Solicitation_Questions_and_Answers_75FCMC19R0006.xlsx

XLSX spreadsheet 22 KB Posted Jan 4, 2019

Attached to: Commercial Banking Services Federal contract opportunity
Solicitation number: 75FCMC19R0006
Issued by: Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

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File	Type	Posted
75FCMC19R0006_Solicitation_Amendment_2.pdf	PDF	Jan 4, 2019
75FCMC19R0006_Solicitation_Amendment_1.pdf	PDF	Dec 21, 2018
D.6_Appendix_C_â_(Template)_Tripartite_Agreement.doc	DOC document	Dec 14, 2018
75FCMC19R0006.pdf	PDF	Dec 14, 2018
D.1_Statement_of_Work.docx	DOCX document	Dec 14, 2018
D.9_Exhibit_1_-_(Template)_Invoice_with_pricing_and_Volumes_of_Services.xlsx	XLSX spreadsheet	Dec 14, 2018
D.8_Appendix_E_â_(Sample)_Map_of_MAC_Jurisdictions.pdf	PDF	Dec 14, 2018
D.7_Appendix_D_â_File_Layout.doc	DOC document	Dec 14, 2018
D.5_Appendix_A_B_F.xlsx	XLSX spreadsheet	Dec 14, 2018
D.2_Past_Performance_Questionnaire.docx	DOCX document	Dec 14, 2018
D.4_Contractor_Business_Ethics_COI_and_Compliance_Program_Requirements.docx	DOCX document	Dec 14, 2018
D.3_Contractor_Personal_Conflicts_of_Interest_Financial_Disclousre_Template.docx	DOCX document	Dec 14, 2018

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Sheet1

Soliciation Questions - 75FCMC19R0006
Document	Section	Section Title (including subparagraph designation)	Question	CMS Response
75FCMC19R0006	E - Solicitation Provisions	E.2 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors	May we have your approval to use CMS’s logo for the strict purposes of this RFP and all materials relating thereto, including but not limited to the presentation decks and any additional materials to be presented to CMS only?	No, you may not use CMS's logo .The CMS logo is not required for the RFP. Please use your company letter head.
75FCMC19R0006	E - Solicitation Provisions	E.2 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors	On page 57, under Propoal Organization it states that technical and business proposals are to be in separate binder, yet under Proposal Delivery on page 54 it states that it should be delivered electronically.

