RFA# 202603044 - Rural Regional Planning for Perinatal Care District 6 and 7_Final.docx

STATE OF MAINE

Department of Health and Human Services Office of MaineCare Services

RFA# 202603044

Rural Regional Planning for Perinatal Care Districts 6 and 7

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

PUBLIC NOTICE

A. PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND

B. GENERAL PROVISIONS

C. CONTRACT TERM

D. AWARDS

A. VENDOR SELF SERVICE SYSTEM (VSS)

B. QUESTIONS

C. AMENDMENTS

D. APPLICATION SUBMISSION

A. EVALUATION PROCESS – GENERAL INFORMATION

B. SCORING WEIGHTS & PROCESS

C. NEGOTIATIONS

D. SELECTION AND AWARD

E. APPEAL OF CONTRACT AWARDS

A. CONTRACT DOCUMENT

B. STANDARD STATE CONTRACT PROVISIONS

PUBLIC NOTICE

State of Maine Department of Health and Human Services

RFA# 202603044

Rural Regional Planning for Perinatal Care Districts 6 and 7

The State of Maine is seeking applications for Rural Regional Planning for Perinatal Care.

A copy of the RFA and all related documents can be obtained through the Vendor Self Service System (VSS): https://mevss.hostams.com/PRDVSS1X1/AltSelfService

Applications must be submitted to the Office of State Procurement Services, via the Vendor Self Service System (VSS). Application submissions must be received no later than 4:00 p.m., local time, on April 17, 2026. Applications will be opened the following business day.

RFA TERMS/ACRONYMS with DEFINITIONS

The following terms and acronyms, as referenced in the RFA, have the meanings indicated below:

State of Maine Department of Health and Human Services Office of MaineCare Services

RFA# 202603044

Rural Regional Planning for Perinatal Care Districts 6 and 7

PART I INTRODUCTION

A. Purpose and Background

The Department of Health and Human Services (Department) is seeking applications for Rural Regional Planning for Perinatal Care as defined in this Request for Applications (RFA) document. This document provides instructions for submitting applications, the procedure and criteria by which the awarded Applicant(s) will be selected, and the contractual terms which will govern the relationship between the State of Maine (State) and the awarded Applicant(s).

The Department is dedicated to promoting health, safety, resiliency, and opportunity to all Maine residents. The Department’s Office of MaineCare Services (OMS) provides free or reduced health insurance to ensure all Maine Residents have access to critical health services to help them stay healthy and safe.

In January 2025, OMS was selected as one (1) of fifteen (15) state Medicaid programs to participate in the Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) model, an initiative from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) designed to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes for people enrolled in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

TMaH is planned to be administered over ten (10) years and will help Maine address maternal health across the state, by focusing on improving access to care, advancing patient safety, and fostering whole-person care delivery. MaineCare, the State's Medicaid program, will lead the effort in collaboration with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) and a wide range of community partners.

Communities in Maine, particularly rural communities, have historically engaged in localized health care planning, often without access to broader Regional planning support. In addition, larger health systems in Maine have conducted health services planning that has largely been organized at the health system level opposed to the geographic Regional level. With support from TMaH, Maine proposes to advance strategic, community-led Regional planning, empowering communities to define their Regional service needs. Maine has a strong history of developing Regional partnerships in rural areas and will work under the TMaH model to leverage and expand on these efforts to implement Regional partnerships that support high quality maternity care Statewide.

Through this RFA, the Department is seeking geographically based rural Regional planning efforts, in Districts 6 and 7, focusing on expanding birthing individuals’ access to high-quality perinatal care providers and services delivered across a variety of settings and through culturally responsive approaches.

The Department intends on providing one-time funding of up to sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) per application to support the facilitation of initial rural Regional planning activities, including but not limited to staffing, convening Regional interested parties, conducting needs assessments, developing action plans, and supporting initial implementation steps, in Districts 6 and 7.

B. General Provisions

1. From the time this RFA is issued until award notification is made, all contact with the State regarding this RFA must be made through the RFA Coordinator identified on the cover page of this RFA. No other person/State employee is empowered to make binding statements regarding this RFA. Violation of this provision may lead to disqualification from the application process, at the State’s discretion.

2. Issuance of the RFA does not commit the Department to issue an award or to pay expenses incurred by an Applicant in the preparation of a response to the RFA. This includes attendance at personal interviews or other meetings, where applicable.

