J.3-A_T0003_MAP_SOW_7-05-17.pdf

Measure Applications Partnership 07-05-17

HHSM-500-T0003

STATEMENT OF WORK

Multi-stakeholder Input on the Selection of Quality and Efficiency Measures as part of the Pre-Rulemaking Process under Section 1890A

I. Background

Section 3014 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010, amending Section 1890 and establishing 1890A of the Social Security Act (the Act), requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary (the Secretary) to convene multi-stakeholder groups to provide input on the selection of quality and efficiency measures used in various Medicare programs, used in reporting performance to the public, and used in other health care programs. Section 1890A of the Act requires the Secretary to establish an annual pre-rulemaking process. The pre-rulemaking process includes notifying the public of quality and efficiency measures being considered for use in programs that select measures through the Federal rulemaking process, receiving and considering input on such measures from multi-stakeholder groups, publishing the rationale for measures to be implemented that are not endorsed by a consensus-based entity, and assessing the impact of consensus-based endorsed measures considered under pre-rulemaking. Section 207 of the Medicaid and CHIP Re-authorization Act (MACRA) of 2015 requires extension of funding for quality measure endorsement, input, and selection.

Section 1890(b)(7)(B) of the Act defines a multi-stakeholder group, with respect to quality and efficiency measures, as a voluntary collaborative of organizations representing a broad group of stakeholders interested in, or affected by, the use of such quality measure.

The Task Order resulting from this SOW will be awarded under the 2017 Consensus-based Entity (CBE) Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) vehicle entitled, “National Consensus Development and Strategic Planning for Healthcare Quality Measurement. This Task Order falls under the duty to convene multi-stakeholder groups as listed under Domain 5/Section II.A.5 of the umbrella IDIQ contract.

The goal of this task order is to enable HHS to receive input from several multi-stakeholder groups convened as part of the pre-rulemaking process The multi-stakeholder groups are expected to provide input on the selection of quality and efficiency measures considered by the Secretary under the measures under consideration (MUC) list for use in payment and public reporting programs for the Medicare program.

Purpose

HHS is seeking the services of a Contractor to convene multi-stakeholder groups to provide input on the selection of quality and efficiency measures, as described in 1890(b)(7) of the Act, as part of the Federal pre-rulemaking process under Section 1890A of the Act.

II. Requirements

Independently, and not as an agent of the Government, the Contractor shall furnish all the necessary services, qualified personnel, material, equipment, and facilities not otherwise provided by the Government, as needed by due dates approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to perform the requirements of this Task Order SOW.

All deliverables submitted under this Task Order shall be in accordance with the Umbrella IDIQ SOW, entitled “National Consensus Development and Strategic Planning for Healthcare Quality Measurement.”

In addition to the requirements under the IDIQ Umbrella SOW, the Contractor shall convene multi-stakeholder groups to provide input on the selection of quality and efficiency measures under consideration by the Secretary for implemented under the federal pre-rulemaking process as described under 1890A of the Act. This input shall consist of recommendations on the use of the measures as required under Section 1890(b)(7)(A)(i) of the Act. Input shall also consist of rationale for the recommendations made by the multi-stakeholder groups. Measures to be reviewed are those published annually in the MUC list by the Secretary by December 1 of each year.

III. Tasks to be performed:

The Contractor shall convene multi-stakeholder groups during the performance period to provide the following:

a) Implement a consensus-based process to elicit multi-stakeholder input on Measures to be implemented through the federal rulemaking process

The Contractor shall propose a process to convene multi-stakeholder groups that is proven to ensure public transparency and increase efficient use of resources. CMS encourages the Contractor to be innovative in refining the multi-stakeholder process throughout the performance period to enhance the diversity of stakeholder input, improve the flexibility of the process, and strengthen the communication and opportunities for feedback among stakeholders.

The Contractor shall ensure that multi-stakeholder group meetings are open to the public and provide advanced notice to all the parties involved, including measure developers whose measures are on the MUC list, CMS and other measure stewards. The information provided in the advanced notifications shall include, but is not limited to, registration information, call-in number and link to the webinars/meetings, and the full agenda. For each MUC on the meeting agenda, the Contractor shall include the MUC ID, measure title, and measure number. The Contractor may ensure such transparency by posting the information about conference calls, webinars, and in-person meetings on the Contractor’s website in advance of each web or in-person meeting.