Please confirm that we only need to submit the response electronically.	Yes, the response only needs to be submitted electronically.
	75FCMC19R0006	C.14	HIPAA BUSINESS ASSOCIATE CLAUSE (OCT 2014)	Please confirm the HIPAA regulations are applicable only to Lockbox and Receivables Services and not required for other services provided.	The HIPPA regulations are applicable for all documents that contain Personal Identifiable Information
	75FCMC19R0006	D.2	Past Performance questionaire	Please confirm level of relevant past Federal Government Past Performance FAR 42.1501, General to be exempted from Past Performance Questionaire Attachment D.2.	The information in FAR 42.1501 relates to the level of relevant Past Performance .
	D.1_Statement_of_Work	8	Transmissions Architecture Securities and Efficiencies, Section F.	Please provide the requirements referenced in the statement "The Financial Institutions shall comply with all CMS password security requirements." for review.	The Password requirements will be provided by CMS IT security 60 days prior to when the change is required.
	D.5_Appendix_A_B_F	Appendix A - Base Year		Can you clarify the difference between onsite electronic deposits and image deposits? Are both remote with the electronic converting to ACH?	Onsite electronic deposits is Scanned deposits and image are film copies of checks
	D.5_Appendix_A_B_F	Appendix A - Base Year		Can you define lockbox – credit ticket?	Lockbox - credit ticket is a receipt of a lockbox deposit
	D.5_Appendix_A_B_F	Appendix A - Base Year		Can you explain deposited items into the lockbox/onsite in relation to the total number of checks?	The deposited items in the lockbox on-site may not be equal to the total number of checks
	D.5_Appendix_A_B_F	Appendix A - Base Year		Can you define lockbox-returned deposits/envelopes?	Deposits returned to the bank
	D.5_Appendix_A_B_F	Appendix A - Base Year		How do you currently address exceptions, are these all being mailed back to your office?	The bank handles all exceptions
	D.5_Appendix_A_B_F	Appendix A - Base Year		How many fields are required for data keying?	All
	D.5_Appendix_A_B_F	Appendix A - Base Year		Can you accept duplicate batch numbers in your transmission?	No.
	D.5_Appendix_A_B_F	Appendix A - Base Year		Can you accept weekend/holiday process dates in your transmission? Do you require weekend processing?	No, No
	D.5_Appendix_A_B_F	Appendix A - Base Year		How many deposits are you processing daily in the physical lockbox?	Approximately 7,000
	D.5_Appendix_A_B_F	Appendix A - Base Year		Do you require web exception items to be identified separately in your transmission?	Yes.
	D.5_Appendix_A_B_F	Appendix A - Base Year		Do you require the post mark date or receipt date identified (vs. the processed date)?	Yes.
	D.5_Appendix_A_B_F	Appendix A - Base Year		How many different remittance types do you receive? What percentage of exceptions do you have today where transactions are not Straight Through Processed (STP) through your AR system?	CMS has one remittance types. There are zero percent exceptions where transactions are not Straight Through Processed (STP) through the AR system.
	D.5_Appendix_A_B_F	Appendix A - Base Year		Please describe any special handling requirements (e.g. remittance sorting, balancing, specific threshold review, remitter review) that you have.	There is no special handling requirements.
	D.5_Appendix_A_B_F	Appendix A - Base Year		Are the Mail Credit Advice/Express Courier Deposit items all being mailed to the physical lockbox directly for processing?	Yes.
	D.5_Appendix_A_B_F	Appendix A - Base Year		Please confirm the number of outbound transmissions you currently have?	Over 200 per day
	D.5_Appendix_A_B_F	Appendix A - Base Year		Can you confirm if lines ii and ee on Appendix A represent the total number of image deposit/remote setups that you currently operate?	Yes.
	Solicitation Document	Section E.2 (a) (2) (a)	Procurement Timeline	Can CMS extend the due date of the proposals from January 7th to January 18th? Because of the holiday period and limited personnel availability to fully review and ensure compliance with all contractual terms, including FISMA compliance, Section 508 Product Assessment Templates, COI requirements, Past Performance References, etc and prepare a fully responsive proposal, more time is needed.	CMS has extended the proposal submission date from January 7, 2019 to January 11, 2019.
	75FCMC190006	Section C - Contract Clauses
C.15	CMS Security Clause	Can you please provide clarity for Clause C.15 as to whether contractor employee screening is required for employees supporting the SOW requirements? Would this Clause be applicable only if the contractor employees have access to CMS facilities or information systems?	No, employee screening is not required to support the SOW. Yes, if they have access to the system and/or facilities screening is required.
	75FCMC190006	Section C - Contract Clauses
C.13	CMS Information Security	Can you please provide clarity for Clause C.13 as to which requirements outlined the in Information Security Requirement document are applicable to the SOW for processing financial banking data? Are there additional deliverables required to support this Clause other than what is document in the SOW, such as SA&A or acquiring an ATO?	All requirements are applicable to the SOW. No additional deliverables are required.
	75FCMC190006	Section C - Contract Clauses C.13	CMS Information Security	Can we discuss the application of NIST SP 800-171 Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Information Systems and Organizations for these contract requirements? NIST SP 800-171 was created exactly for this type of situation.	All federal information must be protected when in federal or nonfederal information systems and organization.
	75FCMC190006	Section C - Screening of Contractor Employees

i. Contractor Screening of applicants

2	Contractor Screen of applicants	Is government security clearance required for all contractor personnel on this agreement (re: 52.222-54)?	Government security clearance is not required for all contractor personnel on the contract.
	SOW	2.4	Collateral and Securities	What is the highest daily balance?	It varies
	SOW	3.A	Reconciliation	May we have a current sample of the report generated by the MAC’s and the report provided by the financial institution described above? Can the ACH and Disbursement details be in a separate report or do they need to be combined in one report?	The format for each report is provided in D.5 Appendix A_B_F . Please use the format provided for ACH and Disbursement .
	SOW	3.B	Reconciliation	May we have a current sample of the above reporting?	The format for each report is provided in D.5 Appendix A_B_F .
	SOW	Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) Authorized Payments

