Q and A Credentialing Service - Final.pdf

FINAL Q&A – 75H71525Q00033

• The RFP lacks detailed proposal preparation instructions. Could the Government clarify the required format, content structure, and any page or formatting requirements for proposal submission?

o There are no formatting requirements although proposals should not exceed four pages of narrative in addressing the evaluation criteria.

• The RFP lists general evaluation criteria but does not include full details . Could the Government clarify how proposals will be evaluated and the weight of each factor?

o Price – Annual cost to the Government.

o Past Performance – Contracts the vendor has performed on within the last 3 years.

o Technical Capability – Establishing a basis for others to determine if your company has the knowledge and expertise to be able to adequately, or better, perform the tasks requested in the SOW.

o Options, Evaluation of – Pricing of subsequent option years to be provided individually and added together for a total contract price.

• Could the Government please confirm if there is an incumbent contractor? If not, can estimated contract value or budget information be provided?

o This event is for a new service.

o No, the Government’s independent cost estimate will not be provided to offerors.

As a commercially available service, the vendor, if technically capable, would already have established pricing for a service that they routinely offer.

• Will the contract be evaluated on a Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) basis or using a Best Value approach?

o Evaluation Basis – Trade-Off

• Can the contractor's employee work from their home?

o Yes. This can be remote work and contractor is not required to be onsite.

• What training or support will be provided for accessing IHS credentialing systems (e.g., MD Staff) o The individual will be provided training on IHS’s currently used credentialing system through training modules and one on one training as needed. However, the training will focus on the use of the system. The individual will also be provided copies of policies for IHS credentialing of provider. However, individual will have to be familiar with requirements and regulations related to credentialing and privileging.

• Can you confirm the relative weighting or importance of technical vs. price vs. past performance?

o Past performance and technical capability are roughly equal to price.

• Is there a preferred format or page limit for technical capability and past performance narratives?

o There are no formatting requirements although proposals should not exceed four pages of narrative in addressing the evaluation criteria.

• Are all volumes to be submitted as one volume/document or does the government want

4 separate volumes submitted individually?

o Terminology use of “volumes” may be utilized by some vendors and if it refers to submission of your proposal, there would not be a requirement to separate it from a single narrative limited to four pages.

• Is their a pricing sheet you would like offerors to use? Or, may we develop our own?

o You may offer your own as long as you breakdown costs.

• Is there a current incumbent performing these services? If so, will transition support or historical credentialing data be made available to the incoming contractor?

o This event is for a new service.

• What volume/section does the government want the IHS IEE form submittted along with?

o An IEE form must be submitted with your proposal as a required part of your proposal submission

• Will Reps and Certs need to be submitted separately, or will the Government retrieve them directly from SAM.gov?

o Please refer to the instructions given in FAR 52.212-3 and 52.204.7 which were both included in the solicitation document.

• How many FTEs are required for this effort?

o Zero FTEs (this event is requesting a service not an employee)

• Concerning the "30-40 total credentialed providers annually," is the term "provider," a facility and its professional staff, or does it refer solely to a specific individual professional who would need credentialing/privileging?

o A facility and its professional staff.

• As there does not appear to be a formal Q&A stage, will the agency provide a deadline and POC for submissions of questions?

o This Q&A is the one that will be provided.

• Can the agency provide an annually volume (the number of resources) for the credentialing & privileging of the full-time staff, contract providers, specialists, and telehealth professionals?

o We have 30-40

• There does not appear to be a formal Q&A stage, can the agency list a deadline and

POC to send questions?

o See prior response.

• Are there any requirements for technical volume such as number of pages, font size, etc.?

o See prior response of narrative limited to four pages.

• If price and past performance are higher priority than technical capacity, is the agency leaning towards a Lowest Price Technically Acceptable approach (albeit, firm-fixed)?

o See prior response.

• IF a bidder doesn't have specifically, previous and multiple "Credentialing and privileging services" contracts, but can display successful work providing credentialing and privileging services in other IHS and healthcare position service contracts that onboarded professionals requiring credentialing and privileging, will the agency take these into consideration as relevant past performance?

o Credentialing for an individual provider is not equivalent to providing a credentialing only service. Submit for consideration but establish your basis of equivalence in the narrative.

