FA480124R0004 - Questions and Answers.docx

Solicitation # FA480124R0004 Questions and Answers

1. Who is the current provider for this contract, if any?

A. There is no equivalent current contract. The need is currently being met by a 2 year, personal-service contract with an added full-time position. For this new follow-on, we have significantly modified the need, contract length, the service type, and the contract type.

2. What is the current contract value. if any?

A. N/A.

3. Can the ambulance contractor bill insurance for patient transport services?

A. No, the contractor will not be billing the patient’s insurance for transport services. Third party reimbursements are processed and collected by our Resource Management Office on base.

4. Are the ambulances provided by the government already licensed in New Mexico?

A. The ambulances are registered by the Federal Government and have Government License plates.

5. Is it required that the contractor has a new Mexico ambulance provider service license, or is the contractors employees working under the AFB ambulance license? (in regard to the ambulance, not the personnel) A. In New Mexico, there is no “ambulance provider service license” required for the emergency vehicles themselves. The contractor (and their employees) will not need operate to under an “ambulance license” for the actual vehicles. For further clarification on the vehicle requirements, the 49th Medical Group is required to have plans and systems in place to comply with the state’s emergency systems (https://www.srca.nm.gov/parts/title18/18.003.0014.html) and the contractor will be operating under the 49th Medical Group’s plans, procedures, and systems and will be required to understand and comply with training and provide their own quality control plan and mission essential plan, after award IAW the solicitation and PWS. However, contractor personnel are required to be certified to operate the ambulances through an emergency vehicle operator course that they can take online or in-person; this is at the individual contract employee’s expense and is required as part of the Certification Requirements mentioned within PWS 4.7 B. Contract employees are operating under a Federal License to use the vehicles for emergency transport.

6. How much notice will there be for a special event date?

A. On average, the contractor will have 6-12 months of notice prior to an event.

7. Section 1.1 indicates the ambulance will be “equipped to meet the Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) standard”. Section 1.5.6 it indicates the Contractor is responsible to “provide supplies, services and equipment to maintain the patient’s medical needs”. Can you clarify what or how the ambulance is ‘equipped’?

A. “provide” in PWS Paragraph 1.5.6 can be interpreted as “use on/for” patient care. The PWS will be updated, after award, and with the awardee’s assistance to reflect something along the lines of “…provide services and use supplies and equipment necessary to…”. The PWS will also be modified to reflect that Government will provide supplies for the operation of the ambulances, but the contractor will have to restock the ambulance with 49 MDG provided supplies. Please expect PWS Paragraph 1.1.2. to be updated to something along the lines of “The return of any Government equipment and restock the supplies used while transporting the patient immediately following the transport. Supplies will be provided by the 49th Medical Group (49 MDG).”

8. Who is responsible for obtaining medications and narcotics? Is that (to you) considered equipment or supplies? Which party is responsible?

A. The 49 MDG. PWS Paragraph 1.1.2. will be updated, after award, and with the awardee’s assistance to reflect something along the lines of “The return of any Government equipment and restock supplies used while transporting the patient immediately following the transport. Supplies will be provided by the 49th Medical Group (49 MDG).”

9. We see in Section 1.4.5, that contractors will act under the established Medical Director located at Christus Health. Is the contractor required to have their own medical direction in addition to the existing Director? If not, what is the process and protocols for the acquisition and distribution of meds/narcotics?

A. PWS Paragraph 1.4.5 is referencing part of the 1.4 Response to 911 Emergencies process. Christus Health is the local hospital for HAFB, located in the neighboring town, Alamogordo, New Mexico. The Contractor must coordinate in-field care in conformance to the hospital’s director’s instructions. The Contractor also has to provide a Quality Control Plan which establishes the methods which the contractor and their employees will meet all parts of the PWS and processes outlined within it. However, a contractor established ‘medical direction’ is not necessary, EMTs will need to rely on their training and comply with directives as explained in the PWS. The process and protocol for the acquisition for medication and narcotics to using the provided forms, AF Form 552, and AFSPC Form 1924 to document the use of any supplies and obtain the restocking with the return of the ambulance.

10. In reference to Section 4.7.2 of the PWS, will the government also accept National Registry certifications?

A. No. This is part of Air Force established directives.

11. Section 4.7.3. of the PWS states that a Class “E” Driver’s License is one of the minimum requirements for personnel. Upon further inspection, we found that: A Class “E” License is an exemption license that is a Non-Commercial License authorizing a driver to operate a vehicle that is in excess of 26,001 pounds. The government ambulances outlined in section 3.3 of the PWS has a maximum weight of 11,600 pounds, well below the Class “E” threshold. Given the facts outlined above, will the government revise this requirement to reflect a reasonable license classification requirement that better fits the vehicle weight?

A. No. This is part of Air Force established directives.

12. Could the government please clarify if there are any special instructions (e.g., special access required, firewall restrictions, total attachment/file size restrictions) bidders should be aware of to submit the proposal electronically (i.e., via email) to the points of contact for this acquisition?

A. Offers will not be accepted and may not even be received via email. Offers will be coordinated via DoDSAFE since the file size limitation is far greater. Instructions are provided explicitly in 52.212-1(b)(14) Email both, the Contract Administrator (CA) and the Contracting Officer (CO) to 'Request a Drop-off' via DoD SAFE. Include the name and email of whom the drop off request should be sent to; multiple names/emails are allowable. The request, created by the CA or CO, will be valid for 14 days for the contractor to submit a complete offer (via DoD Safe Drop-Off). The offeror simply follows the link on the provided email from DoD Safe and upload (“drop off”) documents on the site.

Section 3 of the PWS, GFE, states that the Government will provide the vehicles (i.e., ambulances).

13. Is the contractor responsible for stocking these ambulances with equipment at no additional cost to the government? If so, could the government provide a list of all expected equipment?

A. No; PWS Paragraph 1.1.2. will be updated, after award, and with the awardee’s assistance to reflect something along the lines of “The return of any Government equipment and restock the supplies used while transporting the patient immediately following the transport. Supplies will be provided by the 49th Medical Group (49 MDG).”

14. Is the contractor responsible for stocking these ambulances with supplies at no additional cost to the government? If so, could the government provide a list of all expected supplies?

A. No; PWS Paragraph 1.1.2. will be updated, after award, and with the awardee’s assistance to reflect something along the lines of “The return of any Government equipment and restock the supplies used while transporting the patient immediately following the transport. Supplies will be provided by the 49th Medical Group (49 MDG).”

15. Is the contractor responsible for stocking these ambulances with medications and narcotics at no additional cost to the government? If so, could the government provide a list of all expected medications and narcotics?

A. No; PWS Paragraph 1.1.2. will be updated, after award, and with the awardee’s assistance to reflect something along the lines of “The return of any Government equipment and restock the supplies used while transporting the patient immediately following the transport. Supplies will be provided by the 49th Medical Group (49 MDG).”

Questions and Answers