RHRFP2606 RFP1375 Questions - Department Response.pdf

RFP Section RFP Page Question Response

1. Overview 2

Participation by each facility will influence how many facilities participate and the pace at which the facilitate technology assessments are completed.

a. Does the State have any sense of the readiness and willingness of the facilities to participate?

b. What expectations and procedures do the State have if a facility is unresponsive or disinterested in participating in the assessment process?

The Department has not been able to gauge the readiness or willingness of facilities to participate. The Department, currently, does not plan to take any actions to compel facilities to participate in the assessment.

1.1 Purpose 1 Beyond documenting current-state workflows, does the Department expect workflow redesign recommendations as part of the facility assessments?

The Contractor awarded the contract resulting from this RFP may choose whether or not to incorporate process redesign in their assessment findings. It is not an expectation, although it may be the most prudent recommendation to address a finding.

1.1; III.B.5; IV.A.1.f;

Appendix B 2,19,24

Please clarify the expected level of detail for “actionable findings” and “implementation-ready recommendations.” Should facility, regional, and statewide recommendations include estimated cost ranges, total cost of ownership, implementation sequence, required resources, procurement considerations, dependencies, expected outcomes, workforce requirements, recurring costs, and post-grant sustainability considerations?

Yes.

1.2 Background

Information 2

In section 1.2 Background information, the RFP describes type and quantities of healthcare types (e.g., 26 critical access hospitals). These quantities appear to total to 99 entities. Later in the RFP it describes you anticipate approximately 200 entities to be assessed. Can you elaborate on the types and quantities of the other 101 entities?

The Department is unsure what types of facilities may need the services from the Contract resulting from this RFP. They may or may not include the following examples: Independent primary care practices, community mental health centers, dialysis centers, etc.

1.2 Background

Information 3 How many additional provider facilities serve the 655,070 residents in eligible rural census tracts? The Department does not have this information.

1.2 Background

Information 4

Can you confirm if the State envisions both work stream (A) Statewide and regional healthcare facility technology assessments and (B) Shared infrastructure strategy and framework development occurring in parallel with each other, sequentially, or in a staggered manner?

The Department is seeking a Contractor that is able to leverage its experience in performing assessments, to guide an assessment process that facilitates the achievement of efficiencies and common remediation strategies during the remediation phase.

RHRFP2606 / IPRO RFP1375 Technology Assessment - RHTP

3.1.6

3.1.6; 4.1; VI

3.1.6; 4; SOW VI

9 VI

5, 7, 20 5, 7, 20

Can the Department confirm what all is included in the 15-page limit for the Technical Proposal? Does that only apply to vendor responses to the (E) sections in the Scope of Work?

Or does it apply to the entire proposal? (Cover Page, Table of Contents, Business Information, Staffing, Quality Assurance Plan, etc.)

Please confirm whether the fifteen-page Technical Proposal limit includes the title or cover page, table of contents, resumes, draft Quality Assurance Plan, graphics, tables, and any appendices or exhibits. If any items are excluded from the limit, please identify the exclusions and confirm whether they may be uploaded separately.

Please clarify whether the 15-page Technical Proposal limit includes the table of contents, restated RFP requirements, resumes, draft Quality Assurance Plan, organizational charts, graphics, and other required materials. May resumes and the draft Quality Assurance Plan be uploaded as separate files outside the 15-page limit? Please also identify any required font size, margins, or page format.

Regarding the instruction that "Technical proposals are limited to not more than fifteen (15) pages.", does this limit apply exclusively to the Scope of Work response, or does it also include the Table of Contents, Business Information, Organization and Staffing, resumes, and the Quality Assurance Plan? If items such as resumes and the Quality Assurance Plan are excluded from the page count, may they be submitted as separate appendices, and are there any specific font size, margin, or spacing restrictions for the 15-page submission?

Does the Quality Assurance Plan count towards page limits?

Given the 15-page limit for the Technical Proposal, may Offerors include resumes, or detailed project schedules as appendices excluded from the page limit?

Please clarify which materials count toward the fifteen (15)-page Technical Proposal limit.

Specifically, are the table of contents, resumes, the required draft Quality Assurance Plan, sample or draft assessment materials, subcontractor information, and required forms included in the page limit?

Regarding subcontractor resumes and qualifications submitted in response to Sections 8.2 and

Per section 3.1.6 Technical proposals are limited to not more than fifteen (15) pages.

Technical proposals include the Offeror's response to all mandatory areas in sections 7, 8, and 9 of the RFP spec document. This would include any draft resumes and documents requested. This does not include the State Signature Page, Cover Form, Acknowledgement of Amendment(s), Cost Proposal, Redacted Technical Proposal, and Trade Secret redactions document.

4.2; 9 Introduction 9 Scope of Work

7, 10,13 13-21

Section 4.2 directs Offerors to respond to Sections marked with evaluation codes, while the Section 9 introduction states that all Scope of Work Sections are required Contract services and directs Offerors to restate each Section number. Must the Technical Proposal separately restate and respond to every requirement in Sections I through IX, including requirements not marked M, ME, or E, or may related requirements be addressed through consolidated narratives and a compliance crosswalk?