The Contractor shall convene multi-stakeholder groups that are representative of a broad range of stakeholders that have an interest in, or are affected by, the use of quality and efficiency measures. The Contractor shall consult with HHS to ensure all relevant stakeholders are adequately represented. Such stakeholders may include health plans, health care providers and practitioners, research entities, measure developers, national policymakers, patient advocates, patients and families, population health organizations and agencies, purchasers, and employers. In advance of the annual Measure Applications Partnership (MAP) member nomination process, the contractor shall identify underrepresented stakeholder groups and develop, and submit a plan to CMS to describe how the plan could improve the representation of these stakeholder groups. For example, stakeholder groups that have been underrepresented include, but are not limited to, racial/ethnic minorities, patients/caregivers, and rural health care providers, etc. The Contractor shall submit such a plan to CMS for feedback, incorporate CMS’ feedback into the finalized plan, and obtain written approval by the IDIQ Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and the Task Order COR before implementing the plan. The Contractor shall conduct outreach before and during calls for nomination to enhance the representation of these groups among the multi-stakeholder workgroups.

The Contractor shall conduct background check for every nominee to ensure that there is no conflict of interest, that is, the nominee is not formally or informally affiliated with or have financial interest in the organization that develops the measure(s) which he/she is assigned to review. The Contractor shall also require workgroup and coordinating committee members to report conflict of interest early and openly and to recuse himself/herself from reviewing or commenting on measures developed by organizations with which he/she is affiliated or has financial interest in. The Contractor shall also request workgroup and coordinating committee members to report potential conflict of interest of other workgroup or committee members to the committee co-chairs or to the Contractor, either publicly or privately. The Contractor shall emphasize the importance of reporting potential conflict of interest as early as possible to facilitate timely intervention.

In addition, the Contractor shall also require every individual who provides verbal comments during the in-person meetings, webinars, and conference calls to identify their organizational affiliation and disclose any potential conflict of interest. The Contractor shall incorporate the procedure of reporting or disclosing conflict of interest into the formal consensus-based development process for this task order. The Physician Payments Sunshine Act requires manufacturers of drugs, medical devices, or biologics to disclose any payments or items of value given to physicians or employees of a hospital. The Contractor shall consult the information disclosed by these manufacturers to vet the background of the nominees who are physicians or hospital employees to ensure that there is no conflict of interest.

The Contractor shall align stakeholder group activities to the aims and priorities of the National Quality Strategy (NQS). The Contractor shall ensure that the multi-stakeholder group meetings are structured, conducted efficiently, and dedicate comparable amount of time on the discussion of each candidate measures on the meeting agenda. The Contractor shall ensure that the multi-stakeholder committees follow the measure evaluation criteria to evaluate the candidate measures. While different committee members may evaluate the candidate measures using slightly different standards, the Contractor shall propose procedures to CMS that may minimize the variation among committees in evaluating these measures, so that a measure’s chance of being recommended for endorsement does not depend on the committee to which it has been assigned. The Contractor shall incorporate CMS feedback into the finalized procedures and obtain written CMS approval before implementing them.

The Contractor shall use professional, experienced moderators to lead the discussions of the committee meetings/webinars/conference calls. These professional moderators shall be highly trained and experienced in facilitating large-group technical discussions that are open to the public. The moderators shall ensure that each committee member is given comparable amount of time to articulate his/her viewpoints, and to ensure that no committee member should dominate the discussion at the expense of other members. The moderators shall also enhance a balance of viewpoints in the discussions, and are ready and capable of intervening if a commenter becomes repetitive or vitriolic in his/her comments. In addition, the moderators shall ensure that the discussion during the meetings/webinars/conference calls and the public comment is limited to the measures that are on the meeting agenda and in the MUC list. The moderators shall be ready to intervene and terminate any discussion or comment of measures that are not on the MUC list or the meeting agenda.

The Contractor shall ensure that the multi-stakeholder groups give the quality and efficiency measures consideration status if they are endorsed/consensus reviewed and endorsement-ready (e.g., they meet the criteria for an endorsed measure).

The Contractor shall work collaboratively with the IDIQ and Task Order CORs to meet all timelines. The program and measure leads, along with the IDIQ and the Task Order CORs, will provide the Contractor with the necessary programmatic and technical information to implement this Task Order. The Contractor must be able to adhere to timelines established by CMS rulemaking, other Agency rulemaking (as applicable/appropriate), and other HHS reporting timelines.

The Contractor will provide technical and process assistance to the IDIQ and the Task Order CORs, CMS and other Agency staff, and others identified by CMS based on a CMS-timeline. Such assistance may include, but is not limited to, responding to questions by the IDIQ and the Task Order CORs, or other CMS employees regarding any technical aspects of the subject matter raised by the multi-stakeholder groups, or responding to questions about the process for convening multi-stakeholder groups and obtaining multi-stakeholder input.

