RFI VDC Closes July 4_2025.docx

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Request for Information (RFI) for Veteran Directed Care and Caregiver Support

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY (as defined in FAR 15.201(e), this is not a solicitation. Requests for a solicitation or offers will not receive a response. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received, provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted, or respond to any questions or comments that may be submitted in response to this RFI. This notice does not constitute a commitment by the United States (U.S.) Government and does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI.

1. BACKGROUND:

The purpose of this RFI is solely for market research and to gather input for use in further defining the requirement only, and identify alternative solutions, and to identify interested and potentially capable vendors to fulfill requirements for Veteran Directed Care and Caregiver Support across the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Vendors proposal solution shall easily integrate into the VA information technology (IT) infrastructure; network, and to the VA Enterprise Cloud (VAEC). Requirements for integrating the Veteran Directed Care and Caregiver Support (a.k.a. the proposed solution) shall be consistent with existing interface capabilities, cybersecurity guidelines on Authorizations to Connect and to Operate, and 508 compliance measures.

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care (GEC) is required to expand the Veteran Directed Care (VDC) Program at Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMC) to include development, implementation, and evaluation of the program. The purpose of this requirement is to provide Veteran-centric services in a sustainable manner and to assist in re-balancing VHA’s investment in Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS), made possible by shifting resources from nursing homes to home and community-based services.

VHA has initiated the VDC program, in conjunction with the United States Administration for Community Living, to divert at-risk individuals from nursing home care to in-home care. VAMCs evaluate Veterans who currently reside in nursing homes or are targeted for nursing home placement and are identified as candidates for transition to in-home care under the VDC program. VDC is designed to provide Veterans with a trained person who can come to the Veteran’s home to assist with personal care and daily living activities. A critical aspect of the program is that it is patient-directed, meaning that the Veteran may select a family member, neighbor, or community member as their personal caregiver. State and local agencies become an important link between the Veteran, VA, and the caregiver to provide case management, budgeting and financial services required for payroll of the caregiver.

VAMCs will partner with state and local agencies to implement this program nationwide. Each VAMC will purchase a service package from the local Aging and Disability Network Agency for Veterans. State and local agencies will provide the Veteran with:

· A flexible budget which the Veteran and/or representative can use to purchase personal care and other services from workers the Veterans hire, including family members and others in order to remain at home

· A case manager/counselor to assist the Veteran in making decisions; and

· Financial management services to pay workers/taxes and ensure the Veteran’s budget is on target.

The concept of consumer-directed care is fundamentally different from any VHA experience in health care. For this reason, VHA requires the technical assistance of the contractor to implement this program in a competent manner. The Contractor shall evaluate state and local agencies for:

· Programmatic competence to implement and sustain the program.

· Financial competence to implement and sustain the program (e.g., to pay workers, withhold taxes, assist Veterans in budgeting, and maintain financial records)

· Readiness to implement; and

· Readiness to support the program The list of criteria to determine readiness will be provided by the Government. In addition, the Contractor shall provide technical assistance to VAMCs and Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) on the concepts and principles of sustainable participant (Veteran) directed services.

VHA has established a Caregiver Support Program at every VA Medical Center (VAMC), to include the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) and the Program of General Caregiver Support Services (PGCSS). VA requires expertise in regulations, functional assessments and overall field operations needed to promote best clinical practices, standardization, and consistency.

Additionally, the Government aims to determine if any existing contract vehicles for executing the proposed tasks would be a viable pathway. The details of the proposed solution’s requirements and capabilities are found in this RFI, page 1 - 3.

2. INSTRUCTIONS FOR RESPONDING TO THIS RFI:

Response Format and Page Limitations:

The overall total page limit for this RFI is fifteen (15) pages. Responses shall be submitted in Microsoft (MS) Word format with 12 pt font. Interested parties shall limit, or eliminate, marketing material to allow sufficient space for adequately, directly, and substantively responding with the information of most interest to the Government (i.e. the salient characteristics). Responses may also optionally include the provision of resumes of qualified personnel that demonstrate expertise in the domains. Resumes will not count towards the page limit but are limited to 2 pages each, 12 pt font. All submissions will become Government property and will not be returned.

Page 1: COVER SHEET (1 page only):

Respondent shall provide the following information:

a. Organization name, address, main phone number, and web site.

b. Primary point of contact (POC) to include e-mail address and telephone number.

c. Business size (large or small) as registered in SAM by your unique entity ID number. If a small business (SB), please provide type of SB.

d. North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 541611 Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services, which best fits these task areas.

e. If applicable, GSA contract number, schedule, and special item number (SIN) category.

Page 2: INDEX:

Respondents shall provide an index to assist the Government in identifying where each question is addressed below in your Capabilities Statement. Please include the question number and corresponding page and section heading and/or paragraph number.

Section 1 of INDEX shall provide administrative information, and shall include the following:

a. Name, mailing address, overnight delivery address (if different from mailing address), phone number, fax number, and e-mail of designated POC.

b. The number of pages in Section 1 shall not be included in the fifteen (15) page limit. The fifteen (15) page limit begins after the completion of Section 1 (Cover Sheet and Index).

c. In all correspondence relevant to this RFI please identify it as a response to the ”VETERAN DIRECT CARE (VDC) AND CAREGIVER SUPPORT” in the response and subject line of the email.

d. Any organization responding to this notice shall ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed. Respondents are requested to limit responses to the information, and in the format provided below.

e. Companies are encouraged to include any relevant information (specifications, cut sheets, brochures, capability statement, previous experience etc.) to confirm the company’s ability to meet the requirements outlined in this request.

