CCPC - Request for Information_May 2024 - Final.pdf

Request for Information (RFI) Connected Care Product Catalog (CCPC)

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY (as defined in FAR 15.201(e));

this is not a solicitation. A formal solicitation is not available at this time. This notice does not constitute a commitment by the United States Government and does not obligate the Government to award a contract or pay for the information provided in response. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR RESPONDING TO THIS RFI

Response Format/Page Limitations:

The overall total page limit for responses to this RFI has no limit; however, the Government recommends a clear and concise response to reduce the number of pages submitted to ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed. Interested parties should limit marketing material in order to allow sufficient space for adequately, directly, and substantively responding with the information of most interest to the Government.

When responding, please also confirm your company’s Socio-Economic Category and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).

Submission: Responses to this RFI shall be submitted to William Milline and Deidre Parker via email William.Milline@va.gov and Deidre.Parker@va.gov no later than June 14, 2024 at 4:30 pm/ET.

52.215-3 Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes (Oct 1997)

(a) The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this solicitation or to otherwise pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subsection 31.205-18, Independent Research and Development and Bid and Proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

(b) Although “proposal” and “offeror” are used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal.

(c) This solicitation is issued for the purpose of: Information.

(End of provision) mailto:William.Milline@va.gov mailto:Deidre.Parker@va.gov

The purpose of this RFI is to seek information on how solicitation 36C10G23Q0036, Connected Care Product Catalog, could be improved if re-solicited, what obstacles prevented companies from submitting quotes, and recommendations on how to structure this solicitation to assist the Government in a new acquisition strategy.

Any responding contractor may respond to any number of questions posed in this RFI, and a submission does not mandate a response to each question asked.

Connected Care Product Catalog

Expected time frame to begin work: FY25 Expected Period of Performance: Five Years after contract award (multi-year contract)

Industry Day:

Expected to be held in person in Orlando, FL, at the National Veteran Small Business Coalition (NVSBE) VETS24 conference between May 20 – 23, 2024. Industry day will allow for question and answer periods, one-on-one meetings with the Contracting Team, and discussions of capability statements.

Introduction:

VA’s Connected Care technology network is an enterprise-wide, complex, and diverse system for distributing, supporting, and sustaining health care and related services. The scale of the program and its basis in unique, VA-developed products require highly specialized industry support to successfully perform, implement, and execute at the scope and complexity required.

Connected Care is defined as using electronic information or telecommunications technologies to support health care delivery, patient and professional health-related education, public health, and health administration at a distance. “Connected Care products” are defined as the combined VA ecosystem of clinical video equipment and software; store and forward technologies; web and mobile health applications; software-as-a-service (SaaS) technologies; commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software products;

mobile medical devices, peripherals, and wearables; remote patient monitoring technologies; online health portals; future connected care technologies; and ancillary items.

The CCPC procurement is a key element in the program’s success as the contract will provide the mechanism to supply Connected Care products for distribution to VHA facilities in the United States (US), US Territories, and Freely Associated States. The CCPC Product List, Attachment 1, includes all supplies to be procured for this requirement.

Cancellation of Previous Solicitation 36C10G23Q0036

The previous solicitation was cancelled as the cancellation was in the best interest of the Government. The solicitation was hereby cancelled on May 16, 2024, through Amendment 0006 of Solicitation 36C10G23Q0036.

Questions to be answered in response to this RFI:

1. Three recompete Telehealth contracts have been created: Connected Care Integration Network (CCIN), Program Management Support (PSI), and CCPC.

The Government identified the potential for an organizational conflict of interest (OCI) when developing the strategy, thus enforcing the mandate to only be allowed to respond to one of the three recompetes.

a. Do you think this was necessary?

b. How can we further mitigate OCI concerns?

c. Are OCIs avoidable in future solicitations?

i. If so, how?

ii. If not, why not?

2. Under the previous solicitation, commercial agreements were mandated for the potential awardee, requiring the CCPC vendor(s) to enter into a separate commercial agreement with the Connected Care Integrated Network (CCIN) Contractor. The CCPC solicitation was released when the CCIN contractor was unknown; CCIN was awarded to Iron Bow Technologies on January 1, 2024.

a. What concerns/obstacles did this cause?

3. Was securing partnering agreements with the manufacturers and/or small businesses a reason for not submitting a bid? Please explain.

4. Under the previous solicitation, the products were separated into seven (7) Product Groups. If this requirement is re-solicited, the Government intends to disband the separate Product Groups and allow all products to be under one action.

a. What would be a suggestion to streamline or improve the structure of the

Product Groups? Please identify any benefits or obstacles for your suggestions. Examples are products that could be under one contract under one vendor, one contract, multiple award vehicles, etc.

5. If re-solicited, authorized reseller letters will continue to be mandated. What concerns could this create that may prevent you or dissuade you from providing a quote?

6. Does your company have extensive experience supporting high-volume product delivery in large-scale health systems and organizations outside the healthcare industry, including the public sector?

a. If so, what is your level of experience in the private and public health sectors in the US and/or internationally? Please explain.

7. Does your company have the current resources or the ability to obtain the required resources and provide these robust products under one contract? Briefly outline how you would resource, and partner with other companies to provide the requested Product Groups.

8. The Government has identified that products may have fluctuating prices due to their uniqueness.

a. What contract type would you suggest being used, and briefly explain why? Examples are Firm-Fixed-Price, Fixed-price contracts with economic price adjustment, fixed-price incentive contracts, etc.

9. Based on what you knew about the previous CCPC solicitation, why do you think the previous model/structure did not work?

a. Were you aware of the previous solicitation?

10. Does your company have the resources and capability to receive a net 30 payment from the Government after we receive the order?

11. Are there any other considerations the Government should be aware of? Please explain.

***End of RFI***

Request for Information (RFI)