3. All applications must adhere to the instructions and format requirements outlined in the RFA and all written supplements and amendments (such as the Summary of Questions and Answers), issued by the Department. Applications are to follow the format and respond to all questions and instructions specified in Part III of the RFA.

4. Applicants will take careful note that in evaluating an application submitted in response to this RFA, the Department will consider materials provided in the application, information obtained through interviews/presentations (if any), and internal Departmental information of previous contract history with the Applicant (if any). The Department also reserves the right to consider other reliable references and publicly available information in evaluating the Applicant’s experience and capabilities.

5. The application must be signed by a person authorized to legally bind the Applicant and must contain a statement that the application and the pricing contained therein will remain valid and binding for a period of 180 days from the date and time of the submission opening.

6. The RFA and the awarded Applicant’s application, including all appendices or attachments, will be the basis for the final contract, as determined by the Department.

7. Following announcement of an award decision, all submissions in response to this RFA will be public records, available for public inspection pursuant to the State of Maine Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) (1 M.R.S. § 401 et seq.). State contracts and information related to contracts, including application submissions, are generally public records per FOAA.

8. In the event that an Applicant believes any information that it submits in response to this RFA is confidential, it must mark that information accordingly, and include citation to legal authority in support of the Applicant’s claim of confidentiality. In the event that the Department receives a FOAA request that includes submissions marked as confidential, the Department shall evaluate the information and any legal authority from the Applicant to determine whether the information is an exception to FOAA’s definition of public record. If the Department determines to release information that an Applicant has marked confidential, it shall provide advance notice to the Applicant to allow for them to seek legal relief.

9. The Department, at its sole discretion, reserves the right to recognize and waive minor informalities and irregularities found in applications received in response to the RFA.

10. If awarded a contract resulting from this RFA, vendors shall be required to disclose, in writing and in accordance with applicable Maine law, any actual or potential conflicts of interest. Such disclosure must include any financial, professional, or personal relationships that could give rise to a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest. Failure to disclose a known conflict or appearance of conflict may result in disqualification, contract termination, or other remedies as provided by law.

11. All applicable laws, whether or not herein contained, shall be included by this reference. It shall be the Applicant’s responsibility to determine the applicability and requirements of any such laws and to abide by them.

C. Contract Term

The term of anticipated contract period resulting from this RFA is defined in the table below. The dates below are estimated and may be adjusted, as necessary, in order to comply with all procedural requirements associated with the RFA, the specific project awarded, and the contracting process. The actual contract start date will be established by a completed and approved contract.

D. Awards

The Department anticipates making two (2) awards, one (1) in District 6 and one (1) in District 7 as identified in Exhibit 1 below, as a result of this RFA.

Request for funding may not exceed the total cap of sixty thousand ($60,000) per application. The Department may award all, part, none, or modify this allocation at its discretion. Exact amounts will be negotiated with the awarded Applicants and subject to CMS approval and availability of funds.

Applicants seeking to perform Rural Regional Planning for Perinatal Care in both Public Health Districts must submit a separate application for each Public Health District.

· The Tribal Health District will be represented within the specific county of the Public Health Districts listed below.

Rural Regional Planning Public Health Districts to be Served

The Department reserves the right to make partial awards, eliminate the lowest scoring application(s) and/or make awards for amounts less than requested, whichever is in the best interest of the State.

Depending on the number of responses to this initial RFA, the Department may offer additional opportunities to apply for funding in the future under this initiative.

In addition, the Department anticipates issuing a Phase Two of this RFA, which will provide Applicants with an opportunity to apply for additional funding to join, build upon, and/or expand Regional planning efforts.

PART II ACTIVITIES AND REQUIREMENTS

A. Build a Rural Planning Group

1. Identify relevant healthcare and community partners, with a primary focus on rural areas within the Public Health District, needed to conduct Regional maternity and perinatal care planning, such as:

a. Birthing and non-birthing hospitals and health system representatives.

b. Tribal health clinics and Tribal nation representatives.

c. Person(s) with lived experience.

d. Doulas, community health workers.

e. Maternity providers, such as Doctor of Medicine; Doctor of Osteopathic; Physician Assistant; Certified Nurse Midwives; Advanced Practice Registered Nurse; Certified Professional Midwives; and Certified Midwives.

f. Family planning providers.

g. Child health providers.

h. Community resource partners, such as Public Health Nursing; the Maine Family Home Visiting Program; the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program; and Other applicable entities.

i. Other partners from various sectors including education, business partners, community leaders, local public health (e.g. District Liaisons through Maine CDC, representatives from the Public Health District’s District Coordinating Council), community assistance program agencies, etc.