1. General functionalities/requirements

M	General functionalities/requirements	Please confirm how the lockboxes will be assigned. One for each MAC (12 A/B and 4 DME) along with 1 for the Demonstration Projects for a total of 17?	The MACs handle their lockboxes and select how many they need. Demonstration Projects generally don't use lockboxes.
	SOW	Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) Authorized Payments
5	Imaging	Can you provide the deposit scanner name and model #s?	The selected bank will be resonsible for providing the imaging equipment in accordance with the SOW.
	SOW	Demonstration Project Payments

1. General Functionalities

M	General Functionalities	How are EFT returns reflected in the weekly reconciliation?	less that 2%.
	SOW	11.B.1.d	Transfer information from the FI to the MACS - Daily	Do any of the MACs require mailed confirmations? How Many?	No, all conformations are electronic.
	SOW	11.B.1.d	Transfer information from the FI to the MACS - Daily	By on-line confirmation, is email notification of file receipt acceptable?	Yes.
	SOW	11.A.2.a	Transfer of Information -from the MACs to the financial insitutions - weekly	Is the file input format sent to the contractor consistent across the MACs?	Yes.
	SOW	11.A.2.a	Transfer of Information -from the MACs to the financial insitutions - weekly	Please confirm that the weekly file sent by the MAC is separate from the EFT files used to originate payments. Does the weekly file have just paper checks issued detail or also the EFT detail?
What is the format of the file that the contractor delivers to the MACS?	No, it's not a separate file; it contains EFT and Check detail . The file format is in D.7 Appendix D .
	SOW	11.A.2.a	Transfer of Information -from the MACs to the financial insitutions - weekly	What is the deadline for the MACs to deliver their weekly file to the contractor?	It varies by MAC.
	SOW	11.A.2.a	Transfer of Information -from the MACs to the financial insitutions - weekly	If ACH detail is delivered, which field is used to denote the (numeric) check number if that is the key matching criteria to what was processed?	See the file format in D.7 Appendix D .
	SOW	7.A	technical assistance/Cutomer service	Are the weekend (Saturday and Sunday) data transmission files volumes the same 100 – 200 outgoing files per day?	No.
	SOW	11.C	Ongoing	On page 12 of SOW under C. Ongoing, can more details be provided on what the scope of routine testing of EFT systems would entail to ensure compliance with FISMA?	This is based the standard testing of EFT transactions .
	Appendix A	Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) Authorized Payments

1. General functionalities/requirements

B.	General functionalities/requirements	Could you confirm what the 4 bank accounts for each MAC are used for (CDA, ACH, Lockbox?)
Please confirm these accounts will be zero balanced as part of the funding process.	Each MAC will advise what accounts are needed for their process. The MACs account may not all have a zero balance.
	Appendix A	Appendix A - Base Year

3 - all other charges

j	Online information reporting - Subscription fee (per user, per module)	We assume there will be one DDA per MAC and each MAC will have their own access to Web Reporting with a unique ID?	It varies by MAC.
	Appendix A	Appendix A - Base Year

3 - all other charges

bb	Onsite electronic deposit - check scanner	How many remote deposit on site scanners in total?	Approximately 3.
	Appendix A	Appendix A - Base Year

