A.09.03_Solicitation_Final_Amendment_0003.pdf

0010892454-0001

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

30-105-04EXCEPTION TO SF 30

APPROVED BY OIRM 11-84

STANDARD FORM 30 (Rev. 10-83)

Prescribed by GSA

FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

This amendment answ ers vendor questions, adds Federal Acqusition Clause 52.222-62, Paid Sick Leave Under Executive Order 13706 by reference, and updates information w ithin clause addendum 52.212-1.

This amendment also corrects a typo in Amendment 0001: The Government w ill accept Past Performance from your company as a Prime or

Past Performance of you as a Sub-contractor how ever your company must submit at least one Past Performance reference as a Prime.

The soliciation closing date is extended from 26 June 2017 to 29 June 2017, 12:00pm CST. The Past Performance Questionnaires are also due 29 June 2017.

Offerors shall acknow ledge each amendment isssued by completing each SF 30, Blocks 8 and 15A - C and returning w ith proposal package.

1. CONTRACT ID CODE PAGE OF PAGES

J 1 25

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

16C. DATE SIGNED

BY 22-Jun-2017

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA15C. DATE SIGNED15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

(Signature of Contracting Officer)(Signature of person authorized to sign)

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., Street, County, State and Zip Code) X W81K00-17-R-0004

X 9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

31-May-2017

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

X The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offer X is extended, is not extended.

Offer must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended by one of the following methods:

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning 1 copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted;

or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE

RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN

REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required)

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS.

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE

CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(B).

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority)

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not, is required to sign this document and return copies to the issuing office.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

10A. MOD. OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO. 5. PROJECT NO.(If applicable)

6. ISSUED BY

3. EFFECTIVE DATE

22-Jun-2017

CODE

W40M USA HLTH CONTRACTING ACT

SOUTHERN REG CONTR OFC

3551 ROGER BROOK DR BLDG 3600

FORT SAM HOUSTON TX 78234-6200

W81K00 7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than item 6)

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.

CODE

See Item 6

FACILITY CODECODE

EMAIL:TEL:

W81K00-17-R-0004

SECTION SF 30 BLOCK 14 CONTINUATION PAGE

SUMMARY OF CHANGES

SECTION SF 30 - BLOCK 14 CONTINUATION PAGE

The following have been added by full text:

VENDOR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. The Government does not identify any number of training or family days within the solicitation. Are there any training or family days anticipated on this contract? If so, can the

Government please provide the number of training or family days anticipated each year throughout the life of this contract?

Response: There are no anticipated training or family days.

2. On page 70 of the solicitation, Factor 2: Past Performance, the Government states “The offeror shall provide two references (i.e., name, title, telephone phone number, and project title/description) who can verify that the company that provided recent and relevant services either as the Prime Contractor or Sub-Contractor.” Yet, in the following paragraph, the

Government states “… past performance by submitting a copy of the attached Past Performance

Questionnaire (PPQ) (Attachment 2) to at least two references with instructions…” Will the

Government please clarify if the offeror is to provide only two references or a minimum of two references for evaluation? If there is a minimum, is there a maximum?

Response: No, there is no maximum.

3. On page 81 of the solicitation, Factor 2: Past Performance, the Government states “If your Company does not have relevant past performance as a Prime Contractor or a Sub-

Contractor, the Contracting Officer intends to rate your past performance as "Unknown", even if you submit a subcontractor with relevant past performance.” Since you are able to submit a relevant past performance from a subcontractor, will the Government consider evaluating

“major” subcontractors?

Response: The Government will accept Past Performance from your company as a Prime or Past

Performance of you as a Sub-contractor however your company must submit at least one Past

Performance reference as a Prime.

4. On page 69, the Government states “There will three volumes: (1) Administrative, (2)

Technical Approach and Management Plan, and (3) Price. Factor 1--Technical Capability, Factor

2 – Past Performance, Factor 3 – Total Employee Compensation, and Factor 4 – Price, when combined, shall not exceed 20 pages.” Will the Government consider allowing for Volume

Cover Letters, Table of Contents, and Glossaries to be excluded from the 20 page limit for the

Factors?

Response: Proposal Preparation Instructions. Provide one (1) complete original which shall consist of Volumes I, II, and III. Also provide one (1) Volume II completely sanitized with only the CAGE Code and no other company logos. The proposal shall be submitted so that it may be printed on standard 8.5” x 11” paper, using no smaller than 10pt. font, front-side only for all volumes. There will be three volumes: Administrative, Technical Approach and Management

Plan, and Price. A 20-page limitation and a sanitized copy will be applied to Volume II only.

5. Is the current bridge contract, W81K00-17-P-0308, for 19 FTEs?

Response: No, the current bridge contract is for 13 FTE

6. Was the original contract, W81K00-11-P-0665, for 19 FTEs?

Response: No

7. Past Performance: Can teaming partner past performance be used as past performance for the team? Will it be evaluated less relevant or weight the same as if the past performance submitted by the prime partner?