2. Provide a detailed workplan of the proposed outreach and efforts that focus on expanding access to birthing and high-quality perinatal care providers and services within the Public Health District to achieve diverse representation of the Regional planning efforts.

a. The awarded Applicants will be required to provide an updated workplan to the Department within seven (7) calendar days if there are any revisions or changes to the timeline or work to be performed throughout the resulting contract period.

B. Department Engagement and State Planning Processes

1. Work closely with the Department’s Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) Perinatal Rural Regional Planning Liaison (TMaH Liaison) by:

a. Participating in Statewide discussions with TMaH and other Regional partners by attending virtual meetings at least every two (2) months.

b. Selecting a Regional representative to attend at least one (1) annual Statewide in-person meeting.

c. Creating a Statewide perinatal continuum of care model that includes Regional coordination of services.

d. Inviting the TMaH Liaison to attend Rural Planning Group meetings, specifically, at least one (1) in-person meeting per year and all other meetings remotely.

2. Contribute to the development of a Statewide model that provides a continuum of maternity and perinatal services, ensuring coordinated, high-quality care from pregnancy through the first twenty-four (24) months postpartum.

a. Provide quarterly progress reports to the TMaH Liaison which includes:

i. Milestones met.

ii. Activities completed.

iii. Barriers (experienced or expected); and

iv. Updated list of Regional planning partners.

b. Present and discuss Regional findings to the Department, including successes and challenges at least once a year.

c. Actively participate in TMaH-led meetings by providing feedback and collaborating with other partners.

C. Regional Planning

1. Coordinate and facilitate all aspects of Regional meetings, including inviting partners, taking attendance and meeting notes, and sharing meeting summaries with the Rural Planning Group and State leaders within two (2) weeks of the meeting.

a. Facilitate Regional planning sessions on a regular schedule for two (2) years, with a minimum of four (4) in-person sessions.

2. Develop a Regional inventory of services available to support maternity and perinatal care, including but not limited to:

a. Clinical services.

b. Community-based programs.

c. Support services.

d. Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4 birthing hospitals.

e. EMS services.

f. Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs); and

g. Tribal health clinics.

h. Include a general description of workforce capacity across the continuum of maternity and infant care.

3. Identify Regional overarching goals in the first eight (8) months of the start of the contract period (e.g., improving communication between providers and communities related to maternal service access/resources, increasing referral activity and pathways, starting a centering pregnancy model of prenatal care).

4. Conduct at least one (1) in-person on-site visit of the relevant rural sites offering perinatal care/support within the first twelve (12) months of the start of the contract period.

5. Develop a SWOT Analysis of Regional perinatal access with the Rural Planning Group.

6. Provide mapping of a realistic Regional continuum of maternity and perinatal care that supports birthing individuals from pregnancy through twelve (12) months post-delivery, which includes:

a. Prenatal, delivery, and postpartum care.

b. Relevant existing services and/or supports; and

c. Regional services and/or support which the Rural Planning Group believes is reasonable to expand or augment.

i. If recommending augmenting or expanding services/support, include a detailed proposal for the change, as well as how the new/expanded services will be supported by referral pathways and coordination within existing services and support.

d. Documenting a comprehensive understanding of existing connections and barriers within the current services and support.

D. Reporting Requirements

1. Submit all the required reports to the Department in accordance with the timelines established in Table 1:

Table 1 – Required Reports and Timelines

E. Allowable Use of Funds

Funding amounts will be negotiated with the awarded Applicants and subject to CMS approval and availability of funds.

1. Costs for Rural Planning Group participants, when appropriate to ensure participation and to support deliverables.

2. Payment for a facilitator.

3. Access to data or personnel time to analyze and report out on relevant data.

4. Costs for meetings.

5. Staffing cost for Regional lead and administrative support.

6. Support for a Family Leadership Development process to engage person(s) with lived experience to participate in the Rural Planning Group.

F. Non-Allowable Use of Funds

Cost restrictions can be viewed at the CMS-2N2-25-001 TMaH Model Grant Funding Opportunity webpage by selecting Related Documents and downloading the TMaH NOFO Final 6.26.24 file, refer to Section D.7. Cost Restrictions. Note: this list is not all-inclusive and changes and/or additional restrictions may apply.