Can the Department clarify the expectation in the proposal for responding to Section 9 Scope of Work? Does the vendor need to restate each section number or just the sections marked with an (E)?

Responses to the scope of work are only required for sections marked with (E).

6.2.7.2; 3.3 44

"Section 6.2.7.2 of the RFP requires that ""the Contractor and its agents shall have no present or future interest, direct or indirect, that would conflict in any manner or degree with the performance of the services provided pursuant to this Contract."" Section 3.3 further requires the Contractor to disclose ""any actual or potential conflict of interest that exists or arises for itself or any of its subcontractors during the term of the Contract."" Does the State intend for participation in this assessment engagement, whether as a prime contractor or subcontractor, to preclude that entity from bidding on or participating in future State of Idaho procurements related to the Rural Health Transformation Program, including implementation of technology infrastructure, interoperability, or data exchange solutions that may result from the assessment's recommendations?

As a specific example, if a subcontractor on this assessment contributes to documenting interoperability standards or developing technology recommendations, would that subcontractor be eligible to later serve as a technology vendor or subcontractor on an RHTP implementation contract, provided its role in this assessment did not involve drafting specifications for that future procurement?

If preclusion applies, please describe its scope, including whether it extends to subcontractors, to specific work streams within the assessment, or to the entire engagement.

Will the selected contractor be precluded from delivering goods and services after the assessment results have been submitted?

The Contractor awarded the Contract resulting from this RFP may be excluded from remediation of assessment findings, to avoid a conflict of interest between the varying phases of these grants. Preclusion from subsequent work streams will be addressed on a case-by-case basis.

7.2 Experience 11

Beyond technical assessment experience, how will the Department evaluate Offerors' experience in statewide healthcare transformation, rural health strategy, governance, interoperability planning, and implementation roadmap development?

The Department will evaluate Offerors' experience in accordance with language stated in the solicitation.

8.1 (E) Project Lead 11

Section 8.1 asks proposers to define their project lead which appears to indicate a person who would be a project lead of the work delivered day-to-day (e.g., project director, project manager, etc.). Later in section 9.I.5. it describes a Project lead responsible for Contract acceptance, amendments, and oversight which would appear to indicate the contractual signer (e.g., principal, partner, etc.) from the awarded vendor. Can the State further clarify the role and expectations it is seeking for the project lead?

The person who accepts the Contract is not necessarily the person with authority to sign it. The Offeror is asked to provide a description of the proposed Project Lead's experience and qualifications. The Project Lead is also the person who would accept the Contract, amendments, and provide oversight.

9 Scope of Work 13-21

Does the Department currently maintain any statewide technology inventory, facility inventory, or asset registry that will be available to the contractor?

Has the Department identified preliminary statewide technology priorities that Offerors should assume when developing assessment methodologies and future-state recommendations?

No.

9, III 15-19 What formal assistance, authority, or introductory communication will the Department provide to help incentivize healthcare facilities to participate in the contractor's assessment process?

It is unclear what is intended by "introductory communication" in this question. The Department will not provide formal assistance or authority. The Department will work with the Contractor to finalize a facility list, and will provide introductory communication to support participation where appropriate at the Department's discretion.

9, III 15-19

Will the Department allow remote or virtual assessment administration for smaller, low-complexity facilities, or is an on-site visit mandatory for all facilities?

Does the Department anticipate a required percentage of onsite versus remote assessments, or may the contractor propose an approach based on facility type and complexity?

Please describe any expectations or requirements for assessments to be completed onsite?

Are virtual and online approaches acceptable?

Is the work outlined in the scope of work expected to be performed on-site or can it be performed remotely?

What percentage of facilities are expected to require on-site visits?

Does the Department require a minimum number or percentage of facility assessments to be performed onsite? If not, may the Contractor propose a hybrid model in which onsite versus remote administration is determined by facility complexity, risk, evidence sufficiency, connectivity limitations, physical-observation needs, and prior-assessment availability?

How many of the anticipated facility assessments does the Department expect to be conducted onsite versus remotely? Please identify any minimum onsite requirements, facility types that must be assessed onsite, or criteria the Contractor should use to determine the assessment method.

Per SOW 9.III.A.1, both onsite and remote assessment administration are required, but not all facilities to be assessed are expected or required to have both. The Department does not have a required percentage of onsite vs virtual assessments.The Contractor must determine the best assessment strategy and include it in their methodology and process deliverable (section 9.V.A.3).

9, III 15-19

Where a facility has undergone a prior technology assessment, will the Department provide these documents upon contract execution, or is the contractor responsible for discovering and requesting them from each facility?

