ATTACHMENT_D.1_Statement_of_Work.docx

DOL131RP21715

ATTACHMENT D.1

STATEMENT OF WORK

Statement of Work

Various Economic and Statistical Studies Related to Employer Provided Benefit Plans

A. BACKGROUND

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) administers and enforces the reporting, disclosure, and fiduciary requirements of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). EBSA’s oversight ensures the security of the private-sector, employer-sponsored retirement, health and other workplace related benefits of American workers and their families. EBSA is committed to educating and assisting Americans covered by private retirement, health, and other welfare benefit plans; as well as plan sponsors and members of the employee benefits community. EBSA balances proactive enforcement with compliance assistance and works diligently to provide quality assistance to plan participants and beneficiaries. It is the policy of EBSA to provide the highest quality of service to its customers.

The Office of Policy and Research (OPR) carries out EBSA’s policy responsibilities and activities on behalf of the Assistant Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy. OPR’s products include policy analysis, economic research, and monitoring employee benefits policy related developments and activities. OPR also supports the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary in connection with the Secretary’s duties as Chairman of the Board of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and Trustee for the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds, provides quantitative analytic support to EBSA’s enforcement and other programs, and serves as EBSA’s ears and voice in relevant international forums.

B. PURPOSE

EBSA intends to award multiple five-year IDIQ contracts. EBSA expects to compete Task Orders each year amongst the IDIQ contract holders. At least some of the Task Orders will be competed amongst only the IDIQ contract holders that are small businesses. As part of this Statement of Work, EBSA is including five sample Task Orders. Each vendor submitting a response should provide a technical proposal and a price for four out of the five sample Task Orders. EBSA may directly fund one or more of the technical proposals to these Task Orders. The vendor’s submission of the technical proposals constitutes its agreement to proceed with any Task Orders it is selected for. Vendor should have the capabilities and capacity to undertake at least two or three task orders simultaneously. A vendor might be awarded an IDIQ contract without being immediately awarded a Task Order. While they would not receive work or funding in the near term, they would be able to submit proposals when future task orders are competed. All IDIQ contract holders are guaranteed to receive at least $2,500 over the course of the five year contract.

C. RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND OBJECTIVES

EBSA requires assistance with the research activities performed in pursuit of its mission. OPR contracts to support EBSA’s internal capability to develop statistical data on employee benefit plans; to provide technical assistance with the compiling of data directly related to the analysis of employee benefits policies, legislation and regulations; and to conduct more traditional economic or behavioral research studies with application to a broad array of employee benefits policy issues. These economic studies may have the character of either the rapid turn-around analyses necessary for immediate policy considerations or the more intermediate range analyses appropriate to the conduct of econometric or behavioral studies on employee benefits policy issues that are typically published in nationally recognized research journals.

The main focus of the task orders that will be awarded under this contract are employee benefits policy issues related to health insurance and other welfare benefits. This research may look at all the various actors in the health insurance market, including employers, participants, and insurance issuers, as well as regulatory factors and other topics more broadly related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P. L. 111-148, as amended). It is possible there will also be task orders on topics related to pension plans and retirement issues. A variety of knowledge, skills and experience are required to conduct research addressing these topics, which span multiple disciplines, including health, labor, public finance, financial economics, and taxation.

EBSA seeks research from contractors with experience in the following:

1. Analyzing the nation’s policy challenges in the areas of retirement security and health care finances. Analyzing the role of employer provided health and retirement benefits in labor market and (respectively) in health care markets and in markets for financial products and services.

2. Analyzing data related to private sector employee benefit plans, both welfare plans and retirement plans. Experience in summarizing and analyzing existing household data sets and creating statistics and reports.

3. ERISA laws and regulations and analysis of policy issues relating to ERISA covered benefit plans.

4. Summarizing and analyzing Form 5500 data collected by the Department of Labor as well as Form 5500 Research Files. Analysis of the data available on Schedules A, C, D, H, I, SB, and MB of the Form 5500.

5. ERISA laws and regulations relating to Form 5500 reporting.

6. Statistical analysis, preparing statistical reports, and generating documentation.

7. SAS or Stata programming language.

8. Conducting data collection activities, including surveys, focus groups and administrative data. Experience in preparing documents required for the related Office of Management of Budget (OMB) Paperwork Reduction Act clearance process.

9. Organizing meetings, briefings or research conferences.

10. Development of a microsimulation model of the nation’s private health insurance system.

11. Financial economics and analysis of financial markets, as applicable to topics relating to health and welfare plans.