3 - all other charges

bb	Onsite electronic deposit - check scanner	How many remote deposit on site scanners reside at each location?	Approximately 3.
	75FCMC190006	C.6 c	(508 Compliance) Electronic Information & Technology Accessibility Notice	We actively comply with WCAG 2.0 standards and would be able to meet 508 requirements with the WCAG 2.0 standards. We are happy to complete the assessment however is it acceptable note areas where we are legally concerned about gap disclosure outside of this contract?	508 compliant is required.
				The Banking Institution has a number of agreements as an FA, but does not have an “original” letter. The FA status is stated in the various agreements. The Banking Institution is listed as an FA on the attached listing as well. Do I need to reach out to the US Treasury to have a letter drafted?	Yes.
	Statement of Work	Invoice IV	Invoice Reconciliation	In the proposal response, where should the respondent propose if they have a different naming structure for a billing line item or an incremental billing item that is not listed?	Please see D.5 Appendix A_B_F - Instructions
	Statement of Work	Item 1.M	MAC Authorized Payments/General Functionality Requirements & Demonstration Project Payments	Please confirm the number of individual lockboxes required.	It varies by MAC.
	Statement of Work	Item 1.M	MAC Authorized Payments/General Functionality Requirements & Demonstration Project Payments	Is there a requirement for the lockbox to produce AR data transmissions? If not, is there a requirement for specific reporting?	This is not a requirement.
	Statement of Work	Item 1.M and 2.E	MAC Authorized Payments/General Functionality Requirements & Demonstration Project Payments	How many deposits are required per day per box?	This is not a requirement.
	Statement of Work	Item 1.M	MAC Authorized Payments/General Functionality Requirements & Demonstration Project Payments	The bank will require a separate deposit account to be used solely for the lockbox deposits which then can be deposited same day into the FHIBA payment account as required in the SOW and Tripartite agreement. Will this be acceptable?	No, this will not be acceptable.
	Statement of Work	Item 1.D	Demonstration Project Payments	It is our understanding that separate accounts may be established for each demonstration project especially for reconciliation purposes across separate MACs? Please confirm this would be acceptable? Respondents may not be able to separately invoice or provide separate reconciliation reports for separate activity that is all processed under one bank account as requested.	Separate account are needed for demonstration projects which has nothing to do with the MACs.
	Standard Form 1449	All	Section C Contract Clauses	Where can a respondent indicate in our response any requirements that may require mutual negotiation within the contract clauses indicated?	We are not negotiating the requirements.
	Appendix A	Measured Account Services	Schedule of Services volume proposal	Please provide further background on the following line item: G: Mail Credit Advice/Express Courier Deposit. Is the physical mailing of advices required? What payments activity does this service pertain to?	This is a requirement that is used by some MACs for their payments.
	Appendix A	Measured Account Services	Schedule of Services volume proposal	Please provide further background on the services provided for “EFT Return Notification Fax”. Is an alternative method to a fax acceptable?	When an EFT is returned, the MAC requires a EFT Return Notification Fax.
	Appendix A	Measured Account Services	Schedule of Services volume proposal	Should the volumes for the following 2 line items be considered incremental to one another or are the volumes in the line items repetitive of one another: II) Image Deposited Checks Maintenance (Monthly) and EE) Image Deposited Checks maintenance (monthly)?	No, they are not considered incremental to one another nor are the volumes in the line items repetitive of one another.
	Appendix A	Measured Account Services	Schedule of Services volume proposal	Does the volume for “FF- Image Deposited Checks - per item” refer to checks processed though the electronic check deposit scanner? If so, if this repetitive or should this be considered incremental volume to Onsite Electronic Deposit - Deposited Items?	Yes, this it's not repetitive.
	Appendix A	Measured Account Services	Schedule of Services volume proposal	Does the volume for “Deposited Items” refer to checks processed though the electronic check deposit scanner? or at a branch location?	It refers to refer to checks processed though the electronic check deposit scanner.
	Appendix A	Measured Account Services	Schedule of Services volume proposal	Can you please confirm that the lockbox annual check volume is 137,500 checks?	It varies.
	Appendix A	Measured Account Services	Schedule of Services volume proposal	Please define lockbox line item element "Account Changes".	This refers to changes to the lockbox based on account changes.
	Appendix A	Measured Account Services	Schedule of Services volume proposal	Please define the process required for lockbox "Document Sorting/Matching" and include the number of sorts required.	The MAC defines that process for the bank.
	Appendix A	Measured Account Services	Schedule of Services volume proposal	Please define the requirements associated with lockbox line item element "Returned Deposits/Envelopes". Please also clarify if this requires envelope re-association with photocopy?	The requirements is for returned deposits in the lockbox which includes the envelop.
	Appendix A	Measured Account Services	Schedule of Services volume proposal	Are photocopies still required if access to the images will be made available?	It varies by MAC.
	Appendix A	Measured Account Services	Schedule of Services volume proposal	Are CDs required if you have access to an image archive to view images of all transactions that are processed in the lockbox?	It varies by MAC.
	Appendix A	Measured Account Services	Schedule of Services volume proposal	When confirming that the respondent is a Financial Agent authorized by Treasury, is a self attestation acceptable or do we need to provide a letter signed by Treasury?	The letter from Treasury is required.
	Standard Form 1449	Tab A- Cover letter	Volume I- Technical Proposal	When confirming that the respondent is a Financial Agent authorized by Treasury, is a self attestation acceptable or do we need to provide a letter signed by Treasury?	The letter from Treasury is required.
	Solicitation Document	Section C.6	352.239-73 Electronic Information and Technology Accessibility Notice (Dec 2015)	The RFP requires provision of standard banking services (commercial items) to Medicare Administrative Contractors and Demonstration Program contractors. As a part of these services, we plan to provide a web-based system that contractors will use to access their banking information, approve payment files and individual checks, download reports, etc. Section 508 stipulates in part "subsection 508(a)(1) requires that when the Federal Government procures Electronic and Information Technology (EIT), the IT must allow Federal emloyees and individuals of the public with disabilities comparable access to and use of information and data that is provided to Fedral emplooyees and individuals of the public wihtout disabilities."
Since it is envisioned that neither Federal employees nor members of the public would be accessing these systems, would Section 508 still apply? If a Section 508 Product Assessment Template must be completed and submitted, in which proposal volume or attachment should this template be included?	If neither Federal employees nor members of the public would be accessing these systems. 508 will not apply.
	Solicitation Document	Section C.12	Post Award Business Ethics, Conflict of Interest and Compliance (Oct 2015)	As a commercial bank, we have literally thousands of officers and millions of customers. We also have a corporate-wide ethics and COI training and compliance program.