Upon the approval of the IDIQ and the Task Order CORs, the Contractor shall implement a feedback loop process through which MAP Work Group and Coordinating Committee members can be informed about the performance, implementation experience, and impact of the measures recommended for rule-making in previous rounds of MAP meetings. In particular, the Contractor shall coordinate with the IDIQ and the Task Order CORs, CMS measure/program leads, and measure developers to collect, synthesize, and present information on how a measure performs when in use, whether a measure is having its intended effect (e.g. quality improvement, cost savings), and whether there have been any unintended consequences. The Contractor shall facilitate timely flow of information between CMS/the IDIQ and the Task Order CORs and various MAP work groups and committees. In addition, the Contractor shall allow time in the meeting agendas for CMS measure/program leads and/or measure developers to provide further insight about the data, and answer questions from the work group or committee members and members of the public. The Contractor shall give CMS measure/program leads and developers advance notice if they are invited to present at the meetings. The Contractor shall document the discussions occurred via the feedback loop process in the Work Group and Coordinating Committee Reports.

The Contractor shall also implement a process that enables the newly formed MAP Rural Health Task Force to provide timely input on measurement issues to other MAP work groups and committees, CMS and other HHS agencies, and the IDIQ and Task Order CORs. This process have to be approved by the IDIQ and the Task Order CORs before implementation. The issues of interest to the MAP Rural Health Task Force may include, but are not limited to, selection and application of measures relevant to rural providers and residents, challenges of including rural providers in public reporting or value-based payment programs, methodological problems of calculating performance measures for small rural facilities, etc. The Contractor shall facilitates timely information exchanges among all the parties mentioned above.

b) Meetings

In order to complete the annual objectives under this subtask, the Contractor shall hold the following meetings:

1. Planning Meetings for Stakeholders and Work Group Committee Members: one

(1), one-day in-person meeting for the planning of the new pre-rulemaking cycle, and eight (8) webinars. (Deliverable # 1)

2. Planning Meetings for Coordinating Committee Members: one (1) one-day in-person meeting for the planning of the new pre-rulemaking cycle. (Deliverable # 2)

3. Work Group Training: With advance notice, the Contractor shall invite all Work Group members to attend CMS’ pre-rule making series of meetings (e.g., CMS Measurement Needs and Priorities Session) (Deliverable # 3)

4. In-Person December Work Group Meetings: three (3), two-day in-person meetings (Deliverable # 4)

5. In-Person January Coordinating Committee Members: two (2) one-day in-person meetings (Deliverable # 5)

The contractor must obtain written approval from CMS for additional in-person meetings and/or webinars. The Contractor shall adhere to all conference approval requirements and work collaboratively with CMS and/or other HHS agencies to ensure that all conference approval timelines are met. The Contractor will hold no more than six (6) teleconference calls to meet this requirement.

Following each in-person meeting, the Contractor shall submit a verbatim transcript to the Task Order COR and the IDIQ COR. Following each teleconference call and webinar, the Contractor shall submit the audio recording and all meeting materials to the Task Order COR and the IDIQ COR. (Deliverables # 6, 7, and 8)

The Contractor shall provide the following support or materials to CMS for the meetings:

Published MUC List Measure Specifications:

Prior to each Work Group meeting, the Contractor shall send CMS measure and program leads the final list of measures and the corresponding measure specifications, which are to be shared with workgroup members, for CMS to review and sign off. The Contractor shall incorporate any CMS corrections in the final version of these materials before the meetings. (Deliverable # 9)

Preliminary Analysis:

Prior to the in-person Work Group and Coordinating Committee meetings, the Contractor shall send CMS the preliminary analysis in advance for feedback or follow-up questions related to factual accuracy. The Contractor shall provide workgroup members the redlined version of CMS’ updates/corrections of the preliminary analysis along with the original version of the preliminary analysis so that the workgroup members will have an opportunity to review CMS’ input and understand the differences between the original and CMS-revised versions. (Deliverable # 10)

Calendar Appointments and Meeting Materials:

Prior to the meeting dates, the Contractor will send Outlook appointments to all relevant stakeholders. In addition, the Contractor shall provide all final meeting materials to all stakeholders in advance of the meetings (e.g., agenda’s, etc.)

