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Questions in Response to RFR # 234332 Public Health Care Services Capacity Enhancement Department of Public Health July 25, 2022
| 1. |
| Can you clarify the specific types of therapeutics that this is referring to? |
| Presently the therapeutics to treat COVID-19 include antivirals and monoclonals that are FDA approved or have received an emergency use authorization. |
| 2. |
| Is this to continue to get PAXLOVID from state? |
| No. Providers may continue to request PAXLOVID and other therapeutics through the established ordering process in HPOP if federal allocations are made available to Massachusetts. |
| 3. |
| Can you provide me with some more information on what this is pertaining to? |
| We encourage you to read the RFR and share it with any grants management colleagues. Please follow up if there are specific questions. |
| 4. |
| If we were to become a provider, would we need to provide all therapeutic products as they evolve or those that fit our capability and capacity? |
| Updated: Providers should respond with what they are able to provide or would be able to provide if offered an engagement for expanded capacity. Becoming a qualified vendor is not predicated on being able to provide all therapeutics. DPH will review all responses and evaluate as appropriate. |
| 5. |
| If a hospital has multiple capabilities to include the ability to deploy Health and Medical Task Forces (HMTF) of 7, 14, and 35 as well as supporting medical equipment and the ability to meet various mission types, dependent on request at the time of the mission. Our interpretation of the RFR is that all these capabilities can be included in one combined COMMBUYS application. Can you confirm this is correct? |
| Providers should respond to all the applicable questions as part of one application. |
| 6. |
| A hospital that currently has capabilities to provide personnel to fulfill the obligation of an HMTF-7 or -14, in addition to initial medical/pharmaceutical supplies to support their activities will over the next few months, will add additional capabilities, including the ability to meet an HMTF-35 and expanded access to medical and pharmaceutical supplies to support the mission. Should we submit an application that details both our current state and future state capabilities, along with a timeline to achieve the proposed future state. Can you confirm that it is acceptable to include the future state capabilities along with the anticipated timeline to achieve those capabilities as part of our application package? |
| Providers should respond to the application based on their current capacity to field, train, maintain, and equip teams of clinical and non-clinical personnel in the designated configurations. |
| 7. |
| Could you please confirm or provide examples of appropriate expenses mentioned in section C “In addition, please note any associated one-time start-up costs”? |
| We are looking to identify any one-time start-up costs directly associated with the delivery of the services to be provided. Some examples of these costs would be the lease of a mobile unit in which to provide therapeutic services, enhancements to IT/billing systems, or chairs for infusions. |
| 8. |
| Can you confirm that a detailed budget is not required at this time? |
a. If it is required, is there a template that we should be utilizing? We have not found any budget forms in the documentation or information provided.
No, a detailed budget is not required to respond to the RFR. A budget would be required to support the daily rate, if there is an engagement more details on how to submit this will be provided.
| 9. |
| When filling out section A but would like some clarification on question 2. I have not heard back from HR / Temp agency, and I am wondering if I should list our clinician rates? |
Our model currently uses clinicians, pharmacists, and nurses. Should I use our rates or estimate a contracted rate? I asked HR and they also mentioned a placement fee?
Providers should use their organization’s maximum rate for the highest paid professional likely to be involved in projects under this contract. If there is a substantive change DPH can reconsider. The purpose is to set what the high bar is for any individual being reimbursed as part of the daily rate.
| 10. |
| What if the highest paid personnel that is included in our application changes later? |
| See Question 9. |
| 11. |
| How many entities does the Department plan to engage for a scope of work (SOW)? |
| DPH does not have a pre-identified number of vendors but intends to offer an engagement to all eligible providers currently on an emergency contract for therapeutic services. |
| 12. |
| How long will the SOW last? |
| The scope may be different from vendor to vendor – there is no specific defined period in the RFR. |
| 13. |
| We don’t have capacity to administer infusions – do we have to be able to administer/dispense all current COVID-19 treatments to respond to the RFR? |
| See Question 4. |
| 14. |
| Does the daily rate include startup costs? |
| The daily rate does not include startup costs, but DPH is willing to review startup costs that pertain to both therapeutics and DMT capacity, such as covering costs of equipment needed. |
| 15. |
| Is there a predetermined number of DMTs that may engage in SOW? |
| No, the number of engagements would be predicated on the identified need at the time. |
| 16. |
| Any insight on insurance billing for treatment/administration when we are also being reimbursed with a daily rate? |
| The purpose of the daily rate is to ensure that costs are covered. If individuals treated are insured, reimbursement must be processed by the provider unless otherwise specified at the time of engagement. Any reimbursement received by the provider must then be deducted from a future invoice. |
| 17. |
| Can you provide more information regarding the Supplier Diversity Office/SDP Partner requirements for potential bidders? |
| The Supplier Diversity Program requirement accounts for 25% of the application score and should be done carefully. DPH is looking for a percentage of commitment agency-wide and not specifically for this program. This will be scored based on certified partners, there are links within the RFR and help for locating partners. |
| 18. |
| My understanding is that providers must offer infusion therapies to qualify for the Master Service Agreement. Is that true? |
| See Question 4. |
| 19. |
| Will COVID19 therapeutics be provided by DPH? |
| DPH will provide the therapeutics to providers that are allocated to the Commonwealth by the federal government. Currently that includes bebtelovimab, molnupiravir, PAXLOVID and EVUSHELD. Remdesivir is not included but providers can obtain it from the commercial supply. |
| 20. |
| Is there any guidance on storage and handling of these medications |
| Each medication provided by DPH is currently under an EUA and storage and handling is outlined in the EUA fact sheet document. These should be reviewed by providers. |
| 21. |