The RFP states that the Contractor must obtain and review prior technology or needs assessments and incorporate findings where appropriate rather than performing duplicative full assessments. Can the Department provide an estimate of how many eligible facilities have existing assessments, the types of assessments available, and whether the Department will facilitate access to those reports and related documentation?

For facilities with prior technology or needs assessments, will the State provide those assessments, or will the Contractor be responsible for obtaining them directly from facilities?

The Department does not have an estimation for the percentage of expected onsite vs remote assessments, the Contractor must outline their approach.

9, IV 19-20

Is the contractor expected to procure or deploy hardware and software under the "Shared Infrastructure Strategy and Framework Development" work stream, or is the scope strictly limited to strategy, governance, architecture, and standards development?

The Contractor for the Contract resulting from this RFP is not expected to provide the procurement and deployment of hardware and software. These activities would be expected to be performed during a future remediation phase.

9, V 20

Is the contractor required to host the "technology inventory database" on a state-specified platform, or can the contractor provide a custom software-as-a-service solution or exportable database format?

For the required technology inventory database and dashboard, does the State have preferred tools, platforms, hosting requirements, or data format standards?

The Department expects the Contractor to define the approach.

9.I.A.9 14 Which deliverables and resubmissions are subject to the requirement to allow sixty (60) calendar days for CMS review?

The sixty (60) calendar day requirement for CMS review has been removed from the spec document.

9.I.A.9 9.I.A.9; 9.V;

Appendix B

14, 20, 24

If the Department or CMS requests revisions after a timely Contractor submission, what deadline will apply to the resubmission?

For each deliverable subject to CMS review, is the Contractor considered timely when it submits the deliverable to the Department by the stated due date, or must CMS review and any required revisions also be completed by that date?

The Department will coordinate with the Contractor for a timely revision process, if the Department requests a revision. This will typically be no more than seven (7) business days unless otherwise agreed upon by the Department and Contractor.

The sixty (60) calendar day requirement for CMS review has been removed from the spec document.

9.III.B. 19 What is the timeframe for completing assessments?

It is unclear what the Offeror is asking. If the question is about the timeframe for completing individual assessments, each assessment must be scheduled and sequenced acccording to the framework and process agreed upon in the Contract. If the question is about the timeframe for completing all assessments, all assessments must be completed before the Contract expiration date and allowing enough time required for presentation of deliverables.

9.III.B. 19

Is the expectation that the minimum number of 200 assessments are to be completed in year 1?

Is there a penalty for not meeting the minimum 200 locations, since participation is voluntary?

Section 9, III, B, 3. Describes that the vendor must assess a minimum of 200 facilities. Within what timeframe must the minimum 200 assessments be completed? Within the first 2-year contract period? Over the full 5-year contract term? If the latter, can the State identify any prioritization of facilities within the first 2-year contract period?

Section 9, III, B, 3. Describes that the vendor must assess a minimum of 200 facilities.

Appendix A has an estimated number of units set as 200 facilities. Should it be discovered during the project that there are more than 200 facilities that should be assessed, how will that overage be addressed by the State and the federal funding limits?

No, two hundred (200) units is what is estimated over the two (2)-year Contract term. The actual number may be higher or lower. There is no minimum number of facilities.

The language in the RFP spec document has been updated to reflect the number is an estimate, not a requirement.

9.III.B.1. 19 If a provider’s last assessment has been completed in the last 12 months, how will the contractor receive the report? The Contractor must request it from the facility.

9.III.B.1. 19 How many locations have current assessments within the last 12 months? The Department does not have this information.

9.V 20

For the required technology inventory database, statewide inventory, data files, and dashboard deliverables, does the Department expect the Contractor to develop and host a production system/application, or are these intended to be delivered through reporting and visualization tools (e.g., Power BI, Excel, SharePoint, or comparable platforms)? Please also clarify any expectations regarding hosting, licensing, user access, and post-delivery maintenance.

The deliverables are for the benefit of the facilities participating in assessments. The Contractor must determine how to most effectively communicate their findings to facilities to support remediation.

9.V.A.4 20 Is the requirement for Day 90 strictly to establish the database structure, data elements, and an initial statewide baseline (to be continuously populated/updated as remaining facility assessments are completed)?

Yes.

9.V.A.4 and 9.V.A.5 20

Please clarify whether the Department has minimum functional requirements or preferred technical specifications for the statewide technology inventory database and assessment dashboard (e.g., reporting capabilities, export formats, user access, visualization tools, or data integration requirements), or if Offerors are expected to propose their own approach.

The Department expects Offerors to propose an approach.

9.VI 20 May the vendor submit a sample Quality Assurance Plan from a similar project to meet this submission requirement?

Yes, but keep in mind the Quality Assurance Plan submitted will be evaluated against the requirements in the scope of work.

Admin Info 1 When will answers to questions be posted?

The Department cannot provide an exact answer, as it will depend on the number and type of questions received.

Admin. Info.;

Overview 1.2 1-3

The Idaho RHTP Project Narrative describes facility technology assessments occurring during 2026, while the anticipated Contract start date is October 1, 2026. Please provide the revised RHTP milestone schedule applicable to this Contract, including the expected monthly or quarterly assessment throughput.

