unbalanced.”

123 RFP – Past performance

In order to make the treatment of prime contractor/ subcontractor team the same as the treatment of joint venture teams, will the Government allow for up to three

(3) past performance references to be submitted for each team member (i.e. if there is prime contractor and two subcontractors, a total of nine past performance references will be submitted, three for each team member)? In the Factor 2: Past Performance Volume 2 (Written) Section, the Government states as follows: “In the past performance volume, the offeror shall furnish information for up to three (3) contracts for the prime offeror and up to three (3) contracts for each member of the partnership proposed on ongoing or completed within the last five (5) years. The references shall be for work of similar size, scope, and complexity of that required by the Performance Work Statement (45).”The current language reflects that up to three contracts for the prime offeror and three

The intent of the RFP was to allow up to 3 contracts for prime and up to 3 contracts for any partners or subcontractors. See contracts for each member of a joint venture partnership can be submitted.

however, we respectfully note that this language does not include the same language for contractors who are teaming with subcontractors for their offer.

Restating this question, will the Government allow for up to three references to be submitted by the prime offeror and up to three references to be submitted for each team member?

124 RFP – Past Performance

We asked a question (#49) concerning past performance references at the ID/IQ contract level it referred back to the answer to #19 which wasn’t applicable. So, I did not ask it very clearly. It is a unique situation.

We currently are one of the contractors on the Defense Health Agency (DHA) Medical Q-Services (MQS) contract. Each task order is competed between the MQS contractors and procured, administered and monitored by the individual task order contract officer assigned to that branch and medical treatment facility (MTF). The DHA does not award or evaluate performance on the task orders; this is done by local COR reporting to the task order CO (not the ID/IQ contract CO). We currently have over 200 task orders on the MQS contract and a large number of FTEs distributed across the country and territories. The problem is that for a past performance reference, the DHA, (who the ID/IQ contract is with) will NOT provide a past performance reference because they do not manage/administer nor have direct knowledge of our or any other contractor’s performance on the individual task orders.

So, how do we submit our past performance to get credit for the ID/IQ MQS contract?

An offeror can list the POC info for its task orders as part of its PP submission or ask that the KO complete a PPQ if the KO will not prepare a CPARS report.

125 Past Performance Will the government consider increasing the number of pages for the Reference sheet to 5 pages each at a maximum?

No.

126 General, Pg. 63 of 92 Proposal Content

What is meant by Copy # (2 of 3)? is this meant for someone that will be submitting “originals” and duplicates or those with “changes”? Or for someone that will be sending in multiple offers Please clarify.

This verbiage has been removed. See Amendment 0002.

127 General – Pg. 63 of

It states that all sections should be “tabbed”, I am not sure how I will “tab” a section within an email? Will the government please clarify this requirement?

Tabbed is describing the different elements within each volume (ie.

Volume1 Management

Plan, Transition Plan, and Resumes).

128 General Do the PM and APM key personnel both have to be Prime employees or may we use an APM that is one of our major subcontractors?

As long as the Prime is in compliance with FAR Clause 52.219-14 Limitation of Subcontracting, this is a decision up to the offeror.

129 SF1449 The Amendment 0001 is a fillable document, but the SF1449 is not, do you want us to only Sign and date the SF1449 or do you want the address for the Contractor section filled out as well?

Yes, the address for the contractor should be filled out.

130 General Would the government consider giving us an extension for the proposal response?

No extension will be provided with this amendment.

131 Oral Presentation For the oral presentation, can we just get clarification. We understand that there needs to be 4 presenters with at least 2 from the Prime.

a. May we have everyone from the team on the call as long as they are muted and do not present?

b. OR would you prefer we just get the other members of the team on a separate meeting during the conferring for scenarios ONLY?

a. No. In accordance with the RFP Other Guidelines for oral presentation c., “The offeror is only allowed up to four person attendee the oral presentation.”

b. It is up to the offeror on how it would like to reach back to other team members not attending the Oral Presentation.

132 Amendment Acknowledgement

Does the government want an email acknowledgement for each amendment “prior” to the solicitation date or will the acknowledgement inside the Vol IV response suffice?

No. In accordance with the RFP, the acknowledgement (signed SF-30s) is required to be provide in volume 4.

133 Oral Presentation The original RFP has a descriptive depiction of the possible scenario questions. The Amendment 0001 does not. In the oral presentation, during the scenario component will the questions be clarifying questions from our Management and Staffing Approach presented or will they just be scenarios based on the overall requirements for this solicitation?

Amendment 000001 only provided the sections that were changed. If a section was not included in Amendment 000001 it was not changed.

Per the RFP the Part Two (Scenario/Questions) Each offeror will be provided with a standard set of questions/scenarios previously developed by the government involving issues/scenarios the offeror should reasonably expect when performing the contract.