3. CAPABILITY AND EXPERIENCE INFORMATION:

CAPABILITY STATEMENT

Interested firms are requested to provide capability statements addressing the following data/information, by the closing date.

a. Company name and/or any name(s) the company is operating under or doing business as (DBA)

b. Company ownership (Public, Private, joint venture)

c. Business size designation in accordance with Small Business Administration (SBA) standards for the recommended NAICS code (541611) Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services

d. Company address

e. Company Point-of-Contact (POC)

f. Company phone, fax, and email address

g. Company Tax ID Number (TIN)

h. Company CAGE Code and System for Award Management (SAM) Unique Entity ID (UEI)

i. Type/Size of Business relative to NAICS Code 541611 Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services. If you suggest a more accurate NAICS, as it relates to the services noted herein, please provide it as well.

j. Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) Number (if applicable)

k. Statement of Capability that demonstrates your business’s capability and past performance in providing the type of service(s) requirement in healthcare and medical facilities; to include data and information stated herein.

1. Provide the names of the last 3 clients that you have successfully implemented and supported as a prime contractor.

2. Indicate whether your solution meets all the salient characteristics identified this RFI. If these cannot be entirely met, contractor shall identify which capabilities are shortfalls and can possibly be met with a business process outsourcing solution. Identify alternative approaches to meeting the capabilities if available. Use RFI questionnaire below to respond. The attachment does not count against the page count of the response.

3. What are your company’s processes to satisfy the requirements for adherence to schedule, agility, flexibility, responsiveness, scalability and reliability, service quality and consistency, and continuous improvement?

RFI QUESTIONNAIRE

In addition to providing your company’s Capability Statement as it pertains to the requirements of this RFI, interested and capable firms are also required to provide answers to the following questions. NOTE, if you believe that any of the questions in the questionnaire below applies to this requirement, please annotate an “N/A” next to the letter/number.

a. [ ] Yes [ ] No: Does your company exceed the required number of employees/millions based on the appropriate NAICS (541611) Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services that the VA is requesting?

b. [ ] Yes [ ] No: Will at least 50 percent of the cost of performance incurred be expended for employees of your concern or employees of other eligible SDVOSB/VOSB concerns?

c. [ ] Yes [ ] No: Will your company supply the end service of a small business, processor or producer made in the United States, or obtains a waiver of such requirement pursuant to paragraph (b)(5) CFR 121.406.

“Small business concern” means a concern, including its affiliates, that is independently owned and operated, not dominant in the field of operation in which it is bidding on Government contracts, and qualified as a small business under the criteria and size standards in 13 CFR part 121. A small business concern for the purposes of this procurement is generally defined as a business, including its affiliates, averaging no more than $7.5 million dollars in annual receipts and fewer than 500 employees. Annual receipts of a concern that has been in business for 3 or more complete fiscal years means the annual average gross revenue of the concern taken for the last 3 fiscal years. Annual receipts of a concern that has been in business for less than 3 complete fiscal years means its total receipts for the period it has been in business, divided by the number of weeks including fractions of a week that it has been in business, and multiplied by 52. Respondents are cautioned, however, that this is a general description only. Additional standards and conditions apply. Please refer to Federal Acquisition Regulation FAR 19 for additional detailed information on Small Business Size Standards. The FAR is available at https://www.acquisition.gov/.

d. What is the normal pricing methodology to provide this service?

e. New implementation/fielding of services provide (if applicable):

1. How many sites are you capable of fielding on an annual basis?

2. How many sites are you capable of fielding simultaneously?

3. Describe how you plan on executing fielding operations across the (widely spread out) locations (Primaries, Secondaries, and Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) within a given VAMC?

4. Describe, in detail, how you will itemize billing for ALL services; Travel, Man Hour (labor hour) charges, etc. (If applicable).

5. Itemize all associated third-party charges associated with each implementation. NOTE: The Government is not seeking pricing, but categories for potential costs.

4. RESPONSES:

Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the U.S. Government to form a binding contract or agreement. This notice shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation, or ultimately award a contract, nor does it restrict the Government to a particular acquisition approach. The Government will in no way be bound to this information if any solicitation is issued. Submission of any information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary; the Government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred. Your responses may be shared with all stakeholders, thus, information received will not be considered proprietary.

Respondents may optionally identify other activities, capabilities, or deliverables they believe would be of benefit to this tasking. The purpose of this RFI is for Market Research and to gather input for use in further defining the requirement only, and to identify interested and potentially capable vendors.

Submission: Responses to this RFI shall be submitted via email to kevin.pendleton@va.gov no later than 4:30 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Friday, July 04, 2025.

Depending upon the responses received, VA may request additional information, may conduct future question and answer sessions, or may conduct meetings or an industry day.

52.215-3 Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes (Oct 1997)

(a) The Government does not intend to award a contract based on this RFI or to otherwise pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subsection 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

(b) Although “proposal” and “offeror” are used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal.

(c) This Request is issued for the purpose of market research, information, and planning purposes.

(End of provision)