BFCC-QIO_Amendment_4_Additional_Industry_Questions_CMS_Responses.doc
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- Solicitation number
- HHSM-500-2014-RFP-BFCC-QIO
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BFCC-QIO Amendment 4 Additional Industry Questions CMS Responses
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BFCC-QIO Amendment Number 4 Industry Questions CMS Responses January 15, 2014
| Question # |
| Section Name |
| Section Number |
| Question Received |
| CMS Response/Comment |
| 1 |
| Contract Limitations |
| B.10 |
| The RFP states that “An entity shall not be considered to be affiliated with a health care facility by reason of management, ownership, or common control if the management, ownership, or common control consists of no more than twenty (20) percent of the members of the governing board of the entity being affiliated (through management, ownership, or common control) with one or more of such facilities.” Does the “twenty (20) percent” refer to affiliations with the same entity (e.g., no more than two of 10 Board members can be affiliated with the same hospital) or with any facility (e.g, a Board of 15 could have 2 members affiliated with 2 different hospitals, 1 affiliated with a dialysis facility, and 1 affiliated with a nursing home) |
| The twenty percent (20%) of the members of the governing board applies to the Prime Contractor as outlined in 42 CFR 475.101. |
| 2 |
| Deliverables or Performance |
| F.3 |
| There seem to not be any finance deliverables listed in the BFCC-QIO RFP. |
| We do not request finance deliverables as the deliverables will be provided with the monthly invoice submission. |
| 3 |
| Waiver of Government Accountability Office |
| L.4 |
| Section 1153(e)(1) of the Social Security Act does not exempt Quality Improvement Program procurements from the bid protest jurisdiction of the GAO or of the Court of Federal Claims. The cited provision similarly does not exempt CMS from the stay provisions of FAR § 33.103(f). It appears that the CMS has exceeded its authority in attempting to waive the bid protest jurisdiction of GAO and the COFC for this procurement. Will CMS amend the RFP to delete § L.4? |
| Section L.4 will remain in the RFP as is. Section 1153(e)(1) provides, in pertinent part, that the “contracting authority of the Secretary under this section may be carried out without regard to any provision of law related to the making, performance, amendment, or modification of contracts of the United States as the Secretary may determine to be inconsistent with the purposes of this part.” The cited regulatory and statutory provisions are laws “related to the making” of contracts of the United States, and the agency has determined that they are inconsistent with the purposes of this part. This determination was made by the Director of the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality (CCSQ) and the Head of the Contracting Activity, under a delegation from the Secretary, who each found the waiver appropriate and necessary for successful implementation of the program. Therefore, the agency has not exceeded its authority in waiving these provisions. |
| 4 |
| Proposal Instructions |
| L.14.D |
| If we have an approved accounting system for our holding company and our subsidiaries, if a divested subsidiary receives a contract award for either the BFCC or QIN, is the approved accounting system that will be duplicated (separated by ownership and management), be deemed as being acceptable for both the existing organization and the divested one? |
| CMS will base the award determination on the system in place at the time the proposals were written. Proposed changes to the system as a result of this solicitation will be audited after award. |
| 5 |
| Section H – Special Contract Requirements |
| H.11.D.7.e |
Does the BFCC require an independent, external audit of the organization for COI?
If so, would it be acceptable to use the external financial auditing firm if they had the required skill set to perform the assessment?
Yes. The firm your organization choses to do business with, shall have the required skill set to perform the assessment.
| 6 |
| CMS Information Security |
| H.20 |
| The Contractor shall include in all awarded subcontracts the FISMA/FedRAMP compliance requirements set forth at the CMS Information Security website at https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/CMS-Information-Technology/InformationSecurity/Info-Security-Library-Items/CMS-Information-Security-Contract-Clause-Provision.html. Should we include the identified costs to become FISMA complaint as part of the bid for the 11th SOW and be prepared to implement these changes within 90 days if an award is granted? |
| CMS is no longer paying for FISMA compliance on a direct cost basis. If an offeror is not currently compliant, any associated costs to become compliant should be included as an indirect rate. |
The Contractor must be compliant with all security requirements referenced in Section H.20 (CMS Information Security) within 90 days from contract award. If currently compliant, Contractors must provide current certification, under Volume 1, Tab 8. If currently non-compliant, the offeror shall demonstrate in their technical proposal, (Volume 1, Tab 8; which will NOT count toward the page limitation) how it will become and remain compliant with the requirements set forth at the CMS Information Security provisions.
| 7 |
| Proposal Instructions |
| L.14.D |
| On page 170 of the SOW Amendment 1, under Estimated Level of Effort, it states “…CMS is providing estimated level of effort that offerors must utilize for performance of the BFCC-QIO SOW requirements.” Must the offeror utilize this exact LOE per case in preparing a budget? (We understand that we must use the CMS-provided estimated review volumes and estimated Pass Thru costs.) Should this language be, as in the QIN proposal, “This is an estimate only and shall not be construed to represent a level of effort the Offereors must utilize. Any deviations from the estimate provided by CMS should be explained as part of the assumptions included in the cover letter”? |
| The LOE provided is an estimate. Any deviation must be explained. |
| 8 |
| Estimated LOE |
| J-23 |
| What are considered Total Review Costs? Specifically: Transition Costs, Pass-Thru Costs, and Information Services |
| On the attachment J-23 Total Review Costs consist of Quality of Care Reviews, EMTALA 5-day, EMTALA 60-day, BIPA Appeals, Grijalva Appeals, Weichardt Appeals, HWDRG, Quality of Care Referrals Reviews, Pre-Admission and Admission HINN and Sanction Activities. Transition Costs, Pass-Thru Costs and Information Services are separate from Total Review Costs. |
| 9 |
| Estimated LOE |
| J-23 |
| Does Non-Review Activities include Information Services and Transition Costs? |
| No, Non-Review Activities does not include Information Services and Transition Costs. |
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