Response: Yes teaming partner past performance may be used, and will not be evaluated less relevant than a prime.

8. Wage Determination: Will the Government provide the appropriate labor category for these Registered Nurse Case Managers? Should we use RN I or RN II?

Response: Wage Determination No.: 2015-5254, Revision No.: 1, 02/22/2017, 12314 -

Registered Nurse III

9. Will the Government provide the original hire dates of the current incumbent employees?

10. Volume II - Technical and Management Plan (page 70) includes Factor 3- Compensation and Factor 4 - Price. On page 71 lists Factor 3 and 4 in Volume III. Please clarify.

Response: See response to Question 4

11. Do the Past Performance Questionnaires count towards the total page count?

12. Should we describe the Past Performance in the Past Performance volume or just include the reference contact information?

Response: Past Performance is described within the volume, Past Performance Questionnaires are given to the reference who will submit directly to the contracting office.

13. What are the naming conventions for the electronic files?

Response: Not required, however the following are sample naming conventions:

B.01.09_Offeror_Proposal_Contractor Name_Original

B.01.09_Offeror_Proposal_Contractor Name_Sanitized

14. Should we submit 6 electronic files (i.e. Volume I, Volume I sanitized, Volume II, Volume II sanitized, Volume III, Volume III sanitized)?

Response: No preference but ensure that files are separately identified as original and sanitized

15. Page 69: Proposal Preparation Instructions: There will be three volumes:

Administrative, Technical Approach and Management Plan, and Price. Factor 1--Technical

Capability, Factor 2 – Past Performance, Factor 3 – Total Employee Compensation, and Factor 4

– Price, when combined, shall not exceed 20 pages.

a. Will the Government please advise if the cover page and table of contents will count towards the 20 page limit?

Response: See response to Question 4

b. Will the Government please advise if SF 1449 and any subsequent Amendments (SF 30) count towards the 20 page limit?

16. Page 103: Attachment 1 – Fill/Vacancy Report, Attachment 1: Fill/Vacancy report is included in the RFP Solicitation. Will the Government please provide clarification/instruction on what we are supposed to do with this attachment?

Response: Upon contract award, the contractor will complete the Fill/Vacancy Report and submit to the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) on a monthly basis.

17. As to the “Proposal Preparation Instructions…when combined, shall not exceed 20 pages” on page 69, would you reconsider? Can the Administrative Volume page(s) be excluded from the 20 page limit (1449, Amendments, title page, etc.)?

18. As to Past Performance, at least 2 are requested. What is the max that will be evaluated?

Will we be disqualified if 3 past performances are submitted?

Response: There is no maximum number; additional Past Performance Questionnaires will not disqualify a proposal.

19. In reference to yearly increases, should we build into rate or will increase be driven by a new SCA or DOL?

Response: The rate shall be built into the submitted proposal for the base plus all four option renewal periods. Yearly DOL updates will be reviewed as applicable .

20. Are there incumbent contractors? If yes, would you provide contact information?

Response: Yes, there are incumbent contract employees. Upon award, contact information will be provided in accordance with Federal Acquisition Clause (FAR) 52.222-41, Service Contract

Labor Standards (May 2014): http://farsite.hill.af.mil/vmfara.htm

21. 7.1 Investigation Requirements, page 46, #7 Security Requirements. Can you elaborate on NACI – “written inquires”?

Response: The contractor must coordinate with the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) to initiate the Request for Personnel Security Action prior to performance start date.

22. How long will the NACI process take?

Response: Average 2-6 weeks

23. How does that process affect 1.3.1 Standards “fill rate?”

Response: Any Government delays after a security package is received in-house, will not affect the fill rate.

http://farsite.hill.af.mil/vmfara.htm

24. Question Pricing Clauses Incorporated By Full Text, page 73: The Government lists the type of contract as firm-fixed price, however, the CLIN structure for SF 1449 Continuation Sheet and Attachment 3 both require an hourly rate. Could the government please clarify if this will be awarded as a firm-fixed price contract based on FAR Clause 52.243-1 which would be billed monthly, or if the government is instead requesting a firm-fixed hrly bill rate to be billed based on timesheet submittal?

Response: The Government is requesting a firm-fixed hourly bill rate to be billed based on timesheet submittal.

25. Suggestion Pricing SF 1449 Continuation Sheet, page 3-7: As this contract will be SCA, would the government please change the hours listed in CLINS 0001, 1001, 2001, 3001, and

4001 to incorporate an estimated number of sick leave hours to be compliant with EO 13706, Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors.

Response: The Government has defined the annual needs as 36,480 hours so the CLINs will remain the same however FAR Clause 52.222-62, Paid Sick Leave Under Executive Order

13706 has been incorporated into the solicitation by reference.

26. Pricing Attachment 3: The Government has listed the Base Labor Rate by Specialty using 1920 hours in their formula, however the Fringe Benefits include sick leave. If the contractor provides sick leave, this will reduce the base labor rate by specialty hours from 1920.

Can the government change the hours provided for base labor rate by specialty as this is an SCA contract and sick leave will be mandatory?

