Solicitation___75H70419R00033_-__Questions_and_Answers.xlsx
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- 75H70419R00033
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Sheet1
| Solicitation #: | 75H70419R00033 | |||
| Description: | Medicare Cost Reporting Services | |||
| Question # | Section/Page # | Questions to IHS | Detail | Response (Suggested) |
| 1 | C.3.2./p.3 | Home office cost reports are not readily available through HCRIS or other published sources. Are the allocations of costs of the 12 home office entities done based on a single pooled allocation basis? | Task 2: Medicare Method A – Hospital Cost Report Preparation | IHS will provide past Home Office Cost Reports to the contractor |
| 2 | C.3.2./p.3 | What is the “initial obligation data that is used to prepare the cost reports”? Is this saying the IHS Financial Management Officer will certify the information provided by the hospital as “final” or does “initial obligation data” refer to something else? | Task 2: Medicare Method A – Hospital Cost Report Preparation | Yes. A Financial Management Officer will certify the information provided by the hospital. |
| 3 | C.3.2./p.3 | In the paragraph referring to IHS providing financial data/obligations by November there is a reference the Contractor basing time estimates on this data. In this context does time estimates refer to a timeline, and is this to be communicated to IHS? Does this mean the information requested to prepare the cost reports will be provided by November? | Task 2: Medicare Method A – Hospital Cost Report Preparation | Yes, the time estimates do refer to a timeline in this context. The timeline shall be communicated to IHS. The information needed to prepare the cost reports will be provided by November or each period. |
| 4 | C.3.2./p.4-5 | The narrative on p. 3 indicates there are 40 hospitals; however, only 39 appear to be listed in the table, if we include Southcentral Foundation as a home office entity rather than a hospital. Is this correct? | Task 2: Medicare Method A – Hospital Cost Report Preparation | ANTHC, ANMC and SCF should all be assessed as hospitals. As such, the count has been updated from 40 to 41. |
| 5 | C.3.3./p.5 | There are several references to “national inpatient and outpatient workload data” from “several National IHS data sources”. Is this data provided by IHS, and in what format(s)? Is a data dictionary available? What payers are represented in the data? | Task 3: Various Management Reports – Clinical Workload Compilation, Comparative Cost Analysis, and Medicare and Medicaid Rate Calculation | Yes, the data is provided by IHS. Formats are varied, but will primarily be PDF. A data dictionary is not available, but clarification of terms will be available. The payers include Medicare, Medicaid, Private Insurance and "others" |
| 6 | C.3.3./p.6 | Report item 7 refers to “only available for Option Period 2 and Option Period 4” for Task 7. However, p. 9 refers to face-to-face meetings for Option Period 1 and Option Period 4. p. 2 refers to chart audits for Option Period 1 and Option Period 4 as well. Please clarify the period that Task 7 is to be performed for. | Task 3: Various Management Reports – Clinical Workload Compilation, Comparative Cost Analysis, and Medicare and Medicaid Rate Calculation | Task 7 is to be performed by Option Period 1 and Option Period 4. |
| 7 | C.3.7./p.8 | For the chart reviews, are the patient records available via remote read-only access into the hospitals’ electronic health record? Are the majority of the hospitals on the RPMS or Cerner systems? | Task 7: Ancillary Ratio Development (Optional Task) | Patient records will be made available electronically. The majority of the hospitals are on the RPMS system. |
| 8 | F.3./p.11 | No deadlines noted for the home office reports. Are these all filed with the MAC on a FYE September 30 reporting period and due February 28 as well? | Deliverable Schedule | Yes, the home office reports are to be filed with the MAC on a FYE September 30 reporting period, due February 28. |
| 9 | L.4./p.53 | It appears IHS is wanting the past performance questionnaires included in this volume. Can you please confirm whether our client needs to send this directly to the contracting specialist? | Past Performance (Volume II) | Yes, past performance questionnaires are to be included in this volume. The questionnaires may be sent directly to the Contract Specialist by the client or former customer. |
