Member Experience Survey Administration Analysis and Reporting RFR - Questions and Answers_~1.docx

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

ONE ASHBURTON PLACE

BOSTON, MA 02108

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

regarding the

REQUEST FOR RESPONSES

FOR

MEMBER EXPERIENCE SURVEY ADMINISTRATION, ANALYSIS AND REPORTING

COMMBUYS BID #:BD-26-1039-EHS01-EHS01-118757

DOCUMENT #: 25EHSPMMHMESRFR

RFR ISSUED: July 11, 2025 DATE: August 8, 2025 This document contains responses to questions received regarding the Request for Responses (RFR) for Member Experience Survey Administration, Analysis And Reporting issued July 11, 2025. Answers have been provided to those questions which are of general interest and relevant to the preparation of a Response to the RFR.

Q.1. RFR Section 4.4 states: “The Bidder shall submit a Cost Response that includes a cost proposal for administering each survey (Primary Care, BH, LTSS, CAHPS for Core Measure Set Reporting) detailed in Attachment C”. Is the reference to the BH and LTSS surveys intentional?

A.1. No, the reference to BH and LTSS surveys was inadvertent and will be removed in an upcoming RFR amendment.

Q.2. Regarding RFR Section 4.4, please confirm that the RFR language should be updated from four surveys to two surveys.

A.2. Yes, this Section 4.4 should reference two surveys, not four and will be corrected in an upcoming RFR amendment.

Q.3. RFR Section 3.0 lists an estimated Contract Start Date of October 9, 2025. However, Section 1.4 references September 2, 2025. Can EOHHS please confirm the expected contract start date?

A.3. The correct estimated contract start date is October 9, 2025. Section 1.4 will be corrected in an upcoming RFR Amendment.

Q.4. In RFR Attachment A, Section 2.2.H.1.d, please confirm whether a word is missing.

A.4. The word “Data” was omitted at the beginning of the first paragraph of this Section. This omission will be addressed in an upcoming RFR amendment. Note that Section 2.2.H.1.d in the original Attachment A will appear as Section 2.2.E.1.d in the amended Attachment A.

Q.5. RFR Sections 4.2.A.4 and 4.2.B.4 reference “the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions (see Section 4.2.F)” and “a signed EOHHS-Required Bidder’s Certification (see Section 4.2.F)”. Should this read “the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions (see Section 4.2.H)” and “a signed EOHHS-Required Bidder’s Certification (see Section 4.2.H)”?

A.5. Yes. This will be corrected in an upcoming RFR amendment.

Q.6. The RFR lists Bidder Qualifications. May Bidders address the requirements of Section 1.4 of the RFR in the Cover Letter of the Business Response?

A.6. Bidders are required to attest to their qualifications in the required Attachment B, Bidder Certification Form. Bidders may also describe their qualifications within their responses at their discretion.

Q.7. In RFR Sections 1.4.C. and D, may Bidders include documentation of NCQA certification requirements as an attachment to the Programmatic Response document, excluded from the page limits?

A.7. Bidders are required to attest to their qualifications in the required Attachment B, Bidder Certification Form. Bidders are not required to include documentation of NCQA certification.

Q.8. RFR Section 4.1.F states, “Each document comprising the Response must be clearly labeled and state on the cover page and within the file name: 1. The title of the RFR, 2. The Bidder’s legal name; and 3. The title of the document contained in the file (e.g., Business Response, Programmatic Response, Cost Response).”

Should bidders include all of this information in each electronic file name, e.g., MemberExperienceSurveyAdministrationAnalysisandReportingCompanyNameProgrammaticResponse?

A.8. Bidders may shorten filenames but need to ensure that each document is readily identifiable.

Q.9. Regarding RFR Section 4.2.B.4, may bidders include the Certification as a single attachment one time and reference it where applicable in the response?

A.9. Yes.

Q.10. Regarding RFR Section 4.2.C.6, may bidders include the organizational chart as an attachment?

A.10. Yes.

Q.11. Regarding RFR Section 4.2.E.2, please confirm whether there is a distinction between the terms “subcontractor” and “material subcontractor”.

A.11. The terms “subcontractor” and “material subcontractor” are used interchangeably in the RFR and Attachment A.

Q.12. Regarding RFR Section 4.2.H, is an electronic signature acceptable for the Prompt Payment Discount Form?

A.12. Yes.

Q.13. Please confirm that bidders should submit the Supplier Diversity Program Plan form uploaded separately as an Excel file document.

A.13. Responses, forms and attachments should be submitted and uploaded in COMMBUYS as .doc, .docx, or .pdf files.

Q.14. Regarding RFR Section 4.3, paragraph 3, may the bidder consolidate subcontractor information (e.g., how a subcontractor was selected and how the bidder will monitor and evaluate performance) in its Programmatic Response (e.g. Section 4.3.B.3), rather than repeating subcontractor information in each subsection of its Programmatic Response requirement?

A.14. Bidders should provide the required subcontractor information once in their Responses.

Q.15. Regarding RFR Section 4.3.B.1, may bidders include the timeline as an attachment?

A.15. No, the timeline should be included in the Bidder’s narrative response to this Section.

Q.16. RFR Section 4.3.B.1 requests that bidders provide a timeline for administering the tasks and responsibilities outlined in the RFR and Attachment A. The Model Contract already includes a fairly detailed timeline for key project phases. Could you please clarify how much more detailed you would like the proposed timeline to be in the response?

A.16. EOHHS encourages Bidders to submit a detailed timeline based on their experience and business judgment.

Q.17. Regarding RFR Section 4.3.E, is EOHHS requesting resumes for all staff?

A.17. Bidders should include resumes or statements of qualification for Contractor staff that will interact directly with EOHHS on a day or day or periodic basis during the contract term.