Per the timeframes in scope of work section V, if the Contract effective date is October 1, 2026, the Project Management Plan would be due by October 31, 2026.

The stakeholder engagement plan would be due November 15, 2026. The assessment methodology and detailed assessment framework and tools would be due November 30, 2026. The technology inventory database ans statewide inventory technology systems ans assets would be due December 30, 2026.

App A 23 How did the State determine the “Estimated Number of Units” for the Cost Proposal?

The Department has identified approximately two hundred (200) facilities that would be potentially eligible for the future remediation phase.

App C 1.2 Term 27 How long do you expect the project to last? The Contract resulting from this RFP will be a two (2)-year contract.

App C 1.3 Price 27

What is the budget for this project?

Can the Department provide an anticipated Contract value, available budget range, or Independent Government Cost Estimate for the initial two-year term to assist Offerors in appropriately scaling the proposed staffing model, assessment depth, technology platform, travel plan, and fully burdened unit pricing?

During the bidders’ conference, the State shared a budget of approximately $2,000,000 for year 1 with an anticipated continued funding for years 2 – 5 with the understanding because it is Federal funding, the State cannot guarantee years 2+ until the funds are awarded in future years. Can the State confirm the anticipated year 1 budget for this project?

What is the budget for year 2?

Year One (1) funding is two million two hundred eight thousand dollars and zero cents ($2,208,000.00). The Year 2 budget will be determined once the Department receives the Year 2 Notice of Award from CMS; however, it's estimated that the Year 2 budget would be the same as Year 1.

App. A, Part 1 22

For each line item in the Appendix A cost matrix, please define the unit of service, the activities included within the unit, and the event that constitutes completion and acceptance of the unit for invoicing purposes.

Please define each unit included in the Cost Proposal matrix and explain which activities must be incorporated into each unit price. In particular, how should Offerors price assessment tool development, project management, stakeholder engagement, prior-assessment review, facility assessments, travel, individual reports, the database/dashboard, statewide reporting, and shared-infrastructure strategy activities?

The unit of service is listed in the Cost Matrix's Unit column for each item. Reference areas have been added to several of the items in the amended Cost Proposal and Billing Procedure spreadsheet.

Acceptance and approval of each item by the Department will allow the Contractor to submit an invoice.

Each item in the cost matrix requires the Offeror's fully-burdened rate.

App. A, Part 1;

SOW III.B 19, 22

For a facility assessment unit, please confirm whether the unit price must include facility outreach and scheduling, document review, surveys, interviews, onsite or remote assessment activities, travel, data entry, scoring, preparation of the facility report, Department-requested revisions, and submission of supporting data.

Yes.

App. A, Part 1;

SOW III.B 19, 22

Are any minimum quantities guaranteed under the indefinite-quantity Contract? Please also clarify how partially completed work will be handled if a facility withdraws, declines to participate, repeatedly reschedules, or becomes unavailable after work has begun.

How will "facility assessment completion" be defined for billing purposes if an eligible rural healthcare facility refuses to participate or fails to provide data despite documented contractor outreach?

Because the Contract is fixed-unit-cost and indefinite-quantity, does the Department guarantee any minimum number of facility assessments or other units, including the stated minimum of two hundred (200) facilities, or are all quantities estimates that may be increased or decreased without a guaranteed minimum?

There are no minimum quantities guaranteed. The estimated number of units in the cost matrix are the number the Department anticipates.

The Contractor must ensure the facility understands that the facility must complete the assessment entirely before it begins.

The language in the RFP spec document has been updated to reflect the number is an estimate, not a requirement.

App. B 24

For purposes of the requirement that a facility assessment report be delivered within 30 calendar days of assessment completion, please define "assessment completion" and clarify whether the 30-day requirement applies to the initial draft submitted to the Department or the final Department-accepted report.

Assessment completion is when the Department has approved the Facility Technology Assessment Report.

Appendix A 23

The RFP states the Contract will be a Fixed Unit Cost, Indefinite Quantity structure with an Estimated Number of Units in the cost matrix. Please clarify how units are defined in the cost matrix:

a. Are units defined on a per-facility-assessment basis (i.e., one unit equals one completed facility assessment)?

b. Are units defined by labor category and hour (i.e., separate unit lines by role, billed hourly)?

c. Are units defined per deliverable (i.e., one unit per Project Management Plan, one per Statewide Assessment Report, etc.)?

d. Are there multiple unit types across different cost matrix rows (e.g., per-facility units for assessments and per-deliverable units for reports)?

If the cost matrix Excel file is currently available in the Question Section of IPRO, please confirm the file name.

a. The Facility Technology Assessment Reports are on a per facility basis. This has been clarified in the amended Cost Proposal and Billing Procedure spreadsheet.

b. No. The cost per unit is for the fully-burdened rate for the item, not defined by labor category and/or hour.

c. Yes, the estimated number of units apply to that row's item.

d. No. The only unit per row is the one listed in that row.

