RFI_TEFCA_Dec11_2026.pdf

Section 1: Administrative Information

Agency: Department of Health and Human Services/ Office of the Secretary/ Office of the National

Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)

Notice Type: Request for Information

Title: Operational and Technical Support for the Administration of the Trusted Exchange Framework and

Common Agreement™ (TEFCA®).

For market research purposes, the Government is considering NAICS code 541519, Other

Computer Related Services; Product Service Code , IT and Telecom - Service Delivery

Support Services: ITSM, Operations Center, Project/PM (Labor); and GSA Multiple Award

Schedule SINs 54151HEAL, Health Information Technology Services, and 541611, Management and Financial Consulting, Acquisition and Grants Management Support, and

Business Program and Project Management Services.

These classifications are preliminary. Respondents are invited to recommend alternative NAICS codes, PSCs, SINs, or contract vehicles, with supporting rationale tied to the draft requirements.

Respondents should identify whether one integrated acquisition or separate acquisitions for

Sections 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3 would best meet the Government’s needs and explain any effects on competition, cost, accountability, and performance. Respondents should identify their applicable contract vehicles and awarded SINs, if any. Possession of both identified SINs is not a condition for responding to this RFI.

Issue Date: November 13, 2026

Point of Contact: Khaled Gohar (Khaled.Gohar@hhs.gov)

Submission Method:

“RFI - Operational and Technical Support for TEFCA” in the subject line. Proprietary information must be clearly marked. Questions about this RFI may be sent to the Point of Contact at any time before the response date. Answers of general interest will be posted to all interested parties.

Respondents should avoid including proprietary or confidential information unless it is necessary to meaningfully respond to the RFI.

The Government may use information submitted in response to the RFI for market research and acquisition planning purposes, including refinement of the requirement and acquisition strategy.

Section 2: Disclaimer

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. Responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. The Government is not obligated to issue a solicitation or

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Response Due Date and Time (Eastern Time): December 11, 2026, at 12:00 PM EST (noon)

Responses must be submitted electronically to donna.sykes@hhs.gov no later than December 11, 2026, at 12:00 PM EST (noon). Responses should reference

Response Submission Email: donna.sykes@hhs.gov award a contract as a result of this RFI. There is no obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services described herein.

Responses to this RFI are voluntary. The Government will not pay for information received as a result of this RFI. Proprietary information, if any, should be clearly and appropriately marked.

The Government cannot guarantee that proprietary information will be protected from disclosure. Any information submitted in response to this RFI may be used by the Government for planning purposes.

A response to this RFI will not give a respondent any advantage in any subsequent competitive acquisition.

Failure to respond will not preclude a respondent from participating in any future solicitation.

The draft Performance Work Statement (PWS) provided with this RFI is for market research purposes only and remains subject to revision. Respondents should not assume that the final scope, task structure, deliverables, or performance standards in the PWS will appear in any resulting solicitation. The

Government is specifically interested in industry feedback that identifies where the described scope may be too broad, too narrow, under-resourced, or structured in a way that drives unnecessary cost, so that the requirement can be refined prior to release of a solicitation.

Section 3: Background/Program Overview

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has issued this RFI to identify interested and capable organizations as well as request feedback from qualified industry stakeholders as part of ONC’s market research to support the ongoing implementation of the Trusted

Exchange Framework and Common Agreement™ (TEFCA®).

The 21st Century Cures Act mandated the creation of TEFCA to build a secure, nationwide health information exchange infrastructure. The TEFCA Recognized Coordinating Entity® (RCE®)1 plays a substantive role in supporting TEFCA’s implementation. The RCE currently develops, updates, implements, and maintains the Common Agreement. The RCE is also responsible for soliciting and reviewing applications from HINs seeking Qualified Health Information Network™ (QHIN®) status and administering the QHIN designation and monitoring processes.

The RCE function is currently performed under a contract with ONC that, if fully executed through all option years, has a final five-year period of performance that will end in August 2028. During transition and onboarding, the incoming contractor should expect to receive , the Common Agreement, standard operating procedures, supporting resources, and technical documents, including the Qualified Health Information

Network Technical Framework and FHIR implementation guides. Available onboarding and designation reports, compliance monitoring reports, evaluation metrics data, and any sustainability plans, pilot plans, and pilot results produced under exercised optional tasks will also support continuity of operations. All deliverables produced under the award are the sole property of the United States Government, which retains unlimited rights to these materials, including associated documentation and copyrights, with the contractor retaining no right, title, or interest.

ONC is seeking updated information on available market capabilities, relevant experience, and potential approaches since ONC first awarded the RCE contract in August 2023. Responses will inform ONC’s market research and planning to support TEFCA’s continued operations and

1 Further background on TEFCA and the RCE is available on ONC’s website (https://healthit.gov/policy/tefca/).

https://healthit.gov/policy/tefca/ advancement.