Response: See response to Question 25

27. Pricing Attachment 3 Page 106, Compensation Plan for Employees: Base Labor Rate by

Specialty - If all the positions are RNs. Can the Government explain what is expected? Does this also include or exclude the PM?

Response: Include a total employee compensation rate for 1 FTE, which is a Registered Nurse

Case Manager, there are no positions for a PM so the PM is excluded from this requirement.

28. Incumbency Staffing PWS, Para. 2, pg. 39: Are there incumbent staff in place at this time?

Response: Yes

29. Training Requirements PWS, Para 5.1, pg. 40: Will the government provide the NCMs the specific annual training required by MEDCOM?

30: Training Requirements PWS, Para 5.2 pg. 40: Who is responsible for course enrollment and funding for the employees to attend the Nurse Case Management Course in San Antonio required by MEDCOM?

Response: The Government is responsible for costs for attendance. Meal time is non-billable time. Food costs are not reimbursable. The Government/Chief, Medical Management and Chief, Utilization Management will coordinate with the COR and contractor.

31. Proposal Preparation Instructions Factor 1 - Technical Capability, Factor 2 - Past

Performance, Factor 3 - Total Employee Compensation and Factor 4 - Price, when combined, shall not exceed 20 pages. Would the government remove Factor 4 Price Volume from this 20 page limitation? Usually the price volume doesn't have a page limitation.

32. Due Date: With the fact that questions are due to be submitted no later than 15 June and the responses are due by the 22nd of June does the Government anticipate and extension being issued?

33. In Section 3.1, duty hours are listed as 0700 to 2100, seven days per week.

a. Is the workload evenly distributed across the daily schedule?

Response: Yes, from 0700-1630 Monday through Friday. Staffing requirements after 1630 and on weekends will be distributed between 1-3 Nurse Case Managers depending upon workload and ongoing demand assessments.

b. Are current staffing levels consistent for all days of the week and all shifts?

Response: Yes, from 0700-1630 Monday through Friday. Staffing requirements after 1630 and on weekends will be distributed between 1-3 Nurse Case Managers depending upon workload and ongoing demand assessments.

34. Who is the incumbent contractor and what is the contract number and value?

Response: InGenesis Inc., W81K00-17-P-0308, $662,812.80

35. Addendum to 52.212-1, page 5 of 7 indicates that “Factors 1-4 shall not exceed 20 pages”.

Since the Price information is a separate volume, would the Government consider allowing 20 pages for Factors 1-3 to provide sufficient space to address program management, recruitment and retention, and past performance requirements?

36. Would the Government consider a one week extension to the proposal due date to provide submitting parties adequate time to review the responses to questions asked and to make adjustments to their proposal response to incorporate this information?

37. For the email submission, what is the file size limit that cannot be exceeded?

Response: 20 megabytes

38. To clarify, one copy of the entire proposal should be completely sanitized, as in no logos or illustrations and a second one can be attached with images and logos, correct?

39. Are the incumbent/current employees filling these positions intending on remaining with a new contractor?

Response: Unknown

40. If so, can we have their information to verify how long they have been on this contract to allot for vacation, fringe and pay?

Response: See response to Question 20

41. Is there a page limit to Volume 1 and Volume 2?

42. Is the Nurse Case Management Course a distance learning or resident course?

Response: Consists of 20-30 hours on-line courses and three week resident course held in San

Antonio, TX.

43. Page. 38, PWS, 2.5 Possess or obtain national certification in case management as accepted by the URAC Case Management Standards preferred, however certification is not required. The government will not reimburse for these costs. Question: Understanding URAC certification is preferred but not required, will the department recognize other international accreditations in case management, specifically, Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation

Facilities (CARF), in lieu of URAC?

Response: No, CARF is not acceptable. For clarification, the requirement is not “URAC certification”, it is “URAC Recognized” Case Management Certifications, which is a list of nationally recognized case management certification specialties. The Case Management Society of America certification is also a highly desired certification. Per Operation Order 13-25

(Nursing Case Management) Certification in nurse case management is preferred. The nurse case manager has the option to obtain certification by the Commission for Case Management

Certification (CCMC), the American Nursing Credentialing Center (ANCC) or the National

Academy of Certified Care Managers (NACCM). Approval of other case management related certifications will be submitted through the MTF Deputy Commander for Nursing and Regional

Nurse Executive to the Nursing Case Management Consultant for approval.

44. 2.14. The Contractor shall ensure contract HCPs have received Occupational Safety and

Health Administration (OSHA) required training for the position in which they will perform, and that training currency is maintained. Documentation of such training shall be provided to the

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). Question(s): Is there a specific level of OSHA training beyond Bloodborn Pathogens that is required for HCP’s? If so, what is the time frame in which the training must be completed?

Response: The Standard OSHA requirements is applicable. The initial requirements must be completed, verified and tracked prior to the start of employment.

45. Page 40, PWS, 5.2 MEDCOM requires all case managers to attend the one-time Nurse

Case Management (NCM) Course held in San Antonio, Texas within two years of employment.