The Cost Proposal and Billing Procedure spreadsheet is in Question 6. The name of the amended file is RHRFP2606 RFP1375 - AMENDED Appendix A - Cost Proposal and Billing Procedure - LOCKED.

Appendix A 23

The RFP states the fully-burdened rate must include all local and non-local travel and per diem.

Please confirm:

a. Travel costs for onsite facility assessments are expected to be embedded in the fully-burdened unit rate and should not be listed as a separate cost line.

b. There is no separate travel budget or per diem reimbursement mechanism outside the fully-burdened rate structure.

c. Mileage, lodging, and meals associated with assessor travel to rural facilities should be factored into unit pricing.

Given the geographic distribution of eligible rural facilities, should Offerors build a single blended travel rate into the "Cost Per Unit", or will the Department permit tiered unit pricing based on travel distance and remoteness?

Should travel costs for onsite assessments be included in the fixed cost proposal, billed as pass-through expenses, or priced separately in Appendix A?

Offerors must provide a fully-burdened rate, which is inclusive of travel.

Appendix A 23

Does the "Cost Per Unit" for facility assessments in Appendix A cover all labor and deliverable production, including overarching deliverables like the "Statewide Assessment Report" and the "Shared IT Service Model", or will the Department provide separate billing line items for these macro-level deliverables?

Offerors must provide a fully-burdened rate for each line item. The Shared IT Service Model and Governance Framework and the Statwide Assessment Report - Final both have their own lines in the cost matrix.

Appendix A N/A

The Cost Matrix includes Facility Technology Assessment Report deliverables at 25% complete (50 units), 75% complete (150 units), and 100% complete (200 units). We understand that these may have been intended to be completion milestones, however, in the Cost Matrix this brings the total to 400 units of Assessment Reports, which would be double the anticipated scope for the contract and directly affects the evaluated 2-year total. Can the Department clarify if this was intentional or if this is a calculating error in the Cost Matrix?

If facility participation in the technology assessment is in fact voluntary and not mandatory, then the number of participating facilities is undefined. If this number is undefined, then how can there be Facility Technology Assessment Report payment milestones based on percentage complete of 200 facilities?

Can the State provide some clarity on Appendix A – Cost Proposal and Billing Structure? 25% assessment completion uses an estimated number of units of 50 while 100% completion uses an estimated number of units of 200. Is the estimated number of units equivalent to the number of facilities assessed that represented estimated percentage of completion? If so, would the 25% and 75% complete line-item amounts be duplicative of the 100% complete, since 200 facilities was identified as the full scope of the RFP

Appendix A identifies estimated quantities of 50 Facility Technology Assessment Reports at 25% completion, 150 reports at 75% completion, and 200 reports at 100% completion. Please clarify whether these quantities are cumulative project milestones or separately billable report units. Will each of the 200 facility assessments be invoiced once, or may an assessment be invoiced at multiple completion stages? Please also clarify the acceptance criteria and invoicing event applicable to each of the three cost lines.

In Appendix A, Cost Proposal spreadsheet, rows 14, 15 and 16 are for varying percent completion of the technology assessments. If the three rows are added together, it seems this would overstate the total Cost of Service. Please clarify the pricing you want for rows 14, 15, and 16.

The Facility Technology Assessment Report Twenty-Five Percent (25%) Complete and the Facility Technology Assessment Report Seventy-Five Percent (75%) Complete have both been removed.

The Facility Technology Assessment Report One Hundred Percent (100%) Complete has been clarified that it is Per Facility Assessment - Per One Hundred Percent (100%) Complete Report.

The Cost Proposal and Billing Procedure spreadsheet has been amended to clarify this.

Appendix A Appendix A, Cost proposal, shows total for two years vs. a total for Year 1 and a total for Year

2. Please advise how to demonstrate year 2 costs.

It is unclear what this question is meaning. The Offeror must submit their fully burdened rate per unit. The estimated number of units is what the Department anticipates over the two (2)-year term of the Contract resulting from this RFP.

APPENDIX A --

COST PROPOSAL

AND BILLING

PROCEDURE, Part

1. Cost

Appendix A describes this to be a “fixed unit cost, indefinite quantity contract” and states “costs must remain firm throughout the life of the contract.” Can the State confirm that the firm costs are in reference to the “cost per unit” because the estimated number of units is not confirmed?

In other words, you are not asking for a fixed “total cost of service” for the duration of the contract.

The RFP states that costs must remain firm throughout the life of the Contract absent Department-approved extenuating circumstances, while the Contract may be extended beyond the initial two-year term for a total potential term of up to five years. Please clarify whether an escalation or rate-adjustment mechanism may be requested for optional renewal years, or whether the initially awarded unit rates will govern the full potential Contract term.

