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NIH CC/DCRI HIMD Support Services Government Responses to Offeror RFQ Questions
1. Format and Submission Requirements
| # |
| Vendor Question (Summary) |
| Government Response |
| 1 |
| Is a specific number of proposal volumes/files required, or may Technical, Past Performance, and Price be combined? |
Please confirm the required quote contents, including whether NIH requires separate technical and price volumes, past performance information, resumes/key personnel information, a staffing plan, or any other specific evaluation information. Please also confirm whether any page limitations or formatting requirements apply.
Quote format is at the offeror's discretion. There is no requirement for separate Technical, Past Performance, and Price volumes; these components may be combined into a single document, provided pricing is clearly separable for evaluation purposes.
| 2 |
| Is there a page limitation for the Technical Narrative or other portions of the quotation, and are cover pages, TOCs, resumes, and appendices excluded? |
| No page limitation applies to any portion of the quotation. Cover pages, table of contents, resumes/qualification summaries, and appendices are not counted toward any limit. |
| 33 |
| The transcription projection table appears to identify 255,000 lines for each performance period except one successive 12-month period, which states 2,555,000 lines. Please confirm the correct projected quantity for that period. |
| This is a typographical error in 7.4.1. There was an extra 5 included in the number, the amount should read 255,000 lines. |
2. CLIN Structure and Pricing
| # |
| Vendor Question (Summary) |
| Government Response |
| 3 |
| The CLIN Items attachment shows only CLIN 0001, while the PWS establishes a base period plus four option periods. Please provide the complete CLIN/subCLIN structure. |
| Updated CLIN items have been shared via the updated attachment |
| 4 |
| Please provide the complete pricing structure - CLIN/subCLIN numbers, units of measure, estimated quantities/hours, and pricing periods for the base period and each option period. |
The CLIN attachment lists service categories with columns for Hours, Rate, and Total but does not provide quantities or a separate pricing structure for the base period and four option periods. Please clarify the quantities/units to be priced and whether offerors should provide separate pricing for the base period and each option period.
Updated CLIN items have been shared via the updated attachment Note: CLIN 0001 corresponds to the Base Period (11/1/2026–10/31/2027)
| 5 |
| Do the 'Supplies/Services - Descriptions' entries represent labor categories, service-pricing categories, or a combination? |
| A combination. Customer Service-Core Staff, Customer Service-Team Lead, Scanning Coordinator, Customer Service-Scanning, and Coding Coordinator and CDI Specialist are labor categories priced hourly. Scanning Facility and Storage is a monthly firm-fixed-price facility cost. Inpatient/Outpatient Coding and Abstracting, transcription lines, and pathology reports are production-volume-based service categories. |
| 6 |
| For labor-category entries, what is the expected FTE count per position? For service-based entries, what unit of measure applies? |
| Based on the Government's cost estimate (2,080 hours = 1 FTE/year): |
Core Staff ~7.2 FTE;
Team Leads 2.0 FTE;
Scanning Coordinator 1.0 FTE;
Coding Coordinator and CDI Specialist 2.0 FTE;
Customer Service - Scanning FTE needs decline over the performance periods (~5.4 FTE in the Base Period to ~1.3 FTE by Option Year 4), reflecting an anticipated reduction in paper-based scanning volume.
Production-based categories are priced per visit, per line, or per report as shown in the cost estimate, not by fixed FTE.