Question: Is the contractor or Government responsible for costs associated with attending the

NCM training course for contractor HCP’s?

Response: The Government is responsible for costs for attendance. Meal time is non-billable time. Meal food costs are not reimbursable by the Government. The Government/Chief, Medical

Management and Chief, Utilization Management will coordinate with the COR and contractor are responsible for scheduling staff attendance at the course, based upon staffing and workload, which may extend attendance beyond the preferred two year period.

46. It is stated in the solicitation that the offeror shall provide two references. Question: A vendor owns two facilities where it directly provides Case Management Registered Nurse

Services to consumers/ individuals and not through a contract vehicle. The vendor is certified to provide these services directly to consumers through various healthcare insurers (Medicare, Magellen, Tricare, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Humana Health, Virginia Premiere). How do we capture this Past Performance experience that is provided directly to the consumer/individuals at our facilities?

Response: The Government will accept Past Performance Questionnaires from with MEDCOM, other US Government departments or agencies, state and local governments and/or private sector clients.

47. Is the Schedule for pricing each CLIN by hour counted as part of Volume I, Administrative or Volume III, Price? It is identified as a continuation sheet of the SF 1449.

Response: The schedule for pricing is included in Volume III, Price

48. Amendment 0001 states, “Factor 1-- Technical Capability, Factor 2 – Past Performance, Factor 3 – Total Employee Compensation, and Factor 4 – Price, when combined, shall not exceed 20 pages.” The qualifications and tasks outlined in the RFP are two pages themselves, and the CLIN pricing is five pages. Given that this represents 35% of the allotted response space, we respectfully ask the Government to extend the page limit to 30 pages to allow for the Offeror to provide a technical approach and management plan that fully addresses the evaluation criteria for Factors 1a and 1b.

49. How many Case Management RNs are provided under the current contract?

Response: 13

50. Are there incumbents for all current positions?

51. Representative resumes aren't mentioned. Are they required?

52. Attachment 1, Fill/Vacancy Report is included in the RFP, but there is no other reference contained within. Is this to be used upon award?

Response: See response to Question 16

53. For the sanitized version of the RFP response, should the Past Performance be sanitized as well? ie, Client 1, Client2.

Response: The offeror information should be sanitized but not your clients; the recipient of your services.

54. Section 2.14 states that the Contractor shall ensure contract HCPs have received

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) required training for the position in which they will perform. Question: Is this OSHA training provided by the Government?

Response: Initial OSHA training and compliance is the contractor’s responsibility. Ongoing, mandatory (annual and new requirements) OSHA related training is provided by the

Government/Chief, Medical Management, Chief, Utilization Management, and/or COR via on-line programs and face-to-face training. Work specific OSHA safety issues are addressed during orientation, and hospital-wide programs are addressed during the New Employee Orientation programs. Influenza virus education and the requirement for annual influenza vaccinations is addressed when inprocessing through Occupational Health. An Influenza vaccination is required for those in a Direct Patient Care position, which includes inpatient and outpatient RN case managers. Contract CM staff must provide proof of all mandatory vaccinations when inprocessing, and when all other annual/recurring requirements are due. Vaccinations are non-billable items to the Government, and are at personal expense of the contract employee. Any vaccinations provided by the MTF will be billed to the contract employee.

55. Paragraph 5.2 states MEDCOM requires all case managers to attend the one-time Nurse

Case Management (NCM) Course held in San Antonio, Texas within two years of employment.

Question: How often is the course given? What is the course duration in days?

Response: Approximately seven times in a 12 month period. The course is three weeks in length. Course attendance will be at the discretion of the Chief, Medical Management and/or

Chief, Utilization Management based upon staffing and workload, which may extend attendance beyond the preferred two year period.

56. Section 5.4 states the contract case manager shall provide patient-centered, individual and family level case management services for all eligible beneficiaries of the Military Health

System, as well as, non-beneficiary civilian emergency patients during the inpatient episode of care. The case manager will work collaboratively with multidisciplinary hospital staff to coordinate and procure all necessary equipment and supplies for the patient’s discharge. The contract case manager shall perform essentially the same duties as those required of any military or government civil service nurse of similar experience and in similar duty assignments.

Specific tasks include the following: Question: Are the specific tasks referenced in sections 5.5

– 5.10? If not, what are the specific tasks?

Response: Specific Tasks are annotated in paragraph 5, sections 5.1 through 5.17

57. Are there Incumbents? If so, how many?

Response: 13

58. Who currently has possession of the contract?

Response: InGenesis, Inc.

59. Reference Proposal Preparation Instructions. The Proposal Preparation Instructions states; “Provide two (2) proposal copies, one completely sanitized with only the CAGE code and no other company logos.” Does the complete sanitized copy apply to only Volume II – Technical

Approach and Management Plan or does it apply to Volume I – Administrative and Volume III –

Price too?