PART III KEY PROCESS EVENTS

A. Vendor Self Service (VSS)

1. The Office of State Procurement Services Vendor Self Service System website is found at the link below: https://www.maine.gov/dafs/bbm/procurementservices/vendors/vendor-self-service-system

2. A copy of the RFA and all associated documents will be published in VSS.

3. Only documents published in VSS will be considered binding.

4. Any interested party may view open solicitations in VSS using the Public Access feature.

5. Vendors must have an active User ID and password in VSS to submit questions and respond to solicitations, including this RFA.

a. Vendor registration instructions and User Guide may be found at the link above, which include steps for searching for an existing account/User ID, or registering for a new account/User ID.

b. Vendors interested in responding to a solicitation are encouraged to obtain a User ID and password for VSS as soon as possible.

6. Vendors must have an active Vendor Code (VC or VS) to contract with the department.

B. Questions

1. General Instructions: It is the responsibility of all Applicants and other interested parties to examine the entire RFA and to seek clarification, in writing, if they do not understand any information or instructions.

a. Questions must be submitted in VSS as soon as possible but no later than the date and time published in VSS.

b. Questions should be clearly stated and reference the applicable section and/or page number of the RFA.

c. The Department assumes no liability for assuring accurate/complete/on time transmission and receipt.

2. Question & Answer Summary: Responses to all questions will be compiled in writing and published in VSS no later than seven (7) calendar days prior to the Application Submission Deadline . It is the responsibility of all interested parties to go to VSS to obtain a copy of the Question & Answer Summary. Only those answers issued in VSS will be considered binding.

C. Amendments

All amendments released in regard to this RFA will be published in VSS. Only those amendments published in VSS are considered binding.

D. Application Submission

1. Applications Due

a. Applications must be received no later than the Application Submission Deadline (closing date) published in VSS.

b. Any application submissions or any additional or revised application files received after the Application Submission Deadline will be rejected without exception.

2. Delivery Instructions

a. Application submissions must be submitted to the Office of State Procurement services via VSS

b. Only application submissions received via VSS will be considered. The Department assumes no liability for assuring accurate/complete receipt.

c. Submissions containing links to file sharing sites or online file repositories will not be accepted as submissions. Only application submissions that have the actual requested files attached will be accepted.

d. Encrypted submissions received which require opening attachments and logging into a proprietary system will not be accepted. Applicants should work with their Information Technology team to ensure that the application submission will not be encrypted due to any security settings.

e. File size limits are 15MB per file.

3. Submission Format

a. Applicants must submit at least one (1) file, labeled and including the required information as defined below:

File Name: RFA# 202603044 Application Submission – [Applicant’s Name]

· Must contain: Applicant’s completed Application Form and all required information and attachments as stated in the form.

b. The Application Form must be submitted as a single, typed file. If including attachments in the same file presents a file size issue, Applicants may submit those attachments as a separate, clearly labeled file.

c. Applicants must include any forms provided in the RFA (such as the Application Form) or reproduce those forms as closely as possible.

d. Applicants are not to provide additional attachments beyond those specified in the RFA or Application Form for the purpose of extending their response. Materials not requested will not be considered part of the application and will not be evaluated.

PART IV APPLICATION EVALUATION AND SELECTION

A. Evaluation Process – General Information

1. An evaluation team, composed of qualified reviewers, will judge the merits of the applications received in accordance with the criteria defined in the RFA.

2. Officials responsible for making decisions on the award selection will ensure that the selection process accords equal opportunity and appropriate consideration to all who are capable of meeting the specifications. The goals of the evaluation process are to ensure fairness and objectivity in review of the applications and to ensure that all contracts are awarded to the Applicants that provide the best value to the State of Maine.

3. The Department reserves the right to communicate and/or schedule interviews/presentations with Applicants, if needed, to obtain clarification of information contained in the applications received. The Department may revise the scores assigned in the initial evaluation to reflect those communications and/or interviews/presentations.

4. Changes to applications, including updating or adding information, will not be permitted during any interview/presentation process and, therefore, Applicants must submit applications that present their rates and other requested information as clearly and completely as possible.

5. Failure to respond to all questions and instructions throughout the RFA may result in the application being disqualified as non-responsive or receiving a reduced score. The Department, and its evaluation team, has sole discretion to determine whether a variance from the RFA specifications will result either in disqualification or reduction in scoring of an application.