(Deliverable # 11)

Potential Controversial Measures:

As soon as the information is publically available and in advance of each in-person meetings, the Contractor shall inform CMS in writing by CMS program, of any known or anticipated barriers or problems that may arise during the course of the in-person meeting. In addition, the CMS written notification shall include negative coverage of any the MUC List measures or the Federal programs related to the pre-rulemaking, on-going discussions on social media and the press, or events that might impact workgroup members’ appraisal of a specific candidate measures. (Deliverable # 12)

MUC Kick-Off Planning:

The Contractor shall hold a kick-off teleconference call for each program at the beginning of the pre-rulemaking process to gain additional insight on the direction and plans for the program to assist the Contractor with planning for the in-person meetings. The teleconference calls can be grouped according to common programmatic areas, i.e. Hospital programs, Post-Acute Care/Long-term Care Programs, or Clinician Programs, etc. (Deliverable # 13)

In advance and in preparation of these planning meetings, the Contractor shall review previous final MAP reports, lessons learned, and programmatic objectives (e.g., CMS Measurement Needs and Priorities) to identify topics to review with CMS staff. Prior to the kick-off meetings, the Contractor shall share the meeting agenda’s as well as a summary for each topic area. For the Work Group and Coordinating Committee planning meetings, the Contractor shall provide the planned agenda’s, topics and summaries to CMS by the due dates in the SOD. (Deliverables # 14 and 15).

Communication Plan:

Upon the publishing of the annual MUC List, the Contractor shall develop and implement for CMS review and approval a communication plan and process to invite the appropriate measure steward(s) for each submitted measure in every MAP meeting to provide informed answers to potential questions by workgroup members. In advance of the applicable workgroup meetings, the Contractor shall coordinate and communicate with the measure stewards for each non-CMS owned measure on the annually published MUC List in order to facilitate their voluntary attendance. CMS will initiate communication with measure developers/stewards if their measures are selected for inclusion in the MUC List that they are expected to participate in the upcoming MAP workgroup meetings to answer questions about their measures.

(Deliverable # 16)

c) Briefings

Prior to each in-person multi-stakeholder group meeting approved and held under this task order, in both the base and option years, the Contractor shall hold a teleconference call with CMS to provide CMS with an overview of the upcoming in-person meetings.

The call shall occur prior to the date of the in-person meeting. The Contractor shall lead the discussion. The discussion shall include a review of the agenda and materials for the in-person meeting, as well as a discussion as to whether any CMS or other HHS representatives would be needed to appear in-person. (Deliverable # 17)

The Contractor shall include the measure specifications and the preliminary analysis for each candidate measure among the materials to be discussed with CMS. The Contractor shall send CMS the measure specifications and the preliminary analysis in advance for feedback or follow-up questions related to factual accuracy. To ensure that workgroup and coordinating committee members have timely access to accurate information about the measures, the Contractor shall incorporate CMS’ corrections in the final version of the measure specifications and preliminary analysis that they provide to the MAP workgroup members. If necessary, the Contractor can include CMS’ edits on the measure specifications and preliminary analysis as a separate document for MAP workgroup members to review. In this situation, the Contractor shall inform the workgroup members that CMS’ input on the measure specifications and the preliminary analysis is included in the review materials. The government will make every effort to provide comments on the draft versions of these deliverables to the Contractor in time so that the Contractor can have enough time to prepare and submit the final versions by the due dates in the SOD. (Deliverables # 18 and 19)

The Contractor shall also inform CMS of any expected barriers or problems that may arise during the course of the in-person meetings. Throughout the pre-rulemaking process, the Contractor shall also keep CMS update on any publications, on-going discussions, or events that might impact workgroup members’ view of a specific candidate measures.

At the conclusion of all in-person multi-stakeholder group meetings, as part of the pre-rulemaking process, the Contractor shall participate in a teleconference call with CMS to debrief CMS on the meetings and their processes. The call shall occur after the last in-person meeting. The Contractor shall provide input on how things went and offer suggestions for continued improvement of the process. The Contractor shall discuss and document successes and challenges during the process, lessons learned, any suggestions or proposals to improve the pre-rulemaking process, and share any other information that might be helpful for future rounds of this process. (Deliverable # 20)

d) Written Reports

The Contractor shall transmit the multi-stakeholder group input on the selection of quality and efficiency measures to the Secretary in a written report no later than February 1 of each contract year as required under Section 1890(b)(8) of the Act. The contractor shall also produce two additional reports; one for the hospital and post-acute care/long-term care program settings, and the other for the clinician program setting. These reports will provide strategic guidance for the various health programs and highlight cross-cutting measurement challenges and opportunities. The strategic guidance report for the hospital and post-acute care/long-term care program settings will be submitted to CMS no later than February 15 of each contract year. The strategic guidance report for the clinician programs will be submitted to CMS no later than March 15 of each contract year with preference given to programs that have early rulemaking cycles. (Deliverables # 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25)