| 7 |
| Should offerors price each period separately, and is annual escalation permitted? If so, is there a preferred methodology or percentage? |
| Yes, separate unit and extended prices are required for each period. The Government's cost estimate applies approximately 3% annual escalation across option periods; offerors may use this as a benchmark or propose their own reasonable escalation methodology with supporting rationale. |
| 18 |
| For production-volume-priced services, should offerors price against PWS historical/projected volumes, or will a revised CLIN schedule provide specific quantities? |
| Offerors should price against the volumes in the PWS Volume of Work tables (Section 9), which already project period-by-period increases. No additional revised quantities are planned beyond the CLIN renumbering described in the response to Question 3. |
| 19 |
| What is the estimated annual scanning volume (pages, boxes, records, or labor hours) to support pricing of scanning, storage, courier, and QC requirements? |
| Estimated scanning labor hours are reflected in the Customer Service-Scanning line of the cost estimate. These numbers will change (decrease) over time depending on the government’s needs so the contractor will require flexibility to support this service. From 11/1/2024-10/31/2025, 1,352,283 pages were processed. From 11/1/2025-8/31/2026, 821,030 pages were processed. |
| 20 |
| Should the Scanning Facility and Storage item be priced monthly/annually, by square footage, by box/record volume, or another method? |
| Scanning Facility and Storage should be priced as a monthly firm-fixed-price amount, consistent with the Government's cost estimate, not by square footage or box/record volume. |
3. Incumbent and Transition
| # |
| Vendor Question (Summary) |
| Government Response |
| 8 |
| Is there an incumbent contractor? If so, please provide the name and current/predecessor contract number. |
| Medical Records Corporation of Maryland |
Contract 75N90025C00004
| 9 |
| If there is an incumbent, are all positions/functions fully staffed, or are there existing vacancies? |
| All positions are fully staffed. |
| 24 |
| Does the Government anticipate an incumbent workforce the successful contractor may recruit/retain, and can incumbent staffing information be provided? |
| The Government is unable to provide incumbent staffing information currently. Should award be made to an offeror other than the incumbent, obtaining this information. including any decisions about recruiting or retaining incumbent staff, would need to be addressed directly between the awardee and the incumbent contractor as part of transition planning. |
| 25 |
| Is a transition-in/phase-in period required? If so, what is the duration, required activities/deliverables, and should transition costs be separately priced? |
| The PWS does not define a distinct phase-in period, but the Government's cost estimate labels the first performance period as 'Initial Option Period (Phase-in),' indicating a phase-in is intended within the first 60 days of the Base Period. Transition costs should be included within Base Period pricing rather than priced as a separate CLIN. |
4. Key Personnel and Staffing
| # |
| Vendor Question (Summary) |
| Government Response |
| 10 |
| Are full resumes required with the quotation, or may offerors submit qualification summaries with detailed resumes provided upon request or prior to award? |
Please confirm whether the detailed staffing plan identified in PWS Section 8.1.2 is required with the quote or is a post-award deliverable, and whether resumes/qualifications are required for any key personnel in addition to the Transcription/Dictation Liaison identified in Section 9.1.3.
PWS Item 98 requires only that 'identification of qualifications and experience' for the Dictation and Transcription Liaison be submitted with the proposal, not a full resume. Qualification summaries are acceptable at quote submission for all key personnel, with full resumes and supporting credentials to be provided upon request or prior to award.
| 11 |
| How many past performance references are required, and is there a prescribed format, recency period, value threshold, or relevance requirement? |
| Offerors must submit a minimum of two past performance references with their quotation. For each reference, provide: (1) a description of the type of work performed and its relevance to this requirement; (2) the period of performance; (3) the name of the company's project manager for that effort; and (4) a current phone number and email address for that project manager, so the Government may contact them directly for verification. |
| 12 |
| Please confirm the complete FAR 52.212-2 evaluation factors and their relative importance, including whether award is LPTA, best value tradeoff, or another methodology. |
| Best Value |
Please see additional information shared via the amendment in the attachment ‘Technical Evaluation Criteria’
| 32 |
| The solicitation directs offerors to FAR 52.212-2 for the specific evaluation criteria; however, the posted Clauses attachment does not appear to contain a completed FAR 52.212-2 provision or identify the evaluation factors. Please provide the evaluation factors, their relative importance, and the Government's intended basis of award. |
| Additional information has been shared via the amendment in the attachment ‘Technical Evaluation Criteria’ |
| 15 |
| What is the minimum onsite Customer Service staffing level, and is the Team Lead in addition to or included within core staffing? |
| The PWS does not set a minimum simultaneous headcount; it sets an outcome standard of no more than 40 hours of uncovered time per year during the 7:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday support window (PWS Item 4, Section 9). The Team Lead is a position in addition to Core Staff coverage requirements. Note: PWS Item 97 states the Team Lead is onsite full-time, while Item 97.1 states the Team Lead 'can work remotely' - this inconsistency should be corrected/clarified in the amended PWS. |
