Supplemental_Question_and_Government_Response_(Amendment_4).docx

Question:

In the original RFP, the definitions of the tiers said:

· Tier III o This volume captures follow-up activities related to the DCoE call center and includes all calls as well as the dissemination of research information or other materials. This includes follow up e-mail activities related to CHAT and the DCoE mailbox inquiries.

· Tier IV o Tier IV captures activities related to the inTransition outbound call model. Activities can include the initial service member assessment if captured during that initial outreach effort as well as follow-up coaching sessions. This tier can also include email correspondence with the service member as well as gaining provider contacts. In addition it includes all coaching activities for both inbound and outbound programs, phone calls with gaining and referring providers.

However, in Amendment 1, that last highlighted sentence was moved to Tier III:

· Tier III o This volume captures follow-up activities related to the DCoE call center and includes all calls as well as the dissemination of research information or other materials. This includes follow up e-mail activities related to CHAT and the DCoE mailbox inquiries. In addition it includes all coaching activities for both inbound and outbound programs, phone calls with gaining and referring providers.

· Tier IV o Tier IV captures activities related to the inTransition outbound call model. Activities can include the initial service member assessment if captured during that initial outreach effort as well as follow-up coaching sessions. This tier can also include email correspondence with the service member as well as gaining provider contacts.

This appears to be inconsistent because it now says all coaching activities are in Tier III, but also says follow-up coaching sessions are in Tier IV. This creates confusion as to which Tier coaching activities will be billed, which will cause issues when it comes time to invoice and will likely create inconsistencies in contractor pricing depending on how each contractor interprets where coaching should be billed.

Another inconsistency caused by moving this sentence is that it says Tier III includes phone calls with gaining providers, while Tier IV includes email correspondence with gaining providers. With the definition of a call provided in the Amendment (for the purpose of this requirement a “call” can be defined as a telephone call, or an event such as a text, instant message(IM)/chat, facsimile, or e-Mail), the separation of calls and emails with gaining providers between the two tiers creates confusion.

Moving this sentence to Tier III also seems to be inconsistent with other parts of the RFP, including:

· References to coaching in the RFP are overwhelmingly associated with transition coaching as part of the inTransition program, and the tier definitions associate Tiers II and IV with inTransition program activities

· The CLINS call Tier IV “inTransition Outreach & Coaching” while Tier III is only “Follow-up Care Support”

· The estimated volume of calls for Tier III is only 100 calls per month, which seems exceptionally low to include coaching.

Can you please clarify if this sentence was intended to be moved to Tier III? If it was, please clarify under which tier all coaching activities and contacts with gaining providers should be billed.

Government Response: There some recognized inconsistencies in the Tier Structure language that the Government has clarified as written below and in the amended RFP:

Tier 1:

This tier includes all volume related to initial calls to triage support for the DCoE Outreach Center. This includes inquiries for information, resources, research, media inquiries regardless of the length of the call.

Tier 2: (minor modification) This volume relates to the inTransition Program inbound referral process consisting of the initial referral from the provider or the service member. The call can be from the provider, service member or both, including the initial assessment process.

Tier 3: (modification) This volume captures follow-up activities related to the DCoE Outreach Center, including calls, as well as dissemination of research information and other materials. This also includes follow-up email activity related to CHAT and DCoE mailbox inquiries. In addition, it includes all inTransition Program coaching activities for both inbound and outbound models, including phone calls and emails with gaining and referring providers and service members (except for the initial inbound call, which is Tier 2).

Tier 4: (modification) This captures activities related to the inTransition Program outbound call model. Activities include the initial service member assessment when it is captured during the initial outbound outreach effort. This tier does NOT include follow-up coaching sessions, which are captured in Tier 3.

In addition, the Government is providing the below as additional response to the above question:

1. All coaching sessions are accounted for in Tier 3.

2. All outbound calls and emails or other communication with gaining providers are accounted for in Tier 3. Incoming calls from referring providers are Tier 2.

3. Tiers 2,3, 4 are all associated with the inTransition program. Tier 2 is for the inbound model of referral calls/emails. Tier 3 accounts for all coaching cases and communication with the provider AFTER the initial intake/referral. Tier 4 is associated with the inTransition outbound call model.

4. Tier III should be called "Follow-up Care and inTransition Coaching". Tier IV should be called "inTransition Outbound Model"

5. The estimated volume of calls for Tier III listed at "100" was an error. Under the old tier structure that was correct. With the new tier structure the average number of Tier III cases per month is 600 (with a reduction in Tier IV calls of 500 per month) – a net zero gain in total monthly call volume for all Tiers.