60. Reference Proposal Preparation Instructions. The Proposal Preparation Instructions states; “There will be three volumes: Administrative, Technical Approach and Management

Plan, and Price. Factor 1 – Technical Capability, Factor 2 – Past Performance, Factor 3 – Total

Employee Compensation, and Factor 4 – Price, when combined, shall not exceed 20 pages.” It is unclear to which Volume “shall not exceed 20 pages” refers to. We assume the 20 page limit refers to Volume II only. Is that correct? Can the Government please provide the page limit for each Volume?

61. On page 70 of the RFP, the Instructions to Offerors states, “Offerors shall submit copies of their proposal via email toarlisa.t.harley.civ@mail.mil < Caution-mailto:arlisa.t.harley.civ@mail.mil > . Hard copies of the proposal are not required and will not be accepted.” Can the Government please provide file naming convention to use for each volume to use to distinguish between sanitized volumes in our submission?

Response: See response to Question 13

62. Ref: PWS 5.2: MEDCOM requires all case managers to attend the one-time Nurse Case

Management (NCM) Course held in San Antonio, Texas within two years of employment.

Question: How long is this Course? Will this class be considered normal paid work day(s), or will the contractor need to absorb this cost?

Response: Approximately seven times in a 12 month period. The course is three weeks in length. Course attendance will be at the discretion of the Chief, Medical Management and/or first line Supervisor based upon staffing and workload, which may extend attendance beyond the preferred two year period with no penalty to the contractor. Attendance of the course is considered normal paid work days.

63. If we are submitting with a teaming partner is a consent letter needed for past performance?

64. Are the following pages counted against the page count: Cover Page, Table of Contents, Consent Letter, Pricing Pages, and SF1449 & Amendments?

65. What was the original contract value?

Response: See response to Question 34

66. What was the previous solicitation and contract number?

Response: W81K00-17-T-0072 and W81K00-17-P-0308

67. Solicitation Amendment Page 5: “There will three volumes: Administrative, Technical

Approach and Management Plan, and Price. Factor 1--Technical Capability, Factor 2 – Past

Performance, Factor 3 – Total Employee Compensation, and Factor 4 – Price, when combined, shall not exceed 20 pages.” Question: Does the 20 pages refer only to Factors 1 – 4, and not to the Administrative?

mailto:toarlisa.t.harley.civ@mail.mil

68. To illustrate how pricing was determined, a price breakdown table will be attached.

Question: How much delineation should there be? I.E. Should include just Fringe, Overhead, etc, or also include components of Fringe as well?

Response: The Attachment 3 Sample Compensation Plan for Employees is only an example.

The offeror should include a direct labor hourly rate and a total employee compensation rate;

components of Fringe and Overhead are not required.

69. Page 40, PWS, Section 5. Specific Tasks, paragraph 5.2 MEDCOM requires all case managers to attend the one-time Nurse Case Management (NCM) Course held in San Antonio, TX within 2 years of employment. Question: Who pays for the course, how long is the course, and is attendance at the course billable hours for the purposes of the contract.

Response: Approximately seven times in a 12 month period. The course is three weeks in length. Course attendance will be at the discretion of the Chief, Medical Management and/or first line Supervisor based upon staffing and workload, which may extend attendance beyond the preferred two year period with no penalty to the contractor. Attendance of the course is considered normal paid work days, and therefore be billable hours for the purposes of the contract.

70. Are we only evaluating the Prime PP References and not its Subcontractor?

Response: See response to Question 3

71. Pg 69. Proposal Preparation Instructions request two (2) proposal copies, one sanitized consisting of 3 volumes: Administrative, Technical Approach and Price with a page count of not exceeding 20 pages. Can the government please elaborate on which volume has the page limitation? Also does the government expect 3 separate volumes to make up one complete proposal copy?

72. Is this an SCA wage determination contract and do the current employees have the right to first refusal?

Response: See response to Question 8; yes, the current employees have the right to first refusal—see Clause 52.222-17, Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers (May 20144)

73. What is the anniversary dates of the incumbent workers?

Response: Refer to FAR Clause 52.222-41, Service Contract Labor Standards (May 2014):

74. Regarding the Proposal page limits, It states that 20 pages is the allowed pages for technical, past performance, compensation plan and price factors. This does not sound correct –

Do you mean to say 20 pages for the Technical only? Price pages are 5 pages alone and the

Comp plan is 1 page by itself. We feel the 20 pages allowed should be for the Technical and Past

Performance only. Can you please clarify, as the proposal with all 4 factors combined will easily exceed 20 pages since the inserts from the solicitation are being counted towards the page limits?

75. Due to EO 13706 requiring 56 hours of Sick Leave, you would need to reduce your work hours from 1920 to 1864 in order to be compliant with this EO. Otherwise the total hours will exceed 2080 per year, which will provide for incorrect costing. Can the gov please provide a price sheet that has accurate hours that takes into account the 56 hours of vacation?

Response: The Government will not provide a price sheet; Attachment 3 is a sample

76. In Section 5 (5.2) of the PWS it states that MEDCOM requires all case managers are to complete annual training, required for their position, can you provide additional information regarding this requirement?