Please confirm the scope of individuals who need to certify as to personal conflicts of interest. The definition of "principle" is not sufficiently specific to determine whether it is only officers, directors, etc. who have management or supervisory responsibilities over this contract or whether it is all officers and directors (regardless as to whether they have any role in the performance of the contract) plus any individual with management or supervisory responsibilities. Gathering this information from all of the Bank's directors and officers is not practical and we believe this should be limited to those who will be managing and supervising the work under the agreement.	This applies and is limited to those who will be managing and supervising the work under the contract agreement.
	Solicitation Document	Section C.13	CMS Information Security (Apr 2013)	As a commerical bank subject to Federal oversight and with embedded information security policies and compliance, can CMS clarify if a service proposed has not undergone a formal FISMA Certification and Accreditation that the contractor can demonstrate how the information is secured or would the lack of FISMA certification necessarily preclude CMS from awarding the work to the bidder?	FISMA certification is required.
	Attachment D.1: Statement of Work	Unnumbered section after section XIII. Pages 23-25	Section 508 statements	This language appears written for a contract with "Tri-State Financial Services Group." Can CMS clarify? Can CMS also clarify if a service proposed is not 100% Section 508 compliant that the contractor can work with CMS to mutually determine any required corrective actions and timeframes or would it necessarily preclude CMS from awarding the work to the bidder?	This is HHS/CMS standard 508 language. CMS will work with contractor to ensure 508 compliance.

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