Q-A.docx

Is the proposal cover, table of contents, and compliance matric included in the total page count in the technical volume? 4.3 Pages that exceed the required page limitations set forth in Table 1, Proposal Organization table, will not be evaluated by the Government. A cover page, table of contents, and acronym list shall be included in each volume and will not be included in any applicable page limits.

Could you please clarify the page count for the Volume 4, Pricing which is a combination of a narrative and an Excel Spreadsheet. Is this for both the narrative and the Excel spreadsheet? Or perhaps for just the narrative? Typically, Excel files are not organized as pages. The page limit does not count the excel spreadsheet.

Can you please clarify the total page count for the Past Performance Volume? Currently reads as up to 2 pages per reference. When counting the PPQ Questionnaire, plus CPAR, plus PP summary information (all required for submission) this will exceed 2 pages. The solicitation states: Up to 2 pages per reference; not to exceed 6 pages

Is this requirement currently fully staffed? Yes.

What are the current number of staff by staffing mix? Behavioral Health, Medical/Dental Support Admin, Behavioral Support Admin, Case Manager, Medical Records Support Admin, Medical Records Supervisor, and Nurse Practitioner.

Please see technical exhibit 4, estimated work load data. The government will not be providing the current number of staff.

What would be considered the Labor Category Equivalent for each of the positions described Behavioral Health-Professional, Medical/Dental Support Admin-SCA, Behavioral Support Admin-SCA, Case Manager-SCA, Medical Records Support Admin-SCA, Medical Records Supervisor-Professional, and PA- Nurse Practitioner-Professional?

Do the PA/ NPA and /or LCPC require malpractice insurance or is that covered by the government? Not required as the positions do not require direct physical patient care.

Front page of the Solicitations states the start date to be 31 May 2022. Is that correct? Yes. Start of award – 31 May 2022.

Are any of the current case managers licensed practical nurse, if so, how many? The Case Manager/RN shall have at least 5 years of case management experience and a minimum of 3 years clinical experience.

Are any of the current Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) for Behavior Health Provider, if so, how many? The Behavioral Health Specialist services shall be filled by a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) or Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW).

How many Behavioral Health Care Coordinators assist the LCPC? Historical data for the last year includes not more than 250 BH cases to be managed How many PA or NPA or currently working this contract? The government will not provide the current number of PA-NP. See the technical exhibit 4 for data.

Are medical records located at one location? Medical Records are currently housed at 420 F. Street, Pineville, LA What is the current caseloads of each case manager and providers per year? The current caseload for this year is 2500 Is the work flow with the current amount of personnel working effective and efficient? Unable to publish How many office spaces are available personnel are at each location? Adequate space available to case manage the 2,500 cases Is the customer requiring resumes? No.

What medical licensure should the administrative assistants have acquired? See the solicitation. No requirement indicated.

Does the government supply a cell phone for the Behavioral Health Counselor for 24/7 contact referencing 5.2.7 in the PWS? Yes What is the average tenure of each current personnel? Average tenure is not listed in the historical data referenced in technical exhibit 4.

Are there currently any of the following vacant, filled, or not needed? The services listed in the solicitation are all required.

Will the Government please clarify if an Alaska Native Corporation’s use of prior experience and/or past performance from a predecessor company will or will not be allowed? Yes as long as it is no more than one. PLEASE NOTE: The Government Accountability Office (GAO) permits Alaska Native Corporations to claim all the experience and work history of its affiliated corporations for the purposes of establishing performance capability in the context of a competitive acquisition. Reference: Ecompex, Inc., B-292865.4, B-292865.5, B-292865.6, June 18, 2004 (see page 5). Serco, Inc., B 406683, B-406683.2, Aug. 3, 2012. AMI-ACEPEX, Joint Venture, B-401560, Sept. 30, 2009. Specifically, GAO has ruled that an ANC bidding on a government contract may rely on the past performance of an affiliated company when the proposal makes it clear that the resources associated with the affiliated company will have meaningful involvement in the execution of the present contract.

Would the government please consider extending the deadline for submission in order to facilitate the submission of quality responses? Extending, please see amended solicitation.

Is there a Standard Form 33 that needs to be completed and included in our response? The posted RFP does not include one. No Section 2.2 states “All proposal volumes shall be labeled with the solicitation number (W912NR-21-R-0002), as well as the name, address, and telephone number of the Offeror.”

What is meant by labeled? Does the inclusion of this information on the cover page of each volume meet the requirement to label each volume with this information? Yes Is 10-point font acceptable for headers, footers, tables, and graphics in order to enhance readability of the response documents? No, please see solicitation requirements Is Arial font acceptable for headers, footers, tables, and graphics in order to enhance readability of the response documents? No, please see solicitation requirements

Section 6.5.1 states “The offeror shall submit information for a total of up to 3 years on recent contracts past performance references that were performed by the offeror as the prime contractor, which the offeror considers to have relevance. These may include foreign, federal, state, local and private industry contracts.”