Correct. The cost per unit submitted in the Offeror's cost proposal must remain firm throughout the life of the Contract, unless otherwise agreed to by the Department and modifications will only be considered under extenuating circumstances throughout the entire term of the Contract.

Appendix A spreadsheet Where should any cost assumptions be included in the proposal response? Offerors must provide a fully-burdened rate. There must not be any "cost assumptions".

Appendix A spreadsheet Cost Matrix

Please confirm the maximum number of assessments expected in year 1. There is no maximun number of assessments.

Appendix A; III.A–B 15-19,22

Does Appendix A require one blended per-facility rate across all facility types, or does it permit differentiated rates by facility type, assessment modality, or complexity tier given the variation among CAHs, REHs, RHCs, FQHCs, tribal health organizations, pharmacies, EMS agencies, long-term care facilities, and dialysis centers? Please also confirm whether Offerors must propose one uniform rate for the entire two-year term or may propose different rates by Contract year.

Offerors must provide one (1) blended rate across all types of facilities. The rate provided is for the duration of the Contract resulting from this RFP.

Appendix A; III.B.3;

Appendix B 19,22,24

Please define each “unit” used in the Appendix A cost matrix. Is one unit equal to one completed facility assessment and delivered Facility Technology Assessment Report, or does the matrix contain multiple line items with different unit definitions, such as per assessment, per report, per deliverable, or per service? Please also confirm whether the Estimated Number of Units represents the minimum two hundred facility assessments or another quantity.

The units are defined in the Cost Matrix unit column. The Faciliiy Technology Assessment Reports information in the cost matrix has been clarified and the spec document updated. The estimated number of units represents the estimated number only.

Appendix A; IV; V 19-22

Please confirm whether the Shared Infrastructure Strategy and Framework Development work stream and the Section V deliverables—including project management, stakeholder engagement, assessment-tool development, the technology inventory database, dashboard, raw and summarized data, and statewide reporting—are priced as separate cost-matrix line items or must be incorporated into the facility-assessment unit rate. Please also confirm that all local and non-local travel, mileage, lodging, and per diem must be included in the fully burdened rates and that no separate travel reimbursement will be available.

The Project Management Plan, Stakeholder Engagement Plan, Assessment Methodology and Framework, Technology Inventory Database, Facility Technology Assessment Reports One Hundred Percent (100%) Complete, Data Dashboard, Shared IT Service Model and Governance Framework, Statewide Assessment Report – Final, Transition Plan, and Quality Assurance Plan – Final are all separate line items in the cost matrix. Offerors must provide a fully-burdened rate for each line item, which is inclusive of travel.

Appendix A; IX.A 21-22

For additional phases or work assignments requested under Section IX, will pricing be based on the awarded Appendix A unit rates, negotiated when the additional work is authorized, or established through a separate written task-level scope and cost proposal? Please also clarify whether additional work may introduce new unit types not included in the original cost matrix.

If additional phases/work assignments are requested by the Department, the Contractor and Department will work together to develop a written authorization, scope and budget based on the additional services, not necessarily based on the Cost Proposal. It may include different units types than what are in the cost matrix.

Appendix B 24

For Facility Technology Assessment Reports, what event establishes “facility assessment completion” and begins the thirty-calendar-day report deadline: completion of the onsite or remote assessment session, receipt of all required evidence, facility validation of findings, or Department confirmation that the assessment is complete? For the Statewide Assessment Report, does completion mean the minimum of two hundred assessments or all assessments assigned or approved by the Department?

When is a facility assessment considered “complete” for purposes of beginning the thirty (30)-calendar-day report deadline: completion of the final interview, receipt of all requested documentation, completion of Contractor validation, or formal confirmation by the Department?

The facility assessment would be considered complete when the Contractor has satisfied the requirements they said they would satisfy when they submitted their assessment methodology, framework, tools, and process (9.V.A.3).

Appendix B 25

Facility Technology Assessment Reports are due within 30 calendar days from facility assessment completion. Please clarify:

a. Are individual facility reports submitted on a rolling basis as each assessment is completed, or are they batched and submitted on a periodic schedule (e.g., monthly)?

b. Does the Department's review of individual facility reports trigger the 60-day CMS review requirement, or is CMS review reserved for major program-level deliverables such as the Statewide Assessment Report?

c. May individual facility reports follow a standardized template format, or does the Department expect fully customized narrative reports for each facility?

a. Per the Facility Technology Assessment Report, Report Due information, the reports are due thirty (30) calendar days from the facility assessment completion.

b. The requirement to allow sixty (60) calendar days for CMS review has been removed. The spec document has been updated with this change.

c. The Contractor and Department will determine the formatting requirements.

Appendix B What format is required for a summary of the assessments?

The format of the Facility Technology Assessment Reports and the Statwide Assessment Report must be recommended by the Contractor but requires approval from the Department.

Appendix B Is an overall summary report required?

The two (2) overall reports required are listed in Appendix B -- Reports. They are the Facility Technology Assessment Reports and the Statwide Assessment Report.