Q.18. Regarding RFR Section 4.3.E, may résumés be included as attachments?

A.18. Yes.

Q.19. Regarding RFR Section 4.3.E, are bidders required to include résumés for subcontractor staff who conduct contract activities?

A.19. Bidders should include resumes or statements of qualifications for subcontractor staff who will work directly with EOHHS, if any.

Q.20. Regarding RFR Section 4.4, should a bidder’s Cost Response include only Attachment C?

A.20. Yes.

Q.21. Regarding RFR Section 4.4, may bidders include assumptions, if needed, in the Cost Response?

A.21. Bidders should prepare a cost response in accordance with the RFR and Attachment A.

Q.22. Regarding Attachment A, Section 2.1.C, if the interviews/focus groups will be conducted in person, will the Contractor be responsible for providing a physical space to conduct the interviews/focus groups?

A.22. The Contractor will be responsible for arranging in-person interviews/focus groups, including the locations for those in-person interviews/focus groups.

Q.23. In Attachment C, Cost Response Template, are the costs to be provided in the cost template for one year or are these the costs across all three survey cycles? Are the empty columns intentional?

A.23. Bidders are asked to provide costs across all three survey cycles, i.e., survey cycles 2026, 2027, and 2028. The empty columns are unintentional and will be removed in an upcoming RFR amendment.

Q.24. Does a bidder’s signature in the RFR Cover Letter serve as the certification required in the Supplier Diversity Program Plan form?

A.24. Bidders certify their SDP forms in Part VI of the SDP form.

Q.25. Would EOHHS consider innovations (e.g., texting/incentive pilots, sampling/risk adjustment methods to improve representativeness) that could enhance response rates/representativeness but may carry some operational risk or cost?

A.25. EOHHS will evaluate Bidders’ proposals within the evaluation criteria described in RFR Section 5.3.

Q.26. In RFR Attachment A, Section 4.3, can EOHHS provide more details on the federal financial participation reporting requirements?

A.26. Specifics concerning reporting related to FFP will be addressed as needed during the Contract Term.

Q.27. For the CAHPS Core Set Surveys, would EOHHS be open to piloting web or mixed-mode protocols consistent with CMS Manual guidance?

A.27. Please see RFR Attachment A, Section 2.2.G.2.

Q.28. Will EOHHS provide the non-English materials, or will the vendor be responsible for translating?

A.28. The Contractor will be responsible for translating surveys and survey materials into languages other than English, or for obtaining translations in languages other than English from the survey steward, if available.

Q.29. Regarding RFR Section 1.2, please confirm that EOHHS would like the contractor to submit survey data to the AHRQ CAHPS Health Plan Survey Database.

A.29. The Contractor will be responsible for submitting survey data to the AHRQ database, consistent with CMS guidance.

Q.30. Please confirm that bidders are not required to make entries to any pages/tabs within COMMBUYS aside from uploading files to the “Attachments” tab and indicating acceptance of the terms and conditions on the “Terms & Conditions” tab.

A.30. Bidders should consult RFR Section 6.5 regarding questions specific to COMMBUYS.

Q.31. Concerning RFR Attachment A, Section 2.1, please confirm that bidders should include in their pricing the cost of the interview/focus group stipends.

A.31. Confirmed.

Q.32. Concerning RFR Section 1.4, to meet the Bidder Qualifications of being (or having a subcontractor that is) NCQA-trained and certified to administer CAHPS surveys, must a bidder (or its subcontractor) be one of the 15 vendors listed in NCQA’s Directory of Certified CAHPS 5.1H Survey Vendors (https:www.ncqa.org/programs/data-and-information-technology/hit-and-data-certification/chaps-5-1h-survey-certification/vendor-directory/) in order to be considered for this RFR?

A.32. Yes. The list of NCQA Certified CAHPS 5.1H Survey Vendors is available at this link: Vendor Directory: CAHPS 5.1H Survey Vendors - NCQA Q.33 Does required documentation (attachments) count toward written response page limits?

A.33. No. Attachments and forms do not count toward the written response limits specified in the RFR. Attachments and forms may be referenced in the body of written responses as needed but should be provided separately from written responses.

Q.34. Will EOHHS generate sample frames for the Primary Care, and Core Set CAHPS surveys specified in RFR Attachment A, Section 2.2?

A.34. The Contractor will draw samples from the sample frames generated by EOHHS.

Q.35. RFR Section 4.1.F specifies that 12-point Times New Roman font or similar be used in responses. Can smaller or larger font sizes, or different font types be used in headers, titles, figures, tables, charts, footnotes, and footers?

A.35. Yes.

Q.36. For CAHPS for Core Set Reporting (RFR Attachment A, Section 2.3.E), will EOHHS require that CHIP results be reported to CMS separately?

A.36. The Contractor will report results to CMS per CMS guidance.

Q.37. There appear to be certain formatting inconsistencies in RFR Attachment A, how will these be addressed?

A.37. EOHHS is aware that RFR Attachment A, Model Contract, contains formatting errors and will amend Attachment A to address these errors. Note that the amended RFR Attachment A will not be amended substantively, except to address the omission noted in response to Question 4 in this Q and A. However, certain Section numbers will change as a result of the formatting corrections between the original version of Attachment A and the amended version. If Bidders intend to cite specific Attachment A Sections in their Responses, Bidders may reference the Section numbering appearing in the original version, but are asked to note which version of Attachment A is referenced.

Q.38 Attachment B, EOHHS-Required Bidder Certifications appears to lack check boxes. How should we proceed?

A.38. EOHHS will amend Attachment B, EOHHS-Required Bidder Certifications to insert the omitted check boxes. Bidders should submit the amended Attachment B with their Responses.

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