• Will the agency consider the past performance of both parties in an SBA-approved MPA Joint Venture, per 13 CFR 125.8(e)(1)?

o Clauses covering joint ventures (under FAR) and/or mentor-protégé program (under HHSAR) were not included under this event.

• Is the "Credentialing and Privileging Support Service-Nashville Area Office" IHS contract a new requirement, or a recompete? If a recompete, can the agency divulge the incumbent contractor?

o New requirement.

• Will the agency provide any level of training on the guiding rules and bylaws under SOW

p. 3, §3, B, or is it solely on the contractor to provide fully experienced staff? Strictly an FYI inquiry.

o Fully experienced staff will need to be provided. We will not provide any training on credentialing and privileging. We will do some training on the software utilized but the individual has to have the knowledge and experience with the credentialing and privileging process.

• Would the government please define the scope of privileging (what is included in privileging) or for the credentialling and privileging cited in the SOW, should we use the guidance in the chapter on Credentials and Privileges chapter in the Indian Health Manual Part 3, Chapter 1?

o The scope of credentialing and privileging should follow the standards outlined in the Indian Health Manual (IHM), Part 3, Chapter 1 – Credentials and Privileges.

This includes, but is not limited to, the review and verification of licensure, education, training, experience, board certification, professional references, NPDB queries, and all other elements required to assess provider competency and qualifications. The privileging process also includes review of the provider’s requested clinical privileges in relation to their credentials, the facility’s scope of services, and the approval process by the appropriate governing body.

All credentialing and privileging work must be consistent with IHS policy and meet applicable accreditation standards (e.g., AAAHC, The Joint Commission), federal regulations, and any additional requirements specified by IHS. Please use IHM Part 3, Chapter 1 as the governing reference unless otherwise directed in the Statement of Work.

• Does the government currently use credentially software and does it plan on continuing to use this software such as MD Staff, or seek alternatives?

o The government currently utilizes MD Staff and there is currently no plans in place to seek an alternative

• Can you confirm whether the estimate of credentialing 30–40 providers annually remains accurate?

o Yes. The average number of credentialed providers within the Nashville Area is between 30-40 individuals.

• Does the government have an expected number of hours per month or LOE associated with each provider type (e.g., physicians, dentists, behavioral health professionals, telehealth clinicians)?

o No. The hours will vary based on the number of providers that need to privileged. We estimate on average there are 30-40 providers per year that will require credentialing and privileging per year.

• Are there expected peaks in credentialing workload (e.g., onboarding cycles, regulatory deadlines), or is it anticipated to be steady throughout the year?

o There will be peaks based on the cycles for provider re-credentialing. However, the regular onboarding of providers will be steady.

• Does the government have an expectation for the number of credentialing specialists, reviewers, or evaluators required to support this contract?

o There is a minimum of one that will be dedicated to the Nashville Area and consistent individual to perform the work. However, there are no expectations of a maximum number of reviewers.

o Remember, this is for a service and not an individual “specialist” of any kind. The response above indicates that no contract performance could occur without a vendor having an employee on their payroll to perform the duties to provide the service.

• Should we propose fixed pricing for each year (Base + 4 Option Years + FAR 52.217-8 Extension), or is the Base Year the only price evaluated at this time?

o FAR 52.217-5 was included in the phrases and clauses section.

• Is the government open to annual escalation (e.g., 2–3%) across option years, or do you expect level pricing across all periods?

o Responses should reflect your pricing schedule. If it is chosen to make offers in alternate line item configurations you may do so following the included phrase

FAR 52.204-22.

• For the FAR 52.217-8 clause (up to 6-month extension), should we propose a separate line item using Option Year 4 pricing, or will this be negotiated at the time of exercise?

o As previously stated, FAR 52.217-5 was included in the phrases and clauses section.

• Will individual call orders be issued annually under the BPA, or is a single award/tasking expected for each year?

o Annual calls for the service are expected to be invoiced through IPP.gov no more frequently than monthly after rendering of service.

• Is there an incumbent contractor currently providing these services? If so, is historical contract value or LOE information available for comparison purposes?

o No.

• Will award be based on a best-value tradeoff or lowest price technically acceptable

(LPTA) methodology?

o See prior response.