B. Scoring Weights & Process

1. Scoring Weights: The score will be based on a 100-point scale and will measure the degree to which each application meets the following criteria. The information required in each section of the Application Form aligns with the Scoring Criteria defined below.

2. Scoring Process: The evaluation team will use a consensus approach to evaluate and score all sections listed above. Members of the evaluation team will not score those sections individually but, instead, will arrive at a consensus as to assignment of points for each of those sections.

C. Negotiations

1. The Department reserves the right to negotiate with the awarded Applicant(s) to finalize a contract.

2. The Department reserves the right to terminate contract negotiations with an awarded Applicant who submits a proposed contract significantly different from the application they submitted in response to the advertised RFA.

3. In the event that an acceptable contract cannot be negotiated with an Applicant, the Department may withdraw its award and negotiate with the next-highest ranked Applicant, and so on, until an acceptable contract has been finalized. Alternatively, the Department may cancel the RFA, at its sole discretion.

D. Selection and Award

1. The final decision regarding the award of the contract will be made by representatives of the Department subject to approval by the State Procurement Review Committee.

2. Notification of conditional award selection or non-selection will be made in writing by the Department.

3. Issuance of this RFA in no way constitutes a commitment by the State of Maine to award a contract, to pay costs incurred in the preparation of a response to the RFA, or to pay costs incurred in procuring or contracting for services, supplies, physical space, personnel, or any other costs incurred by the Applicant.

4. The Department reserves the right to reject any and all applications or to make multiple awards.

E. Appeal of Contract Awards

Any person aggrieved by the award decision that results from the RFA may appeal the decision to the Director of the Bureau of General Services in the manner prescribed in 5 M.R.S.A. § 1825-E and 18-554 Code of Maine Rules Chapter 120. The appeal must be in writing and filed with the Director of the Bureau of General Services, 9 State House Station, Augusta, Maine, 04333-0009 within 15 calendar days of receipt of notification of conditional contract award.

PART V CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION AND CONDITIONS

A. Contract Documents

1. The awarded Applicants will be required to execute a State of Maine Service Contract with appropriate riders as determined by the issuing Department.

All exceptions will be negotiated between the awarded Applicant(s) and the State. The State will not accept any proposed exceptions as part of this RFA process. The State is not obligated to accept, negotiate, or compromise of any proposed exceptions.

The complete set of standard State of Maine Service Contract documents, along with other forms and contract documents commonly used by the State, may be found on the Office of State Procurement Services forms website.

Forms and contract documents commonly used by the Department can be found on the Department’s Division of Contract Management website.

The awarded Applicant will be required to provide a certificate of insurance on a standard ACORD form (or the equivalent) evidencing its general liability, professional liability, and any other relevant liability insurance policies that might be associated with the services provided as part of the contract resulting from this RFA.

2. Allocation of funds is final upon successful negotiation and execution of the contract, subject to the review and approval of the State Procurement Review Committee. Contracts are not considered fully executed and valid until approved by the State Procurement Review Committee and funds are encumbered. No contract will be approved based on an RFA which has an effective date less than fourteen (14) calendar days after award notification to Applicants. (Referenced in the regulations of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Chapter 110, § 3(B)(i)).

This provision means that a contract cannot be effective until at least 14 calendar days after award notification.

3. The State recognizes that the actual contract effective date depends upon completion of the RFA process, date of formal award notification, length of contract negotiation, and preparation and approval by the State Procurement Review Committee. Any appeals to the Department’s award decision(s) may further postpone the actual contract effective date, depending upon the outcome. The contract effective date listed in the RFA may need to be adjusted, if necessary, to comply with mandated requirements.

4. In providing services and performing under the contract, the awarded Applicant must act as an independent contractor and not as an agent of the State of Maine.

B. Standard State Contract Provisions

1. Contract Administration Following the award, a Contract Administrator from the Department will be appointed to assist with the development and administration of the contract and to act as administrator during the entire contract period. Department staff will be available after the award to consult with the awarded Applicant in the finalization of the contract.

PART VI APPLICATION

As defined in Part III, E, 3 of the RFA, Applicants must complete the Application Form and produce all required attachments.

Special Instructions for the Application

1. Applicants may obtain the Application Response Form in VSS.

State of Maine RFA# 202603044 Rev. 11/10/2025 – DAFS/Office of State Procurement Services (DHHS Rev. 11/21/2025 – RFA) image1.jpeg