134 PPIS and PPQs Do each of the PPIS have to correspond to the each of the submitted PPQs or may we also provide proof of experience through additional PPIS’s that are not represented by a PPQ?

No, offeror may not provide references that do not correspond to the PPQs.

135 Oral Presentation While each volume is to be stand-alone, is cross-referencing between written and oral elements permissible?

Per the RFP Cross-referencing within a proposal volume is permitted where its use would conserve space without impairing clarity.

Information required for each proposal evaluation factor, which is not found in its designated volume, will be assumed to have been omitted from the proposal.

136 Oral Presentation Since the technical piece is so limited in page numbers, Is the purpose of the oral presentation to allow us to elaborate on the content, especially in those areas that are notated for Transition and Staffing approach which are cross over referenced in the Written and Oral areas?

No. The purpose of the oral presentation is for the offeror to address the elements described in Oral Presentation Part One of the RFP and to answer the questions/scenario (Part Two) which will be provided the day of the Oral Presentation

137 Oral Presentation With the page limitations provided, is it permissible to elaborate on elements of Offerors response to the written Management Approach elements within its oral Management Approach elements?

See Answer to question 135.

138 Technical (Oral) Regarding changes to Factor 1 as detailed in Amendment 1, is the Technical Approach (Oral) still a component of the oral presentations

Yes, the Technical Approach (Oral) is still component of the oral presentation.

139 Oral Presentation Regarding changes to Factor 1, will the Gov’t please clarify as to when and during which presentation element will questions be posed by the Gov’t and what the nature of the questions will be as Amendment 1 contradicts the original Factor 1 (Oral Presentation Agenda pg. 69) in the RFP.

Amendment 000001 only provided the sections that were changed. If a section was not included in Amendment 000001 it was not changed.

Per the Oral Presentation section of the RFP the scenario/questions are during part two of the presentation.

140 Oral Presentation Please provide clear definition as to the timing and nature (scenario, Q&A, time allowed to caucus, etc.)?

See the Oral Presentation Agenda which provides a clear definition of the timing.

141 Pricing Nowhere in your document do you state the need for a Compensation Plan or Narrative.

Is this correct? Or do we need to add this anywhere? If we need to add it to the technical volume will these count towards the overall page count?

In accordance with the RFP “The offeror shall address FAR Provision 52.222-46 -- Evaluation of Compensation for Professional Employees (Feb 1993).”

See Amendment 0002 for more guidance.

142 Section II:

Continuation of

SF1449

Just for clarity, do you wish to see Schedule B Continuation completely filled out as part of the SF 1449 submission?

See answer to question 93.

143 Independent Contractors

Will there be a possibility of IC’s in every region or will these be specific to certain regions/location?

As long as the Prime is in compliance with FAR Clause 52.219-14 Limitation of Subcontracting, it is up to the offeror to determine if it wants to utilize independent contractors.

144 Acknowledgement of Amendments

Should we include Acknowledgement of SF30 (Amendments) within the Technical Volume – Cover letter or Title pages for each Volume OR only in Vol. IV.

In accordance with the RFP, Acknowledgement of SF30 shall be provided in Volume 4.

145 Increase Page count for PPIS

We would like to place a table with all of the Task Orders that we are currently working on at the IDIQ level with corresponding Labor Categories into the PPIS. The table extends the page count to 4 or 5 - Would the government consider increasing page count for PPIS to 5 or 6 per IDIQ level Past Performance?

If the table fits within the page Past Performance page limitation it may be provided.

146 PWS In the PWS and in the RFP you mention that there is a 30-day window to place candidates after government approval. Would the government consider increasing this window to 60-90 days for credentialed and privileged employees and those that are not incumbent (new hires).

No. The employee shall start working within 30 days of being fully adjudicated per the

PWS.

147 The section for “written” Transition Plan

In the last amendment (0001) you increased/separated the transition plan to allow 5 additional pages for the Transition Plan separate. Since the Transition Plan is in the middle of the document if we stay in order, do you want us to have this portion numbered separately page 1-5 or do you want the numbering to be continuous 1 – 19.

The Staffing Key personnel are at the end of the page count also so would the staffing

As long as the offeror clearly shows that the management plan is no more than 10 page, the transition plan is no more than 5 page and the resumes are no more than 2 page, it is up to the offeror on how plan (written) also be 2 pages for each resume and numbered separately 1-4 or as mentioned included in the 1-19 continuous page count?

it would like to number the pages.

148 Pricing Since the pricing section will be submitted in an Excel document do you have a particular naming convention that we should use, i.e., Volume III – Pricing_70Z02322R11120001_USCG_(name of company submitting) ?