ONC is exploring possible contracting approaches to fulfill our responsibilities for TEFCA under the Cures Act. In ONC’s nearly decade of experience implementing TEFCA, and as reflected in this notice, the work necessary to administer and advance TEFCA could be split into three categories of activity. They are:

• Governing Documents and Caucus Facilitation

• Onboarding, Operations, and Implementation

• Compliance, Investigations and Dispute Resolution

ONC may pursue a future approach to its work on TEFCA where it contracts separately for each of these functions or possibly combination of these functions. Therefore, ONC requests that responders to this RFI describe their capabilities and strengths to deliver specific standalone functions or combinations of functions.

Section 4: Requirements Descriptions

Attachment 1: Draft Work Statement, Attachment 2: Planning Assumptions for ROM

Development.

Section 5: Information Requested from Respondents

ONC requests that organizations which believe they can furnish one or more of the services noted above also provide:

1. A company profile

• Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)

• Business name - including DBA if applicable

• Business address

• Primary and alternate point-of-contact name and e-mail

• Business size

• Socio-economic status/participation (e.g. 8(a), WOSB, SDVOSB) and applicable

NAICS code(s) under which your firm is classified advancement.

ONC is exploring possible contracting approaches to fulfill our responsibilities for TEFCA under the Cures Act. In ONC’s nearly decade of experience implementing TEFCA, and as reflected in this notice, the work necessary to administer and advance TEFCA could be split into three categories of activity. They are:

• Governing Documents and Caucus Facilitation

• Onboarding, Operations, and Implementation

• Compliance, Investigations and Dispute Resolution

ONC may pursue a future approach to its work on TEFCA where it contracts separately for each of these functions or possibly combination of these functions. Therefore, ONC requests that responders to this RFI describe their capabilities and strengths to deliver specific standalone functions or combinations of functions.

Section 4: Requirements Descriptions

Attachment 1: Draft Work Statement, Attachment 2: Planning Assumptions for ROM

Development.

Section 5: Information Requested from Respondents

ONC requests that organizations which believe they can furnish one or more of the services noted above also provide:

1. A company profile

• Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)

• Business name - including DBA if applicable

• Business address

• Primary and alternate point-of-contact name and e-mail

• Business size

• Socio-economic status/participation (e.g. 8(a), WOSB, SDVOSB) and applicable

NAICS code(s) under which your firm is classified

2. A full description of the company's capability relative to each function (4.1, 4.2, and 4.3).

State whether you would propose as prime alone, as prime with a team, or as a subcontractor for each function, and the share of work you would self-perform.

3. Identify any element you consider commercially available.

4. The Government has a preference for a non-level-of-effort firm-fixed price contract.

Please identify any portions of this work statement that you can perform in support of this preference.

5. If you would not respond to a solicitation structured as described, state why.

6. Information on any existing government-wide vehicles under which ONC could procure these services including:

2. A full description of the company’s capability relative to each function (4.1, 4.2, and/or 4.3) for which it is responding. State whether you would propose as prime alone, as prime with a team, or as a subcontractor for each selected function, and the share of work you would selfperform.

• The contract vehicle name (e.g. GSA MAS, NASA SEWP VI)

• The specific category, special item number, pool, etc. for these services.

• The contract number(s)

• The current period of performance

7. Respondents are encouraged to provide concise, specific information directly responsive to the questions below. Marketing materials or general corporate information that does not address the contemplated requirement are not necessary. Interested and capable organizations are requested to address the following questions:

1. Based on the draft PWS, describe whether the contemplated scope appears feasible and identify any tasks, deliverables, performance requirements, or assumptions that may create significant performance, staffing, schedule or cost risk. Identify any areas of the draft requirement that industry recommends clarifying, restructuring, consolidating, or otherwise revising;

2. Are there industry standards, best practices, or commercial approaches that the

Government should consider when finalizing the SOW;

3. Recommend a reasonable solicitation response period based on the nature and complexity of the requirement;

4. Describe the general staffing model and categories of labor or expertise that would reasonably be required to perform the contemplated work. Identify any specialized expertise, staffing assumptions, or other resources that would materially affect performance or cost;

5. Provide recommendations on which elements of the contemplated scope should be prioritized, phased, scaled, or consolidated to achieve the greatest programmatic value without materially affecting the overall objectives of the requirement.

Respondents may recommend alternative approaches or scope adjustments that could improve efficiency, reduce costs, or enhance the likelihood of successful performance;

6. Provide a rough order of magnitude (ROM) estimate of annual cost to perform the general scope described in the Work Statement and using the attached Planning

Assumptions, and the basis for that estimate. The ROM is requested solely for acquisition planning and market research purposes. Please identify the significant assumptions and primary cost drivers underlying the estimate;

7. Based on the nature of the contemplated services, identify any recommendations regarding acquisition structure or contract type that the Government should consider.

Respondents may address, as applicable:

• Fixed-price, cost-reimbursement, time-and-materials, labor-hour, or hybrid approaches;

• Use of a single contract or other acquisition structure;

• Task organization or phasing approaches; and

• Any acquisition structure that could reduce performance risk, administrative burden, or unnecessary cost.

Recommendations should include a brief explanation of the underlying rationale.