Continuing Studies RFI CLEAN 092421.docx

THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

501 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02116

(617) 701-8100 www.chiamass.gov

Research and Analytics Support to the Programs of Continuing Studies

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

RFI No. [2022-003]

BD-22-1052-7000-7000-67022

Released: September 24, 2021

RESPONSE DEADLINE: Responses must be RECEIVED by Thursday, November 4, 2021 by 3:00 PM EST

Commonwealth of Massachusetts – Request for Information Center for Health Information and Analysis (“CHIA”)

Research and Analytics Support to the Programs of Continuing Studies Responses to this RFI shall serve solely to assist the Commonwealth in examining service options. This RFI does not in any way obligate the Commonwealth to issue or amend a solicitation or to include any of the RFI provisions or responses in any solicitation. Responding to this RFI is entirely voluntary and will in no way affect the Commonwealth’s consideration of any proposal submitted in response to any subsequent solicitation, nor will it serve as an advantage or disadvantage to the Respondent in the course of any RFR or RFQ that may be subsequently issued or amended.

Please note that this RFI is issued solely for the purpose of obtaining information. Nothing in this RFI shall be interpreted as a commitment on the part of the Center for Health Information & Analysis to enter a contract with any Respondent or to make any procurement.

Responses must be RECEIVED by Thursday, November 4, 2021 11/4/2021 by 3:00 PM EST.

1. Introduction The Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA) is issuing this RFI to seek information from qualified vendors and other knowledgeable parties about potential research projects associated with CHIA’s ongoing Programs of Continuing Studies. CHIA collects health care information from health care payers, providers, provider organizations and third-party administrators and disseminates that information in a manner that promotes access and transparency for state agencies, providers, public and private payers, and researchers and consumers while safeguarding the privacy rights and interests of Commonwealth residents.

2. Agency CHIA is an independent agency established pursuant to Chapter 224 of the Acts of 2012, a health care reform law enacted to improve health care quality and contain health care costs. CHIA’s mission is to monitor the Massachusetts health care system and to provide reliable information and meaningful analysis for those seeking to improve health care quality, affordability, access, and outcomes. CHIA also acts as a principal repository for health care data collected by the state and is responsible for the Massachusetts All Payer Claims Database (MA APCD) and the Acute Hospital Case Mix Databases (Case Mix Databases). CHIA and the government agencies it supports are cost analysis and policy-intensive data users.

3. Purpose of RFI

CHIA is issuing this RFI to seek information from qualified vendors and other knowledgeable parties about potential research and analytics projects to support CHIA’s ongoing Programs of Continuing Studies and to address emerging areas of interest. CHIA is particularly interested in responses from researchers in the academic community and encourages responses from individuals or groups from academic institutions.

4. Background CHIA is an independent agency established pursuant to M.G.L. c. 12C, a health care reform law enacted to improve health care quality and contain health care costs. CHIA’s mission is to monitor the Massachusetts health care system and to provide reliable information and meaningful analysis for those seeking to improve health care quality, affordability, access, and outcomes. CHIA also acts as a principal repository for health care data collected by the state and is responsible for the Massachusetts All Payer Claims Database (APCD) and the Acute Hospital Case Mix Databases (Case Mix Databases). CHIA also is responsible for conducting the Massachusetts Health Insurance Survey and the Massachusetts Employer Survey. CHIA’s vision is to be the hub of information and analysis with respect to the Massachusetts health care system, connecting our products to policymakers, providers, public and private payers, employers, researchers, and the residents of the Commonwealth.

In furtherance of its mission and its efforts in connecting health care information and related analysis with stakeholders, CHIA seeks to strengthen its ongoing Programs of Continuing Studies to examine areas of interest including, but not limited to, uninsurance and underinsurance, health care affordability; behavioral health; health care utilization; health care equity; and social determinants of health. CHIA has been performing analysis on these topics through our existing reports. For details on existing work, please refer to Attachment A.