APPENDIX B --

REPORTS 25

Appendix B describes the report due window for both the Facility Technology Assessment Reports (30 days from assessment completion) and the Statewide Assessment Report (60 days from all assessments completion).

a. Who will be receiving and reviewing these reports?

b. Will there be a deliverable acceptance process by the State for each report?

c. What timeframe will the State have to accept or reject the report?

d. Is there a capacity limit to the number of reports the State can receive and review at one time from the awarded contractor?

a. Per the second to last paragraph of Appendix A, in the Contract resulting from this RFP, there will be an email address provided for the invoices and reports.

b. The Department will establish a deliverable acceptance process.

c. The Department anticipates a maximum turnaround time of one and a half (1.5) weeks for review.

d. No, there isn't a limit to the number of reports the Department can receive and review at one (1) time.

Appendix B, Facility Technology Assessment Reports

Does the Department expect one separate Facility Technology Assessment Report for each assessed facility, including facilities within the same health system or multi-site organization, or may related sites be presented in a consolidated organizational report with site-level findings?

Each facility must have its own, unique assessment. The Contractor must create a naming convention that makes it clear when two (2) or more facilities are part of a multi-site organzation.

Appendix B, Statewide Assessment Report

The Statewide Assessment Report must assess broadband and connectivity barriers. Should broadband availability, performance, redundancy, affordability, and reliability be evaluated at each facility during the individual assessment, and does the Department have an existing broadband dataset or partner resource that the Contractor is expected to use?

Broadband availability, performance, redundancy, affordability, and reliability must be evaluated at each facility during the individual facility assessments.

The Department does not have an existing broadband dataset or partner resource.

Appendix D 50 (52)

The RFP requires a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) and HIPAA compliance because the contractor may interact with information systems involving protected health information (PHI).

Given this is an infrastructure and technology assessment, what specific scenarios does the Department anticipate where the contractor would need to access, store, or directly handle PHI rather than just reviewing the system's capabilities?

The Business Associates Agreement (BAA) requirement with the Department has been removed but the Contractor must have a BAA with each facility.

The spec document has been updated.

Attachment 6;

Attachment 7 62-63

How actively will the Governors RHTP task force (Attachment 6) and the Legislative Oversight Committee (Attachment 7) be engaged with the contractor's work? Will the contractors be expected to present at task force or committee meetings?

The Governor's RHTP Task Force and the Legislative oversight Committee will be engaged with the Department. The Department does not expect the Contractor to present at Task Force or Legislative Oversight Committee meetings.

General 1

Does the Department or IPRO make available a list of organizations that registered for or attended the pre-proposal conference, downloaded the solicitation, or otherwise expressed interest in responding? If no such list is available, is there an approved mechanism within IPRO for potential subcontractors or teaming partners to identify themselves to prospective prime contractors?

The Department can provide a list of the companies who registered for the pre-proposal conference but there isn't a mechanism in IPRO for potential subcontractors to identify themselves to prospective prime contractors.

The list of companies registered for the pre-proposal conference can be found at the end of the question responses.

General N/A

On the pre-proposal conference it was disclosed that facility participation would be voluntary.

Can the Department please confirm this.

Will participation by facilities be required, encouraged, or voluntary? If voluntary, how should the Contractor handle nonresponsive facilities while still meeting the minimum assessment requirement?

Correct. Facility participation is voluntary. There is not a minimum assessment requirement.

General N/A

During the bidders’ conference, the State appeared to indicate that the 200 in scope facilities would coordinate directly with the awarded contractor to initiate and schedule the assessments rather than the State initiating the process. Can the State further indicate if it has a plan for how the connections will be made between the 200 facilities and the awarded contractor? Does it have a preferred or already established plan? Or is it looking for the awarded contract to define it fully in the stakeholder engagement plan development and deliverable?

The Department does not have a preferred or established plan. The Contractor must provide this plan in accordance with 9.V.A.2.

General N/A Who is the primary sponsor from the State for this project?

There is not a primary sponsor from the state for this project. The Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) was authorized by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Section 71401 of Public Law 119-21).

General N/A What is the size of the project team who will be working on this project from the State side and what roles are on that team?

When fully staffed, the Department's RHTP team will consist of one (1) Senior Project Manager, two (2) Project Manager 2s, one (1) Program Manager, two (2) Grants/Contracts Program Specialists, one (1) Technical Records Specialist, one (1) Financial Specialist Principal, one (1) Financial Specialist Senior, one (1) Financial Specialist, and two (2) Grants/Contracts Officers.

General Can the State confirm that the vendor awarded this contract is not precluded from any future procurements this assessment may inform?

It is unclear what the Offeror is asking. If the question is if Offeror awarded the Contract resulting from this RFP would be precluded from future procurements, the answer is no. If the question is if Offeror awarded the Contract resulting from this RFP would be allowed to perform the remediation, the answer is no, to avoid a conflict of interest between the phases.