The final recommendations reports shall be professionally-edited, and written in a manner that conveys the required information listed above. The language of the reports should be concise, objective, factual, and evidence-based and use plain language. The reports also should avoid the use of adverbs and adjectives that represent self-appraisal or appraisal of issues not included in the contract scope of work, and exclude subjective statements or assessments by the Contractor about the success or other valuations of the deliverables produced through this IDIQ. clear and concise, and easily understood by the general public. The report should be a stand-alone document that includes all the necessary background and details to enable readers with little prior knowledge of the Contractor’s work to understand the content. The Contractor must work with CMS and/or other HHS agencies to finalize a structure that is most useful for CMS, other HHS agencies, and the Federal rulemaking process. The final report has no page limit. The body of each final report shall be formatted in a font and size that facilitates reading by all types of readers. The content of the report shall capture the work of the convened multi-stakeholder groups, be presented logically, and feature major findings/conclusions/recommendations. Details are to be included in appendices. An executive summary of no more than two (2) pages is required; it must capture brief and succinct summaries of the work and provide key points and recommendations. Tables and figures must convey content clearly and accurately, be clearly delineated from each other, and be referenced in the report. The Contractor shall ensure that there is sufficient information to enable readers to interpret tables and figures, including the more complex ones. The report should not be duplicative or describe work previously captured in other reports by the Contractor.

The final recommendations report must also include:

1. Final multi-stakeholder recommendations on each measure under consideration;

2. Rationale for the recommendation for each measure under consideration. The

Contractor must provide HHS with details on how the multi-stakeholder groups came to their final recommendations and took into consideration public input during the pre-rulemaking process. For measures under consideration not supported because of an absence of specifications, the Contractor must solicit and document the multi-stakeholder groups’ input on the importance of the measure concepts for the reporting programs and/or HHS priorities;

3. An assessment of the potential impact of the quality measures included in the annual MUC list, organized by program; and

4. Public comments submitted during the pre-rulemaking process for multi-stakeholder group review and input. The public comments shall be grouped according to topic to the extent feasible.

The contractor shall submit the draft recommendations report to CMS for review and feedback. The Contractor shall incorporate CMS feedback in the final report. The Contractor shall publicly disseminate the reports after receiving written approval from the IDIQ and the Task Order CORs.

e) Ad Hoc/Off-Cycle Review

The Contractor must maintain a process for ad hoc quality and efficiency measure review and transmission of multi-stakeholder input to accommodate the different cycles for Federal rulemaking and measures necessary for meeting program and statutory requirements. Under an ad hoc/off-cycle review, the Contractor shall facilitate the convening of multi-stakeholder groups and communicate the groups’ recommendations to CMS under time constraints. The measures selected for an ad hoc/off-cycle review shall only consist of measures in the MUC list. The number of measures for an ad hoc/off-cycle review shall not exceed 25 unique measures for each individual workgroup. The ad hoc/off-cycle review process shall occur via teleconference or webinar. There shall be no more than two (2) ad hoc/off-cycle reviews in the base year. During an option year, there shall be no more than two (2) ad hoc/off-cycle reviews. (Deliverable # 26)

The Contractor may hold two (2) teleconference calls and two (2) webinars per each ad hoc/off-cycle review. If additional webinars are required, the contractor must get prior approval from CMS. There is no need for prior approval if the ad hoc review is conducted by teleconference call only. The Contractor shall submit an audio recording and all meeting materials of the teleconference call or webinar to the Task Order COR and the IDIQ COR by the due dates in the SOD. The Contractor shall also upload the recording, transcript, and other meeting materials so that they become publicly available on the official website. (Deliverable # 27)

The ad hoc/off-cycle review time period shall commence when HHS and/or CMS makes the MUC list available to the public, after which the Contractor shall convene a multi-stakeholder group (unless directed by legislation) and utilize an open and transparent process to obtain and communicate the group’s recommendations to CMS and/or other HHS agencies in the form of a written report. CMS will provide the contractor with as much advanced notice as possible.