| 10 | B.3. | Is there leeway with the travel costs? With six hospitals and two tribal organizations in Alaska alone, one trip to a subset of these sites would take more than half the annual travel budget. Though much of the work can be performed remotely, frequent new hospital construction and renovations means some on-site visits are necessary each year to maintain square footage statistics. Since consistency among the reports is paramount for the rate-setting process, sessions for staff training and cost report review greatly enhance the final product. This involves some travel expense since it is likely all members of the cost report team do not reside in the same city. Optional Task 7 requires two face to face meetings with the COR so travel is required for those options. The RFP does not address meeting with ORAP to share information, but it is reasonable to include and that involves travel to Rockville, Maryland. Is it possible to double the travel cap (at a minimum)? | The Travel Cap (per period) has been increased from $25,000.00 to $60,000.00. | |
| 11 | C.3.3. | Task 3 Management Reports Item 1 includes providing a summary of the PS&R (paid claims summary) reports with a view toward identifying areas where additional revenue may be possible. Can you provide examples or descriptions of how this can be accomplished? | No examples or descriptions are available at this time. Contractor analysis will be needed to identify areas where additional revenue may be possible. | |
| 12 | C.3.3. | Task 3 Management Reports Item 3 includes an item to recommend changes to interim rates for CAH facilities. In our experience, requesting changes to the interim rates includes providing mid-year information on costs and workload. Is this the undertaking being requested? That is a significant amount of work. | This task calls for recommending changes. The request for changes to the interim rates will be handled internally. | |
| 13 | C.3.3. | Task 3 Management Reports Item 4 relates to evaluating financial feasibility of hospital conversion from PPS to CAH. Is this a duplicate of Task 5? | Task 3 is an initial recommendation in the management reports based on work being conducted to prepare the cost reports and requirements of CAHs such as low volume census, etc. Task 5 is the in dept study and evaluation of CAH conversion. | |
| 14 | C.3.3. | Task 3 Management Reports Item 6 wants questionnaires and templates used to prepare and complete cost reports provided electronically. Can you give more specific examples? | Questionnaires and templates shall be developed with the Program Office and ultimately approved by the Contracting Officer's Representative. Questionnaires and templates utilized prior will be made available for reference. | |
| 15 | C.3.5. | Task 5 CAH Analysis Reports includes providing technical assistance to assist in the conversion to CAH. Can you confirm this is task is to provide initial financial analysis based on completed cost reports and does not include the twelve to eighteen months of assistance with community meetings, working with surveyors, etc.? | It is confirmed that Task 5 covers the provision of initial financial analysis and is not inclusive of assistance with community meetings or working with surveyors. | |
| 16 | C.3.6. | Task 6 AIR Calculation (Optional Task). If this option is exercised, will IHS provide prior briefing documents as a guide? | If this option is exercised, prior briefing documents will be made available to serve as a guide. | |
| 17 | C.3.7. | Task 7 states “shall include two face to face meetings with the COR of Option Period 1 and Option Period 4”. Does this mean two face to face meetings for each Option Period or one face to face meeting for each of the Option Periods? | One face to face meeting for each of the Option Periods. | |
| 18 | F.3. | The deadline for the DSH Analysis report is “60 days following September 30 each year”. Since it is best to include as many eligible days as possible on the cost reports, it is best to complete the analysis as close to the time of cost report filing as possible. Could the deadline be changed to June 30 each FY? | Yes. Language should state 60 days following June 30th | |
| 19 | Does the attached suffice for the Reps & Certs submission? I printed it from SAM.gov. I’m not sure if this is the “fully executed” version you need. | In regard to FAR 52.212-3, the Offeror shall complete only paragraph (b) of the provision if the Offeror has completed the annual representations and certification electronically in the System for Award Management (SAM) accessed through https://www.sam.gov. If the Offeror has not completed the annual representations and certifications electronically, the Offeror shall complete only paragraphs (c) through (u)) of the provision. | ||
| 20 | Are we supposed to fill out the Past Performance forms? The form reads at though someone else should complete it, otherwise, it’s kind of a self-assessment. | The Past Performance Questionnaire forms are to be filled out by current clients or former customers for similar services. The questionnaires may be sent directly to the Contract Specialist by the client or former customer. |
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