| 16 |
| Is there an estimated or minimum FTE count for the Customer Service - Core Staff category? |
| The PWS narrative does not state a minimum FTE; the cost estimate's 14,994 annual hours (~7.2 FTE) reflects the Government's own planning estimate and is a reasonable basis for offeror pricing. |
| 17 |
| Are the Coding Coordinator and CDI Specialist, Scanning Coordinator, Team Lead, and similar roles expected to be dedicated full-time, part-time, or shared positions? |
| These are expected to be dedicated (not shared or part-time) positions, consistent with the full FTE-equivalents reflected in the Government's cost estimate. |
5. Wage Determination and Place of Performance
| # |
| Vendor Question (Summary) |
| Government Response |
| 13 |
| What Wage Determination(s) should apply for pricing, given onsite and remote performance from different U.S. locations? |
| PWS Items 107-108 require compliance with 'the Department of Labor Wage Determination (WD) as issued for their County and State' (i.e., the applicable WD follows the location where each employee actually performs work: Montgomery County, MD for onsite staff at the Bethesda Clinical Center, and the relevant WD for each remote employee's own county and state otherwise. |
| 14 |
| May the required local scanning facility be provided through an approved subcontractor/teaming partner's facility? |
| Yes. A subcontractor or teaming partner's local Maryland-Washington DC-Virginia area facility may satisfy the scanning facility requirement, provided all PWS security, storage, inspection, transportation, and performance requirements are met and the facility remains available for HIMD inspection. |
| 21 |
| Which functions must be performed onsite at NIH, and which may be performed remotely (coding, transcription, QA, management, CDI, scanning support)? |
| Per the PWS, Place of Performance section, release of information functions must be performed onsite at the Bethesda Clinical Center. All other work may be performed remotely, except scanning, which is restricted to the local Maryland-DC-Virginia area. |
| 22 |
| For remote staff, are there geographic restrictions within the U.S. beyond the overseas prohibition, other than the local-area requirement for scanning? |
| No additional geographic restriction is stated in the PWS for remote staff beyond the domestic-performance requirement and the local-area requirement specific to scanning. |
| 23 |
| Should the cost of initial training, credentialing, badging, background investigations, and onboarding be included in proposed pricing, or separately reimbursed? |
| These costs should be included in the offeror's proposed labor rates/prices, not billed separately, consistent with how the cost estimate prices labor as fully burdened hourly rates. |
6. Required Attachments and Certifications
| # |
| Vendor Question (Summary) |
| Government Response |
| 26 |
| Are offerors required to submit a Quality Control Plan, Staffing Plan, Transition Plan, Organizational Chart, Security Plan, Management Plan, or other technical attachments with the initial quotation? |
| No. PWS Item 66 requires the Quality Control Plan to be submitted “not later than the post-award conference... within five business days following contract execution” not with the initial quotation. The Staffing Plan (PWS Item 89) is also listed as a post-award deliverable rather than a proposal-stage submission. No other technical attachments are required at quote submission per the current PWS. |
| 27 |
| Are there required forms, certifications, representations, or signed documents to include the quotation beyond the technical narrative, pricing, and personnel/past performance information? |
| No other requirements |
7. Subcontracting
| # |
| Vendor Question (Summary) |
| Government Response |
| 28 |
| Is subcontracting permitted, and are there restrictions beyond the WOSB set-aside requirements and FAR limitations on subcontracting? |
| Subcontracting is permitted. The PWS repeatedly references “contractor and/or subcontractor” throughout its security, badging, and key personnel provisions. The applicable limitation is the FAR 52.219-14 limitation on subcontracting for the WOSB set-aside, which requires the prime to perform the required percentage of the contract's personnel costs itself. |
| 29 |
| May subcontractors perform specialized services (coding, transcription, scanning, records storage), provided all PWS requirements are met? |
| Yes, provided all PWS security, privacy, personnel, and performance requirements are satisfied regardless of whether the work is performed by the prime or a subcontractor. |
8. Completeness of the Solicitation Package
| # |
| Vendor Question (Summary) |
| Government Response |
| 30 |
| Do the current attachments represent the complete solicitation package, or will an additional pricing schedule, evaluation attachment, wage determination, or staffing matrix be issued before the due date? |
PWS Sections 9.1.12 and 9.1.13 require compliance with applicable Department of Labor Wage Determinations for Medical Record Technician 12190 and Medical Transcriptionist 12195. Please identify the applicable Wage Determination(s) offerors should use for pricing, particularly for services that may be performed remotely from different locations.
Updated CLIN items have been shared via the updated attachment.
| 31 |
| The notice lists two deadlines that appear inconsistent: quotes due September 30, 2026 at 5:00 PM EDT (per the notice header) versus questions/quotes due 10:00 AM EST Monday, September 28, 2026 (per the notice body). Could you confirm the correct final submission deadline? |
| The quote due date has been extended to September 30, 2026, 5 pm EST. |