| Currently we are submitting an application for COVID-19 treatments, but you mentioned "or other diseases". Is the expectation as a vendor to treat other infectious diseases under this contract? Are we contracting specifically for COVID-19 treatment options or does this include other diseases as well? |
| This RFR will be open for the next five years. While currently DPH is focused on COVID-19 therapeutics, it is possible that circumstances might require the capacity to administer/dispense other treatments. At the time of engagement, the scope of work will specify the requirements. DPH will work with vendors to develop a new scope of work or to amend an existing scope as needed. |
| 22. |
| If the applicant qualifies as an SDP, does it still need to subcontract with another SDP vendor? |
| Yes, you must submit a plan. |
| 23. |
| What is the start up cost for the DMT section? |
| See Question 7. |
| 24. |
| So then are prior costs incurred in preparation allowed as start-up costs? |
| All startup costs must be related to a scope of work and pre-approval from the DPH is required. |
| 25. |
| Would an ambulance service with RN's be considered where we are currently the only in-home provider in Rhode Island for COVID-19 MAB treatments, or would we have to partner with a hospital/other group. |
| Providers must be licensed in MA and have appropriate clinical oversight. See the RFR for eligible applicants. |
| 26. |
| There are 3 additional forms that are mandatory to include with the proposal. Can you please speak about the Reference Request form? What are you looking for here? |
| Providers are required to provide three Business References. References will be contacted to confirm the bidder’s abilities and qualifications as stated in the bidder’s response. The department may deem the bidder’s response unresponsive if a reference is not obtainable from a listed reference after reasonable attempts. |
| 27. |
| Can you provide some clarity around what kinds of references you would like us to include within the required Business Reference Form. Would you be looking for service partner references or business references or something else? |
| A business reference that would be most appropriate for the department to review. |
| 28. |
| If a facility would deploy via EMAC, do they still have to apply for the RFR? Are these only for in State or region deployments? |
| Responding to the RFR is not a requirement to be eligible for EMAC deployment. |
| 29. |
| Would community health centers be required to provide the IV COVID therapeutic (an option only available at hospitals), as the Q&A document mentioned the following: |
· If we were to become a provider, would we need to provide all therapeutic products as they evolve or those that fit our capability and capacity?
See Question 4.
| 30. |
| None of the providers on the listing are any that we currently use. Since this is a mandatory field, please advise on how to complete it this section. |
| See Question 17. In addition, you have the option to encourage a present vendor to become certified by the SDO office. |
| 31. |
| What would the contracting process look like after I am added to the Master Service Agreement? |
| After the RFR application is submitted and approved, the provider can be added to the Master Service Agreement. The provider will receive a Commonwealth of Massachusetts Standard Contract Form, Contractor Authorized Signatory Listing, and confidentiality agreement form that require signatures and return to DPH for approval. Once completed, the provider will be an approved vendor on the Master Agreement. Next, the Scope of Work (SOW) is prepared, reviewed, and agreed to by both parties. The provider and DPH sign the SOW. The engagement is in place following execution of the SOW. RS |
| 32. |
| Do you expect to see a budget spreadsheet for both deployment of team and the expected startup costs as a supporting document when we upload the RFR application? Or, would we include this in the DMT Mission Ready Packages and Narrative? |
| See Question 8. |
One-time costs and the daily rate are included as part of the Scope of Work.
| 33. |
| Would institutions be able to restrict services to the most appropriate populations for that institution (e.g. pediatrics)? |
| See Question 4. |
In addition, providers are required to have a process for taking both self-referrals and referrals from outside of the providers’ established network.
| 34. |
| If a DMT is deployed in MA are there certain criteria that a hospital would have to make if not therapeutics? Will these vendors be accepted by EMAC deployments? |
| See Question 28. |
The first step is to submit the RFR application to be included on the Master Service Agreement. A Scope of Work, based upon the Department’s needs, will provide the details on the engagement.
| 35. |
| Have you defined the regions that require a lead? |
| The regions have not been defined yet. |
| 36. |
| We have completed the RFR application for monoclonal antibody therapeutic administration, however, when we went to submit in COMMBUYS, the below elements are stated as required. In searching the SDP partners, none of the vendors we use for this service or for any other service are listed. |
Can you please advise how you would like me to proceed?
See Question 17. In addition, you have the option to encourage a present vendor to become certified by the SDO office.
| 37. |
| Some services that are currently being provided in untraditional spaces (offices, conference rooms). Will this allow us to continue to use these spaces under a waiver? |
| Some spaces that providers are currently using are possible due to flexibilities that are in place under federal waivers, and the state does not have control over if they will be available in the future. DPH can work with providers on a pathway to ensure the spaces utilized meet any licensure requirements. |
| 38. |
| Although there was a response that we should “encourage” any of the vendors we would be using for this RFR to become SDC providers I’m not sure if any of them would actually “qualify” to become an SDC provider based on the size of their companies, etc. I assume you do not want anyone to submit an RFR if they do not have that section completed? |
| See Question 36. |
Further, during the review process, SDP accounts for 25% of a bidder's points. A bidder will not be awarded any points for that category if they are unable to find a certified SDP partner. For this reason, existing partners are recommended to obtain certification from the SDO office or select from the SDO extant list to qualify.
| 40. |
| We are looking to request startup funding into our budget. Do we need to review this request with your office before we add it into the budget what we need this initial fund for? |
See Question 7. Further, it should be noted that you do not need to develop a budget to respond to the RFR. The first step is to respond to the RFR to be added to the Master Agreement. Once this occurs, the provider will need to develop a budget noting the one-time costs for which they are seeking reimbursement. The Department will review the proposed budget and notify the provider of its approval.