Response: Per Operation Order 13-25 (Nursing Case Management), all nurse case managers will obtain at least 20 continuing education credits in case management related content annually. All costs associated with obtaining continuing education credits are non-billable hours.

77. In Section 5 (5.3) of the PWS it states that MEDCOM requires all case managers are to attend the one-time Nurse Case Management (NCM) Course held in San Antonio, TX within two years of employment, can the government provide additional information regarding this requirement?

Response: Course is held approximately seven times in a 12 month period. The course is three weeks in length. Course attendance will be at the discretion of the Chief, Medical Management and/or first line Supervisor based upon staffing and workload, which may extend attendance beyond the preferred two year period with no penalty to the contractor. Attendance of the course is considered normal paid work days. Meal hour is non-billable time, and meal costs are not reimbursable.

78. Will BAMC proper be the only worksite for this effort?

79. Instructions to Offerors states “The offeror shall provide two references (i.e., name, title, telephone phone number, and project title/description) who can verify that the company that provided recent and relevant services either as the Prime Contractor or Sub-Contractor” and “In addition, provide information for present/past performance and relevant past performance by submitting a copy of the attached Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) (Attachment 2) to at least two references with instructions to return the PPQ to Arlisa T. Harley at arlisa.t.harley.civ@mail.mil < Caution-mailto:arlisa.t.harley.civ@mail.mil > ” Will the

Government accept more than two past performance references or are offerors limited to two?

Response: Yes, the Government will accept more than two past performance references.

80. Would the Government consider increasing the allowable page limit for Volume II

Technical Approach and Management Plan?

81. Page 3 CLIN 0001: The CLIN is defined for pricing via 36480 hours for all 19 CMRN’s with a single unit price. This infers that the government expects a single rate to be provided for

ALL 19 staff when in fact the rate paid may vary due to seniority or a host of other factors. As this is basically a FFP, request the government change this to a monthly sum covering the provision of services for each year (Base and Options).

Response: The requirement is defined as 36,480 hours based on the Government's need.

82. Page 17, Clause 52.222-17:

a. How many employees are currently on staff under the existing bridge contract, and is this bridge currently fully staffed as per the original contractual requirements?

Response: Currently all shifts for 13 FTEs are filled

b. Who is the incumbent, and what is their current awarded contract number?

Response: See response to Question 34

c. Please provide the length of service for all staff currently supporting these requirements.

Are there any valid labor agreements (i.e. union) rules or other legal impacts that would be binding on a potential awardee pertinent to the staff currently providing services under this requirement?

Response: See response to Question 73

d. Is this contract covered under the SCA wage/labor determinations for salary and classifications?

Response: See response to Question 8

e. If this is a SCA-based contract, request the government provide the currently approved and in-use, or the to-be-used DOL SCA labor classification categories, and associated wage rates to be used as per DOL regulations.

Response: See response to Question 8

f. Are there any current or planned CBA’s in effect that would impact a potential awardee of this contract?

83. Page 40, 3.0 Hours of Performance: Historically, how much overtime has been utilized in support of this contract, and how does the government wish the offerors to account for potential overtime actions?

Response: There are no overtime hours associated with this requirement.

84. Page 40, 3.4 Hours of Performance: The government states that the contract nurse will not be paid during a closure, but in the Mission Essential Personnel section seemed to indicate that these staff WERE considered as Mission Essential, meaning they would need to report for duty regardless of condition or event. Please define and explain.

Response: Regardless of designation as “Mission Essential” or “Mission Nonessential”, contract

RN Case Managers are not in a billable status until they report to their worksite. Travel time in an attempt to get to work is non-billable time.

85. Page 40, 5.1 Specific Tasks: Please define the annual training requirements in terms of courses, length of course, and associated cost. Are the staff considered to be on the clock (paid) while conducting required training cycles?

Response: Specific courses on-line and face-to-face continue under reevaluation and training systems have been in transitioning phases. Primary factor related to cost concerns is that all mandatory training provided by the government (courses on line and face-to-face) are billable hours. All courses for continuing education contact hours required for licensure, professional development, or professional certifications are non-billable to the Government.

86. Page 40, 5.2: Is there a cost associated with the NCM course for the contractor? How long is the course, and are attending staff considered to be “on-the-clock (Paid) while attending it?

Response: Course is held approximately seven times in a 12 month period. The course is three weeks in length. There is no cost to the contractor associated with attendance of the course.

Course attendance will be at the discretion of the Chief, Medical Management and/or first line

Supervisor based upon staffing and workload, which may extend attendance beyond the preferred two year period with no penalty to the contractor. Attendance of the course is considered normal paid work days. All other courses for continuing education contact hours required for licensure, professional development, or professional certifications are non-billable to the Government.

87. Page 42, 5.17: Please identify all mandatory CM training courses required by US Army

MEDCOM for Army Case Managers/Care Coordinators. How is this training conducted? Are staff considered “on the clock” (paid) while taking this training?