For the purposes of this RFI, CHIA is interested in partnering with researchers and/or research teams in addressing existing or emerging issues within its Programs of Continuing Studies. We are interested in projects that either cover specific topical areas CHIA has not examined; enhance work that CHIA has previously done; or provide supplemental support to existing CHIA data analytics, methodologies, or studies beyond CHIA’s capacity to study aforementioned areas. Within an established service level agreement, CHIA is contemplating that the researcher would provide:

· Documentation of the research questions and study methodologies;

· Any data assets utilized in the study that are external to CHIA;

· Results of the study and either a written report or consultation as CHIA develops reporting;

· Documentation outlining all methodologies applied;

· Technical write-ups for the completed work as needed;

· Guidance and consultation regarding specific research, analytic, statistical methodologies that are appropriate to address goals and objectives of respective projects involved; and

· Participation in the drafting/preparation, and help reviewing the report(s) and briefs resulting from partnership with CHIA.

CHIA will own all deliverables and retain rights to distribute results to its stakeholders.

5. Information Solicited CHIA is interested in information about each of the services listed below, and any advantages or disadvantages to procuring services for more and less expansive scopes. CHIA may decide to procure all, a portion, or none of these services.

· Topics of study within the areas of interest and how they will further CHIA’s mission;

· Use of CHIA data assets in new ways to study the areas of interest;

· How outside data sources can be used to supplement CHIA data assets in studying the areas of interest; and

· New research methodologies to enhance the usability of CHIA data assets for research purposes.

6. Questions for all Interested Parties We ask that Respondents provide the following information:

· Respondent Name;

· Respondent Contact Information;

· Description of your relevant experience in this type of activity;

· In 1,000 words or less, a description of the proposed project within the areas of interest, including information regarding topic, research goals, anticipated data, and expected outcomes;

· How CHIA can benefit from your proposed research; and

· A cost estimate for the proposed project.

7. Estimated Procurement Calendar

7.1 Procurement Calendar Updates

Times are Eastern Standard/Daylight Savings (US), as applicable. If there is a conflict between the dates in this RFI Calendar and the dates posted to COMMBUYS, the posted dates shall prevail. Any changes in the RFI Calendar that are made after the RFI has been published will not result in amendments to the RFI and the related RFI Calendar therein. Instead, such changes will appear only on COMMBUYS. Respondents are required to monitor COMMBUYS for changes to the procurement calendar for this RFI.

7.2 Prohibitions

Respondents are prohibited from communicating directly with any employee of the procuring Department or any member of CHIA regarding this RFI except as specified in this RFI, and no other individual Commonwealth employee or representative is authorized to provide any information or respond to any question or inquiry concerning this RFI. Bidders may contact the contact person using the contact information provided in this RFI in the event that this RFI is incomplete or information is missing. Bidders experiencing technical problems accessing information or attachments stored on COMMBUYS should contact the COMMBUYS Helpdesk.

7.3 RFI Amendment Deadlines

CHIA reserves the right to make amendments to the Bid after initial publication prior to the RFI Amendment Deadline. It is each Respondent’s responsibility to check COMMBUYS for any amendments, addenda or modifications to this RFI, and any RFI Q&A records related to this RFI.

7.4 Online Questions (Bid Q&A)

Written Questions must be entered by pressing the “Bid Q&A” tab for the Bid in COMMBUYS no later than the “Online Questions Due” date and time indicated in the Estimated Procurement Calendar (above). The issuing department reserves the right not to respond to questions submitted after this date. It is the Bidder’s responsibility to verify receipt of questions.

It is the responsibility of the prospective Bidder and awarded Contractor to maintain an active registration in COMMBUYS and to keep current the email address of the Bidder’s contact person and prospective contract manager, if awarded a contract, and to monitor that email inbox for communications from the Purchasing Department, including requests for clarification. The Purchasing Department and the Commonwealth assume no responsibility if a prospective Bidder’s/awarded Contractor’s designated email address is not current, or if technical problems, including those with the prospective Bidder’s/awarded Contractor’s computer, network or internet service provider (ISP) cause email communications sent to/from the prospective Bidder/Awarded contractor and the Purchasing Department to be lost or rejected by any means including email or spam filtering.