The Contractor shall prepare a written report on the Ad Hoc/Off-Cycle Review. The report shall contain:

1. Final multi-stakeholder recommendations on each measure under Ad Hoc/Off-Cycle review;

2. Rationale for the recommendation for each measure under Ad Hoc/Off-Cycle review.

The Contractor must provide HHS with details on how the multi-stakeholder groups came to their final recommendations and took into consideration public input during the pre-rulemaking process. For measures under consideration not supported because of the absence of specifications, the Contractor must solicit and document the multi-stakeholder groups’ input on the importance of the measure concepts to the reporting program and HHS priorities;

3. An assessment of the potential impact of the measure(s) under any Ad Hoc/Off-Cycle review, if requested; and

4. A summary of public comments submitted.

(Deliverable # 28)

Should CMS request an ad hoc review, the Contractor shall hold a teleconference call with CMS to debrief CMS on the meeting and process. The Contractor shall schedule the call after submitting their ad hoc review written report. The Contractor shall provide input on how things went and offer suggestions for continued improvement of the process. The Contractor shall discuss successes and challenges during the ad hoc review, lessons learned, any suggestions or proposals to improve the ad hoc review process, and share any other information that might improve future rounds. (Deliverable # 29) f.) Education

The Contractor shall provide the Task Order COR, the IDIQ COR, program and measure leads, multi-stakeholder committee members, and other stakeholders with the materials and education necessary for reviewing the MUCs effectively and in a timely fashion. Education includes information on established processes, policies, guidelines, and evaluation criteria. Education materials shall include the materials for the multi-stakeholder committee members to review and discuss. The Contractor shall develop and regularly update any guidebooks that explain the measure selection process to workgroup members. At a minimum, these documents shall discuss workgroup members’ role, a detailed description of the review and voting processes, an explanation for technical terms, information on any on-going endorsement/maintenance processes that might impact the MAP workgroup reviews, socioeconomic statuses (SES) related to risk-adjusted measures, other relevant reports on recommendations by a CBE, committee work, and CMS’ quality measurement programs and programmatic needs and priorities. The Contractor shall send an electronic copy of the education and planning materials to the Task Order COR, IDIQ COR, and committee members prior to any meetings held under this task order. The Contractor shall propose to CMS potential approaches to ensure that workgroup members understand the review and voting processes before the review of the MUC List measures begin. The Contractor shall also propose remedies that can be implemented before the formal review process to address any deficiency in knowledge or understanding of the review and voting processes. Formal discussions of the MUC list measures cannot begin until the Contractor receives written approval from the CMS task order or IDIQ CORs for the approach and remedies to be adopted.

The Contractor shall implement the CMS-approved approach and remedies and provide successful workgroup members with a certificate of completion before the workgroup discussion of the MUC List measures. Alternative methods and timelines, which must be approved in writing in advance by the COR. (Deliverable # 30) g.) Kick-off Meeting and Project Management Design

Kick-off Meeting. Following the award of the Task Order, the Contractor shall conduct a kickoff meeting, which shall be held in-person at the CMS Office or via teleconference. The meeting will require an orientation to the work under this Task Order, a timeline for deliverables, and a briefing by the Contractor on the Project Management Design. HHS may invite Agency representatives to participate in this meeting. (Deliverable # 31)

Project Management Design. The Contractor shall submit a Project Management Design, in Microsoft Project or agreed upon alternative, which addresses the activities and steps to be conducted under this Task Order and incorporate LEAN principles throughout. The Contractor shall coordinate with Task Order COR and the IDIQ COR in creating this Project Management Design. The Project Management Design shall address project planning, implementation, management, quality assurance, and evaluation during the Task Order performance period. The Project Management Design, at a minimum, must address all methods, processes, procedures, quality assurance, management activities, and protocols necessary for effective and efficient completion of tasks. The Contractor shall be responsible for updating and tracking the progress of the Project Management Design and any additional information as required by the Task Order SOW, the Task Order and the IDIQ CORs. The Project Management Design will also include a chart depicting the work process in each task.

The Contractor shall work with the Task Order and the IDIQ CORs to develop the Project Management Design. (Deliverable # 32)

The work plan for this Task Order must provide:

• a timeline for each step in the multi-stakeholder group convening process by subtask;

• dependencies for each task delineating which steps have to be completed before the next step can be implemented;

• an indication of the work to be performed in each step;

• identification of the staff assigned to conduct the work;

• a list of the deliverables and their due dates; and any other information the

Task Order COR and the IDIQ COR find relevant for the management of the work to be conducted.