Response: The Case Manager training consists of 20-30 hours of on-line courses and a three week resident course held in San Antonio, TX. Attendance of the course is considered normal paid (billable) work hours. All other courses for continuing education contact hours required for licensure, professional development, or professional certifications are non-billable to the

Government.

88. Page 45, 8.0 PRS: How are complaints validated?

Response: Case Manager’s first-line Supervisor meets with parties involved in filing the complaint to hear both sides of the story and to seek an opportunity to resolve their complaint.

The validity of the complaint is a professional leadership judgment decision.

89. Page 46, 7.2 Access Procedures: What is the security level for this contract? The government states that contract employees must have a Secret clearance for access to the workplace. Please provide the justification for a Secret clearance requirement.

Response: The Contractor shall ensure all personnel performing under the contract are required to maintain a minimum of a favorably adjudicated National Agency Check with written Inquires

(NACI) (equivalent or higher) investigation. The contractor must coordinate with the Contracting

Officer Representative (COR) to initiate the Request for Personnel Security Action prior to performance start date. U.S. Citizenship will be verified by presenting original or certified copy of birth certificate, certificate of citizenship/naturalization issued by INS, or born aboard certificate (Form FS-240 or DS-1350) or a valid U.S. Immigration Form 1-151 and Alien

Registration Card ("Green Card") and is completed investigation document(s) to the BAMC

Personnel Security Office at the time of in processing for all contract personnel assigned to the contract.

90. Page 46, 7.2 Access Procedures: What is the FCL level required for a successful offeror?

Response: See response to Question 89

91. Page 60, Wage Determination: Please identify the appropriate occupational code and rate for each of the 19 positional roles requested, or for any staff who fall under the SCA determinations.

Response: See response to Question 8

92. Page 66, Wage Determination: Please provide the length of service for everyone currently performing services who are covered or fall under the SCA determinations relative to vacation pricing.

Response: See response to Question 73

93. Page 67, Wage Determination: Are assigned staff required to wear uniforms (i.e.

scrubs)?

Response: No scrubs. They are to wear business casual clothing when on duty, and are expected to adhere to BAMC Memorandum 600-50 (Wearing of Uniforms, Civilian Attire, and Hospital

Specific Items of Clothing).

94. Page 81, Factor 2. Past Performance: The government defines relevance as only same or similar services “RN Case Management Services”. We feel this is a narrow window of relevancy, as the subject matter for this work is central to professional services and management of highly skilled resources within a high-paced often chaotic environment. Recommend the government remove this caveat, and examine offered performances on their background of successful management, retention and usage of skilled labor sets that fully meet applied requirements, objectives, and scope within customer expectations.

Response: Reference Addendum 52.212-2(a), Factor 2. Past Performance: "Relevant" is defined as "for the same or similar services – RN Case Management Services to include RN Services, with similar magnitude and scope". "Recent" is defined as "within the past three years".

95. Does the government wish to have a full copy of an offeror’s reps and certs, or is the statement and acknowledgement of the electronic version as found within SAM being up to date enough?

Response: Offeror shall be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) with the appropriate NAICS Code and shall not have any Active Exclusions listed within SAM. If the offeror is currently registered in SAM with completed representations and certifications, an affirmation on the title page (or second page) that these representations and certificates are current, complete, and accurate as of the date proposals are due shall suffice.

96. Page 106, Attachment 3: Request that the government provide this spreadsheet in an

Excel format, or will the government accept a contractor provided format?

Response: No, the Government will not provide an Excel Spreadsheet format however the

Government will accept a contractor provided format.

97. Page 106, Attachment 3: The government has a line for G&A costs, but not for OH; is it the government’s desire that these numbers be “rolled” together, or will an amendment

(correction) be made?

Response: See response to Question 68

98. Page 40, 5.1/5.2/5.17 Specific Tasks: Will the government pay for Required Training

Costs; if not, please provide the approximate costs (per person/course) for costing purposes.

Response: Course is held approximately seven times in a 12 month period. The course is three weeks in length. There is no cost to the contractor associated with attendance of the course.

Course attendance will be at the discretion of the Chief, Medical Management and/or first line

Supervisor based upon staffing and workload, which may extend attendance beyond the preferred two year period with no penalty to the contractor. Attendance of the course is considered normal paid work days. Meal hour is non-billable time, and meal costs are not reimbursable.

All mandatory training provided by the government (courses on line and face-to-face) are billable hours. All courses for continuing education contact hours required for licensure, professional development, or professional certifications are non-billable to the Government.

99. Page 48, 9.0 Health and Immunization Requirements: Will the government pay/reimburse for Required Physicals/Immunization Costs?

Response: The expense for all physical examinations to comply with the health requirements shall be borne by the contractor at no additional cost to the Government.

100. Clause 52.217-9 states that the government can extend the contract, however the total contract cannot exceed 60 months. If this is a 1 year base, with 4 options, then the contract as a whole already has 60 months, leaving any extension impossible.

Response: Clause 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services (Nov 1999) if required will extend the current contract of 60 months up to but not exceed 6 additional months.