Written Responses to Questions will be released on or about the “Responses to Questions Posted Online” date indicated in the Estimated Procurement Calendar (above).

(Written questions and responses will be posted on the Bid Q&A Tab for this Bid in COMMBUYS.)

8. General Submission Instructions Please note that this is an RFI issued solely for the purpose of obtaining information. Nothing in this RFI shall be interpreted as a commitment on the part of CHIA to enter a contract with any Respondent or to make any procurement.

a. Response Submission. All responses to this RFI are due by 3:00 p.m. on November 4, 2021. Responses MUST be uploaded (if possible as one single document) to COMMBUYS.

All responses must include on the first page the official name (if any) of the firm or entity submitting the response and the RFI # 2022-003. Please consecutively number all pages of the response. Please see the instructions for submitting responses in COMMBUYS. IMPORTANT NOTE: When uploading your response on COMMBUYS please be sure to enter a $0 dollar amount and select the “no charge” option.

b. Response Content. Respondents should include a response to all of the questions set forth in Sections 5 and 6 of this RFI, and financial estimates for each item in Section 5.

c. Respondent Contact. Please provide individual/company name (please list parent company as well if applicable); individual/company address; company website (if applicable); and contact name and information (e-mail address required).

d. Oral Presentations. CHIA welcomes oral presentations from preferred Respondents and will work with them to schedule sessions as appropriate. CHIA will give preference to those Respondents who have provided financial estimates as requested.

e. CHIA RFI Contact. Any RFI content questions must be entered in COMMBUYS by pressing the “Bid Q&A” tab for the Bid in COMMBUYS no later than the “Online Questions Due” date. Please direct all other questions to the following contact:

Matthew MacNabb, Research Manager Center for Health Information and Analysis 501 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02116 617-701-8173 E-mail: Matthew.MacNabb@chiamass.gov

9. Costs

By submitting a response, Respondents agree that any cost incurred in responding to this RFI, or in support of activities associated with this RFI, shall be the sole responsibility of Respondent. CHIA shall not be held responsible for any costs incurred by Respondents in preparing their respective responses to this RFI.

10. Review Rights

Responses to this RFI may be reviewed and considered by any person(s) at the discretion of CHIA.

11. Public Record

All responses to this RFI will be public record under the Commonwealth’s Public Records Law, M.G.L. c. 66, § 10, regardless of confidentiality notices set forth on such writings to the contrary.

12. Instructions for Vendors Responding to Bids

Introduction COMMBUYS refers to all solicitations, including but not limited to Requests for Proposals (RFP), Invitations for Bid (IFB), Requests for Response (RFR), Requests for Quote (RFQ), and Requests for Information (RFI) as “Bids.” All responses to Bids are referred to as “Quotes.”

Steps for Bidders to Submit a Quote

1. Launch the COMMBUYS website by entering the URL (www.COMMBUYS.com) into the browser.

2. Enter Bidder login credentials and click the Login button on the COMMBUYS homepage. Bidders must be registered in COMMBUYS in order to submit a Quote. Each Vendor has a COMMBUYs Seller Administrator, who is responsible for maintaining authorized user access to COMMBUYS.

3. Upon successful login, the Vendor home page displays with the Navigation and Header Bar as well as the Control Center. The Control Center is where documents assigned to your role are easily accessed and viewed.

4. Click on the Bids tab

5. Clicking on the Bid tab opens four sections:

a. Request for Revision

b. Bids/Bid Amendments

c. Open Bids

d. Closed Bids

6. Click on the blue Open Bid hyperlinks to open and review an open bid

7. A new page opens with a message requesting you acknowledge receipt of the bid. Click Yes to acknowledge receipt of the bid. Bidders should acknowledge receipt to receive any amendments/updates concerning this bid.