The Contractor shall provide an electronic version of the Project Management Design to the Task Order and the IDIQ CORs by the due date in the SOD. The Project Management Design will be updated and submitted to the COR every month.

h.) Monthly Progress Reports. In addition to the monthly reports outlined under Section II.B.4 of the Umbrella IDIQ contract, the Contractor must submit a monthly report for this Task Order. The monthly progress report shall be submitted to the Task Order and the IDIQ CORs by the due dates in the SOD. (Deliverable # 33)

The Monthly Progress Report must provide:

a. a full review of accomplishments during the previous month;

b. a detailed discussion of the problems encountered and the impact on the schedule of the project and the Contractor’s overall ability to accomplish the project’s goal;

c. a risk mitigation plan to deal with current and anticipated problem(s) and if appropriate, a proposal of new delivery or completion dates; and,

d. planned activities for the next month including, due dates, and parties responsible.

i.) Conference Calls. The Contractor shall conduct weekly conference calls with the Task

Order and the IDIQ CORs to go over activities related to this Task Order. Conference calls may be cancelled at the discretion of the Task Order and the IDIQ CORs. The Contractor shall lead the conference call discussions and brief HHS on the status of work being performed under this Task Order. The Contractor shall prepare and disseminate the agenda, pertinent discussion materials, and previous meeting minutes prior to each weekly conference call. (Deliverables # 34 and 35) j.) Risk Assessment Report. The Contractor must be capable of implementing the on-going work under this task order while accommodating transitions to a new contractor or a new contract vehicle, if necessary. Before the end of the last contract year, the Contractor shall submit a Risk Assessment Report to the IDIQ and the Task Order CORs. This report shall discuss potential risks that might jeopardize a seamless transition between the current IDIQ and a new IDIQ, assuming one will be awarded.

For each potential risk identified, the Contractor shall discuss:

• The background, source(s), and nature of the risk;

• the probability (low, medium, high) of risk occurrence;

• potential impact of the risk on the timeline and cost of the MAP and CMS rule-making processes;

• options for risk mitigation, timeline for implementing each mitigation strategy, and the pros and cons for each option;

• recommendations and rationale.

The Risk Assessment Report does not have page limit. The content of this report shall be professionally-edited, well-organized, and clearly written. (Deliverable # 36) k.) Task Order Final Report. The Contractor shall provide CMS and/or other HHS agencies with a final, comprehensive report of all work completed under this Task Order.

The Task Order final report shall be professionally-edited, and written in a manner that conveys the required information listed above. The language of the report should be concise, objective, factual, and evidence-based and use plain language. The report should be a stand-alone document that includes all the necessary background and details to enable readers with little prior knowledge of the Contractor’s work to understand the content. The report also should avoid the use of adverbs and adjectives that represent self-appraisal or appraisal of issues not included in the contract scope of work, and exclude subjective statements or assessments by the Contractor about the success or other valuations of the deliverables produced through this IDIQ. The report shall be produced using a reader-friendly layout, and shall contain detailed documentation of all the tasks and deliverables completed under this Task Order. The report shall contain a description of any problems during the course of this Task Order as well as solutions taken to rectify such problems. It shall also include an executive summary of up to five (5) pages. The Task Order final report shall be submitted electronically to the Task Order and the IDIQ CORs, who will notify the contractor that the final report is acceptable. The Task Order final report shall be due by the due dates in the SOD. The Contractor shall publicly disseminate the report after receiving written approval from the IDIQ and the Task Order CORs. (Deliverable # 37) l.) Period of Performance. The Period of Performance will be 60 months from the task order award date. This includes eighteen (18) months from the task order award date for the Base Year, followed by twelve (12) months each for option years 1 and 2, and eighteen (18) months for option year 3, if exercised by CMS.

D. SECTION 508 - ACCESSIBILITY OF ELECTRONIC AND INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY

(a) This SOW, PWS, or TO is subject to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d) as amended by the workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220).

Specifically, subsection 508(a)(1) requires that when the Federal Government procures Electronic and Information Technology (EIT), the EIT must allow Federal employees and individuals of the public with disabilities comparable access to and use of information and data that is provided to Federal employees and individuals of the public without disabilities.

(b) The EIT accessibility standards at 36 CFR Part 1194 were developed by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board ("Access Board") and apply to contracts and task/delivery orders, awarded under indefinite quantity contracts on or after June 25, 2001.

(c) Each Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) product or service furnished under this contract shall comply with the Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards (36 CFR 1194), as specified in the contract, as a minimum. If the Contracting Officer determines any furnished product or service is not in compliance with the contract, the Contracting Officer will promptly inform the Contractor in writing. The Contractor shall, without charge to the Government, repair or replace the non-compliant products or services within the period of time to be specified by the Government in writing. If such repair or replacement is not completed within the time specified, the Government shall have the following recourses:

1. Cancellation of the contract, delivery or task order, purchase or line item without termination liabilities; or

2. In the case of custom Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) being developed by a contractor for the Government, the Government shall have the right to have any necessary changes made or repairs performed by itself or by another firm for the noncompliant EIT, with the contractor liable for reimbursement to the Government for any expenses incurred thereby.