General

Are QIOs precluded from applying for this opportunity?

If QIOs are required by CMS to complete technology assessments for their enrolled providers including nursing homes, hospitals, and clinics, would this be considered a duplication of services or how will this impact the scope of work for the contractor of this procurement opportunity?

If in this case QIOs are meaning Quality Improvement Organizations, no they are not precluded from submitting a proposal for this RFP.

General Is there a possibility the state would leverage a contract vehicle such as NASPO ValuePoint Cloud Solutions? Yes.

General Does the State expect all 200 facility assessments to include the same level of effort, or may the Contractor propose a tiered assessment approach based on facility type, size, existing assessment data, and risk profile?

Effort is going to be different depending on facility size, the complexity of their IT footprint, what prior assessment work may have been performed, etc. The Contractor must "right-size" the effort accordingly.

General Will the State provide access to any existing RHTP data systems, dashboards, templates, or reporting tools that the Contractor must use or align with?

No. The Department does not maintain such systems on behalf of projected RHTP participants.

General Should recommendations include estimated implementation costs for downstream investments, or only relative prioritization and sequencing?

The Contractor must focus on identifying the significance of findings and the risk the findings present to the facility.

The facilities will use this information to help determine how they may wish to prioritize remiediation activities.

General Are tribal health organizations expected to be included in the minimum 200 assessments, and if so, will the Department facilitate tribal engagement and approval protocols?

Tribal healthcare organizations are eligible for an assessment.

General What types of data does the State anticipate the Contractor will collect, and should Offerors assume that protected health information, personally identifiable information, or other regulated data will be collected?

The Department does not anticipate collection of any sensitive data. If sensitive information disclosure occurs in the course of performing an assessment, the data needs to be handled appropriately in compliance with all applicable HIPAA Privacy and Security Rule requirements.

General Does the State require the Contractor’s assessment tools, database, dashboard, and data files to be hosted within State-approved environments, or may the Contractor use its own secure environment?

The Contractor will determine which environment to use.

General

The RFP requires a minimum of 200 facilities assessed. Is there an anticipated maximum, and how does the state envision prioritizing if more facilities request assessments than budgets allow?

The RFP identifies the resulting agreement as a fixed-unit-cost, indefinite-quantity contract with no guaranteed quantities. However, the Scope of Work requires the Contractor to assess a minimum of 200 eligible healthcare facilities. Please clarify whether the Department guarantees a minimum volume of 200 facility assessments under the Contract or whether the quantity of assessments remains subject to Department discretion.

Are there required minimum assessment quantities by facility type or geographic region, or may the Contractor propose the final distribution and sequencing methodology for Department approval? Please also confirm whether all minimum two hundred assessments must be completed during the initial two-year Contract term and whether the Department anticipates quarterly, annual, regional, or facility-type production targets.

The Department estimates that there will be two hundred

(200) assessments completed in the two (2)-year Contract term. There is not a required minimum.

The language in the RFP spec document has been updated.

General Are contractor/subcontractor partnerships acceptable to complete the scope of work outlined? Yes, see section 8.3 of the spec document for more information.

General

Will ownership of pre-existing methodologies become property of the State, or will it remain as the vendors intellectual property?

The RFP states that the State owns all State Data developed or collected under the Contract.

Please clarify ownership and licensing rights for the Contractor's pre-existing intellectual property, including proprietary assessment methodologies, templates, scoring frameworks, databases, dashboards, software, and other pre-existing tools used in performing the work. Will the Contractor retain ownership of such pre-existing intellectual property while granting the Department a license for its use under the Contract?

The Contractor will retain rights to their intellectual property. Anything produced or learned as a result of the Contract becomes the property of the Department.

General What is the estimated distribution of facilities across facility types? The Department does not know what the distribution of facility types will be for this.

General Are prior state assessment templates available?

The Department expects the Contractor to leverage their own templates or develop templates during the course of delivery of work.

General Will the Department facilitate introductions to participating facilities? No.

General Is there a target completion schedule for all 200 assessments? The Contractor must complete all assessments and the required reporting by September 30, 2028.

General Are there existing statewide technology inventories available? The Contractor must request a technology inventory from each facility.

General What reporting platform or dashboard environment is preferred? The Department does not have a preferred platform or dashboard environment.

General

Please confirm whether the successful Offeror will be treated as a contractor or a subrecipient under 2 C.F.R. § 200.331. Additionally, please provide the applicable Assistance Listing (CFDA) number, Federal Award Identification Number (FAIN), and any other federal award information that will be incorporated into the resulting contract.

The agreement resulting from this RFP will be a contract, therefore the awarded offeror will be a contractor. The ALN/CFDA is 93.798 and the FAIN is RHTCMS332084.

I.A.9; V,Appendix B 14,20,24

General Requirement I.A.9 requires sixty calendar days for CMS review of each submission or resubmission before the deliverable due date, while Appendix B requires Facility Technology Assessment Reports within thirty calendar days after assessment completion.