IHS_Litigation_Services__NOTICE_OF_INTENT_FINAL.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

Indian Health Service

Division of Acquisition Policy, DAP

801 Thompson Ave, Suite 605

Rockville, MD 20852

June 3, 2015

SPECIAL NOTICE

Notice of Intent to Award a Contract for

IHS Litigation Services

This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts or quotations. All responses may be used for market analysis in determining the availability of potential qualified businesses for the purposes of determining an appropriate acquisition strategy.

The Indian Health Service (IHS) Division of Acquisition Policy (DAP) intends to award a bridge contract to

Cotton and Company for continuity of support services. DAP will utilize acquisition procedures under the authority of FAR Part 6.302-1 “Only One Responsible Source” for the Indian Health Service. This notice of intent to award is not a request for competitive proposals. The purpose of this notice is merely to obtain capability statements to allow interested firms an opportunity to demonstrate their qualifications for the standards below.

Project Background:

Expert services for analysis of and consultation regarding current and anticipated claims for contract support costs under P.L. 93-638 Indian Self-Determination Act agreements between tribal organizations and the Indian Health

Service. The Supreme Court’s decision in Salazar v. Ramah Navajo Chapter, Case No. 11-551 (U.S. June 18, 2012), continues to have a tremendous litigation impact on the Indian Health Service (IHS) and the HHS Office of the General Counsel (OGC).

Tribal attorneys have recommended that all tribes submit claims for all years, even those that may be untimely under the CDA’s six-year presentment deadline. Based on the fact that IHS contracts with more than 300 tribes each year, we anticipate more than 3,000 claims will be filed for claims going back at least as far as 1998. IHS has already received approximately 1,500 claims.

IHS and OGC expect to continue to face a significant increase in the pre-claims workload in order to address these claims. IHS and OGC work together through the multiple stages of the claims process, which includes: (1) a tribal contractor submitting its claim to the Agency’s contracting officer; (2) a review by the contracting officer, followed by issuance of a contracting officer’s decision letter; and (3) appeal from the contracting officer’s decision to the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA) or Federal court. IHS Headquarters and OGC work with the contracting officers in the second stage, and in the third stage OGC serves as either counsel of record

(before the CBCA) or agency counsel to the Department of Justice (for cases in Federal court).

In addition to additional in house staff, outside financial experts are recommended for continued support in the claims analysis and settlement stage, as OGC needs analysis of financial documents when negotiating settlements with tribal attorneys who have hired financial consultants to support the amounts they are claiming.

Division of Acquisition Policy, DAP

801 Thompson Ave, Suite 605

Rockville, MD 20852

This procurement action is to allow the continuation of the current project. Interested concerns may identify their interest and submit a capability statement that demonstrates their ability to provide the services required in the timeframe required. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. THIS NOTICE IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE

PROPOSALS. NO SOLICITATION IS AVAILABLE; THEREFORE, REQUEST OF SUCH DOCUMENT

WILL BE CONSIDERED INVALID RESPONSES. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed requirement is solely within the discretion of the Government. If no affirmative responses are received within 7 days from the date of this synopsis, the Contracting Officer will proceed with issuance of an award to

Cotton and Company under the authority of 41 United States Code (U.S.C.) 253(c)(1) as set forth in Federal

Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1.

Qualified firms must also include the following information

a. DUNS.

b. Company Name.

c. Company Address.

d. Current GSA Schedules appropriate to this Award.

e. Do you have a Government approved accounting system? If so, please identify the agency that approved the system.

f. Type of Company (i.e., small business, 8(a), woman owned, veteran owned, etc.) as validated via the

Central Contractor Registration (CCR). All offerors must register on the CCR located at http://www.ccr.gov/index.asp

g. Company Point of Contact, Phone and Email address

All responses are due to the Contract Specialist NLT Wednesday, June 10, 2015 3:00PM (EST). Capability statements should be e-mailed directly to the Primary Point of Contacts (POC) listed below. SUBMISSIONS

WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTED VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL. No telephone calls will be accepted. Capability statements will not be returned and will not be accepted after the due date. The maximum number of pages for submission is three (3) pages. If no capability statements are received which specifically demonstrate the requirements above, the Government shall proceed with a bridge contract to:

Cotton and Company

635 Slaters Lane

Alexandria, VA 22314

Disclaimer and Important Notes: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract. Any information provided by industry to the Government as a result of notice is strictly voluntary. Responses will not be returned. No entitlements to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges to the Government will arise as a result of contractor submission of responses or the Government's use of such information or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents must be registered in the System for Award

Management (SAM).

Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published on a government GPE. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

Division of Acquisition Policy, DAP

801 Thompson Ave, Suite 605

Rockville, MD 20852

Confidentiality: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).

Government Official Designated for Receipt of Capability Statements

Primary POC:

Michael T. Fischer

Contract Specialist

Email: Michael.Fischer@ihs.gov

Phone: 301.443.6749 mailto:Michael.Fischer@ihs.gov