8. After acknowledgement, the bid will open.

The top left half of the page contains the following information:

a. Purchaser

b. Department

c. Contact for this bid

d. Type of purchase

i. Open Market

ii. Blanket

e. Pre-Bid Conference details (if applicable)

f. Ship-to and Bill-to addresses

g. Any attachments to the bid, which may include essential bid terms, response forms, etc.

The top right half of the bid includes the following information:

h. Bid Date

i. Required Date

j. Bid Opening Date – date the bid closes and no further quotes will be accepted

k. Informal Bid Flag

l. Date goods/services are required

9. The lower half of the page provides information about the specific goods/services the bid is requesting.

10. Click Create Quote to begin.

11. The General tab for a new quote opens. This page is populated with some information from the bid. Fields available to update include:

a. Delivery days

b. Shipping terms

c. Ship via terms

d. Is “no” bid – select if you will not be submitting a quote for this bid

e. Promised Date

f. Info Contact

g. Comments

h. Discount Percent

i. Freight Terms

j. Payment Terms It is important to note that the bid documents (RFI and attachments) may specify some or all of these terms and may prohibit you from altering these terms in your response. Read the bid documents carefully and fill in only those items that are applicable to the bid to which you are responding.

Update these fields as applicable to the bid and click Save & Continue to save any changes and create a Quote Number.

12. The page refreshes and messages display. Any message in Red is an error and must be resolved before the quote can be submitted. Any message in Yellow is only a warning and will allow processing to continue.

13. Click the Items tab. The Items tab displays information about the items requested in the bid. To view additional details about an item, click the item number (blue hyperlink) to open.

14. The item opens. Input all of your quote information and click Save & Exit.

15. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION: If documents uploaded in your quote response contain confidential information (security sensitive, EFT, W9, Commonwealth Terms and Conditions), you must mark each item as confidential. The confidential column on the Attachments view allows the user to select whether the attached form is confidential or not. Place a check box under the confidential column for each confidential attached form.

16. Click on the Attachments Tab. Follow the prompts to upload and name all required attachments and forms and bid response documents in accordance with the instructions contained in the solicitation or bid documents. After uploading each individual file or form, click Save & Continue. After you have uploaded all required documents click Save & Exit. Be sure to review your attachments to make sure each required document has been submitted.

17. Click on the Terms & Conditions Tab. This tab refers to the terms and conditions that apply to this bid. The terms and conditions must be accepted before your quote can be submitted. If your acceptance is subject to any exceptions, those exceptions must be identified here. Exceptions cannot contradict the requirements of the RFR or required Commonwealth standard forms and attachments for the bid. For instance, an RFR may specify that exceptions may or will result in disqualification of your bid.

18. Click the Summary tab. Review the information and update/correct, as needed. If the information is correct, click the Submit Quote button at the bottom of the page.

19. A popup window displays asking for verification that you wish to submit your quote. Click OK to submit the quote.

20. The Summary tab redisplays with an updated Status for the quote of Submitted.

21. Your quote submission is confirmed only when you receive a confirmation email from COMMBUYS. If you have submitted a quote and have not received an email confirmation, please contact the COMMBUYS Help Desk at COMMBUYS@state.ma.us.

IMPORTANT NOTE: When uploading your response on COMMBUYS please be sure to enter a $0 dollar amount and select the “no charge” option.

If you wish to revise or delete a quote after submission, you may do so in COMMBUYS: (1) for a formal bid, prior to the bid opening date, or (2) for an informal bid (which may be viewed upon receipt), prior to the opening of your quote by the issuing entity or the bid opening date, whichever is earlier.

Bidders may not submit Multiple Quotes in response to a Bid unless the Bid authorizes Multiple Quote submissions. If you submit multiple quotes in response to a bid that does not allow multiple quotes, only the latest submission prior to the bid opening date will be evaluated.

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