101. Because this is an SCA based contract, can the government please provide the dates of service for all of the current incumbent employees so that a vacation requirement determination can be made?

Response: See response to Question 20

102. Page 42, 5.17 Specific Tasks: Does the government cover the costs of all Case Manager

Training Courses and if a course is being taken, are those hours billable to the government?

Response: The Case Management Course is held approximately seven times in a 12 month period. The course is three weeks in length. There is no cost to the contractor associated with attendance of the course. Course attendance will be at the discretion of the Chief, Medical

Management and/or first line Supervisor based upon staffing and workload, which may extend attendance beyond the preferred two year period with no penalty to the contractor. Attendance of the course is considered normal paid work days. All mandatory training provided by the government (courses on line and face-to-face) are billable hours. All other courses for continuing education contact hours required for licensure, professional development, or professional certifications are non-billable to the Government.

103. Page 106, Attachment 3: The compensation spreadsheet asks the contractor for the direct rates, Fringe, G&A and Profit, however there is no spot for Overhead. Is the government asking that the contractor combine overhead into its G&A calculations for the purpose of this spreadsheet?

Response: See response to Question 68

104. Page 40, 2.2 Qualification Requirements: Preferably includes experience with a diverse range of patient age groups. Need more information as it is usually broken down from pediatrics

0-18 or sometimes 0-21 and Adults aged 18-65 and Geriatrics 65+.

a. What would be breakdown of 19 case managers?

Response: The Maternal Child health inpatient units have a dedicated case manager(s) and a

Social Worker case manager. Age ranges would include Pediatrics 0-18 and occasional adolescents 18-21. The maternity units contain prenatal and post-partum adolescents and adult women (general age range is 15-55). The remaining case managers are assigned to the Active

Duty Service Members, adult, and geriatric patients (ages 18-65+) inpatients. One hundred percent of the case managers will share rotation of weekend assignments and shift adjustments to continue services until 2100.

b. What percentage would be servicing Pediatrics, Adults and Geriatrics?

Response: Approximately 10.5% would be providing services for Maternal Child Health patients. Age ranges would include Pediatrics 0-18 and occasional adolescents 18-21. The maternity units contain prenatal and post-partum adolescents and adult women. The remaining

89.5% case managers are assigned to the adult and geriatric (ages 18-65+) inpatient units. One hundred percent of the case managers will share rotation of weekend assignments and shift adjustments to continue services until 2100.

105. Page 40, 2.4 Qualification Requirements: Have and maintain current certification by the

American Heart Association’s standards in Basic Life Support for Healthcare providers.

a. If necessary, the MTF can provide this certification at the contractor’s expense?

Response: No, must recertify utilizing community resources, and provide documentation of the

American Heart Association training and their certification card.

b. If RN case manager works in ICU/CCU would HCP be required to have ACLS?

Response: Case Managers are not expected to provide “hands-on” patient care tasks except for emergency situations. No ACLS is required.

106. Page 40, 2.5 Qualification requirements: May possess or obtain national certification in case management as accepted by the URAC Case Management Standards preferred, however certification is not required. The government will not reimburse for these costs. What percentage if/any have to be URAC case management recognized?

Response: One hundred percent case management certification is preferred. For clarification, the requirement is not “URAC certification”, it is “URAC Recognized” Case Management

Certifications which is a list of nationally recognized case management certification specialties.

The Case Management Society of America certification is also a highly desired certification. Per

Operation Order 13-25 (Nursing Case Management) Certification in nurse case management is preferred. The nurse case manager has the option to obtain certification by the Commission for

Case Management Certification (CCMC), the American Nursing Credentialing Center (ANCC) or the National Academy of Certified Care Managers (NACCM). Approval of other case management related certifications will be submitted through the MTF Deputy Commander for

Nursing and Regional Nurse Executive to the Nursing Case Management Consultant for approval.

107. Page 40, 2.8 Qualification Requirements: The government will provide training in the

Composite Health Care System (CHCS), inpatient electronic health record, and other hospital computer information systems that the medical activity’s staff is required to use. If HCP coming from civilian hospital, are there preferred EMR system experience that is most transferrable to

CHCS. Example: EPIC, Cerner, Allscripts?

Response: Familiarity and use of other EMR systems are helpful, however, the Government systems (e.g. CHCS, Essentris, AHLTA) are different and require formal classroom and on the job training.

108. Page 40, 2.15 Qualification Requirements: Must present documentation of required immunizations/proof of immunity prior to commencement of services at SAMMC and Brooke

Army Medical Center (BAMC).

a. What is criteria/requirement for seasonal flu shots?

Response: An Influenza vaccination is required for those in a Direct Patient Care position, which includes inpatient and outpatient RN case managers. It is also a condition for continued employment for government civilians.

b. Will CO send out notification and deadlines to get Flu shots?

Response: The COR will send out notification and deadlines about health and immunization requirements after contract award.

109. Page 41, 5.1 Specific Tasks: The U.S.