(d) The contractor must ensure that all EIT products that are less than fully compliant with the accessibility standards are provided pursuant to extensive market research and are the most current compliant products or services available to satisfy the contract requirements.

(e) For every EIT product or service accepted under this contact by the Government that does not comply with 36 CFR 1194, the contractor shall, at the discretion of the Government, make every effort to replace or upgrade it with a compliant equivalent product or service, if commercially available and cost neutral, on either a contract specified refresh cycle for the product or service, or on a contract effective option/renewal date; whichever shall occur first.

Section 508 Compliance for Communications

The Contractor shall comply with the standards, policies, and procedures below. In the event of conflicts between the referenced documents and this SOW, PWS, or TO, the SOW, PWS, or TO shall take precedence. The Contractor shall ensure that all the documents shared with other CMS contractors are 508 compliant.

Rehabilitation Act, Section 508 Accessibility Standards

1. 29 U.S.C. 794d (Rehabilitation Act as amended)

2. 36 CFR 1194 (508 Standards)

3. www.access-board.gov/sec508/508standards.htm (508 standards)

4. FAR 39.2 (Section 508)

5. CMS/HHS Standards, policies and procedures (Section 508)

In addition, all contract deliverables are subject to these 508 standards as applicable.

Regardless of format, all Web content or communications materials produced, including text, audio or video - must conform to applicable Section 508 standards to allow federal employees and members of the public with disabilities to access information that is comparable to information provided to persons without disabilities. All contractors (including subcontractors) or consultants responsible for preparing or posting content must comply with applicable Section 508 accessibility standards, and where applicable, those set forth in the referenced policy or standards documents above. Remediation of any materials that do not comply with the applicable provisions of 36 CFR Part 1194 as set forth in the SOW, PWS, or TO, shall be the responsibility of the contractor or consultant.

The following Section 508 provisions apply to the content or communications material identified in this SOW, PWS, or TO:

36 CFR Part 1194.21 a - l 36 CFR Part 1194.22 a - p 36 CFR Part 1194.31 a - f 36 CFR Part 1194.41 a – c

The contractor shall provide a completed Section 508 Product Assessment Template and the contractor shall state exactly how proposed EIT deliverable(s) meet or does not meet the applicable standards.

The following Section 508 provisions apply for software development material identified in this SOW, PWS, or TO:

For software development, the Contractor/Developer/Vendor shall comply with the standards, policies, and procedures below:

Rehabilitation Act, Section 508, Accessibility Standards

(1) 29 U.S.C. 794d (Rehabilitation Act as amended)

(2) 36 CFR 1194 (508 Standards)

36 CFR Part 1194.21 (a – l) 36 CFR Part 1194.31 (a – f) 36 CFR Part 1194.41 (a – c)

(3) www.access-board.gov/sec508/508standards.htm (508 Standards) http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/508standards.htm%20(508 http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/508standards.htm

(4) FAR 39.2 (Section 508)

(5) CMS/HHS/HHS Standards, policies and procedures (Section 508)

a. Information Technology – General Information (http://www.cms.HHS.gov/InfoTechGenInfo/)

For web-based applications, the Contractor shall comply with the standards, policies, and procedures below:

Rehabilitation Act, Section 508, Accessibility Standards

(1) 29 U.S.C. 794d (Rehabilitation Act as amended)

(2) 36 CFR 1194 (508 Standards)

36 CFR Part 1194.22 (a – p) 36 CFR Part 1194.41 (a – c)

(3) www.access-board.gov/sec508/508standards.htm (508 Standards)

(4) FAR 39.2 (Section 508)

(5) CMS/HHS Standards, policies and procedures (Section 508)

a. Information Technology – General Information (http://www.cms.HHS.gov/InfoTechGenInfo/) http://www.cms.hhs.gov/InfoTechGenInfo/ http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/508standards.htm http://www.cms.hhs.gov/InfoTechGenInfo/

III. Quality Assurance

Performance evaluation and monitoring will be conducted, as outlined in the Umbrella IDIQ Contract Section III. The IDIQ and task order CORs will conduct monthly monitoring of the Contractor’s progress toward completion of this Task Order. Monthly monitoring calls with the IDIQ and the task order CORs and appropriate CMS staff will be used to review the performance and progress of the Task Order. Details of monitoring materials and conference call requirements will be determined during Project Management Design discussions. Monthly progress reports will be submitted to the IDIQ and the task order CORs. Following the completion of all deliverables under the Task Order, the IDIQ and the Task order CORs will assess the Contractor’s performance.