See Amendment 0002 for revision.

149 Proposal Format, Pg. 63

Does the Government mean “graphics” versus “graphs”? If so, will the Government consider adding “tables” and “charts” to this instruction?

Yes, it should have been graphics.

See amendment 0002 for revision.

150 Attachment 4 Past Performance Questionnaire, Section II. B.

There is no place on the PPQ to state the title of the Program (i.e., the contract) being evaluated. The only identifying information on the form is the “Contract or Reference Number” in row 4 of the Section II. B. table.

In the table in Section II. B., will the

Government allow Offerors to add a row below the first numbered row —“1 Name of Contractor being evaluated”—and label it “1A Name of Program being evaluated”?

No. PPQ shall remain as is.

151 Factor 1: Technical Plan Proposal:

Volume 1 (Written/Oral), Management Approach (Oral) Pg. 67

Transition Plan (Written/Oral) – Offeror shall provide transition/project schedule to reflect a successful transition in 30 days (written).

See Oral presentation instructions below.

The first two bullets under the heading “Management Approach (Oral)” say (Oral) at the end of each, meaning the responses will be in the form of PowerPoint slides only. But in the third bullet, it says (Written/Oral) at the end.

Does the Government mean that the

Transition Plan 30-day transition/project schedule appearing on the PowerPoint slide (Oral) must be provided in the 10-page Volume 1 – Technical Plan Proposal (Written) as well?

See Amendment 000001 for revision.

152 Pricing: South: does the USCGS want pricing for its clinic in Opa Locka, FL and if so, for what positions?

See Amendment 0002 Attachment 1 Pricing Spreadsheet, South Region Tab Opa Locka has been added to row 154A description

153 PWS West: need to add San Diego as identified service delivery site for which the USCG is asking pricing.

for revised PWS.

154 PWS Currently, for what sites and positions as the CG authorized teleworking?

Currently there are no positions that are authorized to telework.

155 PWS Does the USCG anticipate adding more or less authorizations by contract award and if so, what positions and where (will aid in recruiting for vacant positions and/or anticipated vacancies??

The anticipated start date is June 1, 2023, at this time USCG does not have a level of effort to provide for the new task orders that will be issued.

156 What was the previous award value for each region, if applicable, and total award amount?

The total contract is $109,656,858.96.

Services varied from year to year however, North Region on average $11M per year South Region on averaged $3M per year West Region on average $6M per year

157 What waged-determined positions by site have incumbent employees with 5 or more years of continuous service at that site?

In accordance with FAR

22.1204 Certified

service employees list this information will be available from the incumbent contractor after contract award.

158 PWS In 5.2.2., why isn't the Clinic Administrator the single person determining eligible beneficiaries?

Multiple positions can determine who is eligible due to the USCG clinics policy.

159 PWS Per 7.3.1.g.(ii), has the USCG mandated or does it anticipate mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for all contract healthcare staff?

a. Yes, it is mandated.

b. The Contract Healthcare Provider must show proof of immunization.

160 Ref: SOW 3(f) Registered Nurse

Under paragraph 2 Qualifications, Line D it states, “A minimum of five (5) years of professional experience in the field in the past 3 years; with at least one year of ambulatory care experience in family practice or internal medicine in the past 5 years.

There appears to be a discrepancy in the numbers of years. There is a similar discrepancy in SOW 3(aa) RN Case Manager.

Will the Government please clarify the number of years of experience required?

Total RN experience: at least a total of 5 years Recent job: Must have worked as an RN (not in another field or had a “gap”) within the past 3 years

Primary/Ambulatory Care experience: Should have at least one year within their experience.

161 General Due to the complexity and magnitude of this requirement, will the Government extend the due date for the submission of this proposal

No extension will be provided with this amendment.

by a minimum of 14 days after the release of the Government response to questions to allow the offerors to address Government responses?

162 RFP 52.207-3 requires the Contractor to provide the right of first refusal for incumbent SCA staff. Are all the required positions currently filled by incumbent staff? If not, please provide the open positions and associated location.

See answer to Amendment 000001 question 37.

163 RFP 52.207-3 requires the Contractor to provide the right of first refusal for incumbent SCA staff. Please provide the list of incumbents employees working under this contract and its subcontracts positions and anniversary dates.

This information will be provided to the awardee(s).

164 RFP Factor 2: Past Performance - The references shall be for work of similar size, scope and complexity of that required by the Performance Work Statement (Attachment 3). As most medical services contracts are issued as IDIQs with various task orders, how should the offeror demonstrate the relevancy if there are multiple points of contact for different task orders under the contract preventing the Offeror from obtaining a Past Performance Questionnaire representing the entire contract scope.