Did the government intend to state “the offeror shall submit information for a total of up to 3 recent contracts past performance references that were performed by the offeror as the prime contractor, which the offeror considers to have relevance”?

Please clarify how many past performance references are required. Total of 3, not 3 years. Amended.

Is there a minimum or maximum number of past performance citations that should be included in Volume 3: Past Performance? 3

If a CPARS evaluation is not available for a program, can the program still be cited within the Past Performance volume? Yes

Is there a minimum or maximum number of PPQs that should be requested and submitted? 3

If a CPARS evaluation for your reference, can a PPQ still be submitted in addition to the CPARS? yes

Delivery Information on page 28-31 of the SF1449 has dates 15-Sept to 14-Sept. Dates provide in 7.5 of the Instructions to Offerors are based upon a year being 1-June to 31-May. Should the SF1449 reflect the 1-June to 31-May dates? The base year is Start of award – 31 May 2022. Price the base by month through 31 May 2022. Options are 12 months as indicated.

Is it correct that Base Year pricing to be included in the total price proposal should be for 8.5 months, not the 12 months as listed in SF1449 pages 3-7? Yes. The base year will not be 12 months. Start of award – 31 May 2022

If using a subcontractor on this requirement, are they able to supply a past performance reference as well, or can just the prime? Yes subcontractor can submit, you may only submit one from a subcontractor.

Can you provide the number of incumbent employees per CLIN? Is it one each? No.

POP on page 27 differs from page 1 and page 80 and page 83. Is page 27 correct? 15 September 2021 to 14 September 2022? Page 1 – start of award – 31 May 2021. Page 27 no POP listed. Page 27 states 15 Sep 31 May 2022. The period of performance is start of award – 31 May 2021 for the base year.

Can you clarify that this is a competitive 8a set aside opportunity? There are a couple references to total small business set aside on pages 1 and 70 so I’d like to clarify. YES, this is an 8a set-aside.

Does the contractor need to obtain a facilities clearance? No

Past performance – how should a contractor proceed if the contractor would like to request a past performance questionnaire be completed by a POC for this solicitation? Send the past performance questionnaire to them and they send to email listed.

Please provide the staffing level and labor mix of personnel currently supporting this requirement. Indicated in technical exhibit 4. No numbers of current staffing will be provided by the government.

Please provide a 2-week extension to allow non-incumbent offerors sufficient time to develop a quality solution and proposal to the government. Extending to close 11 August at 10:00am CST.

Please extend the due date for submission of questions until 30 July to allow non-incumbent offerors adequate time to review the government’s requirements. Extending to close 9 August 10:00am CST

Please confirm this paragraph is intended to state “up to 3 recent contracts” vice years. Should state years.

Please confirm that the government is requiring both CPARS and Past Performance Questionnaires. We would respectfully recommend one or the other. Confirmed.

The solicitation indicates that the incumbent’s contract expired on May 31. Who has been supporting the contract since June 1, and what is the estimated value of this bridge contract at this point? No bridge. Used 52.217-8 clause with incumbent.

As was provided in the previous solicitation (W912NR-16-R-0007, 2016), will LAARNG provide background information to include: see technical exhibit 4 for data

Does this new solicitation contain new requirements that are not currently being met on the existing contract? No Section 1.4.7 of the PWS (pg. 90) states a requirement for a Case Manager to be filled by a Registered Nurse III.

Section 1.4.7 of the PWS (pg. 90) states a requirement for a Case Manager to hold a Certified Case Manager (CCR) certification

How many FTE’s are currently fulfilling the requirement for Behavioral Health Provider (not including the Behavioral Health Support Admin)? The government is not providing the number of FTE’s. please see technical exhibit 4 for data.

Does the current Behavioral Health Provider hold a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) or Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) certification? The Behavioral Health Specialist shall be filled by a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) or Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW).

a. Is the LCPC/LCSW certification a new requirement? The Behavioral Health Specialist shall be filled by a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) or Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW).

Section 52.212-1 (2) (pg. 38) states “The time specified in the solicitation for receipt of offers – 14 April 1000 CST”. Please clarify the due date for offers. Typo. Responses will be due 11 August 2021 at 10:00am CST. (extension)

Section 52.212-1 (11)(e) (pg. 39) states “Multiple offers. Offerors are encouraged to submit multiple offers…”. Please confirm multiple offers will be accepted. Multiple offerors will not be accepted. Solicitation amended.

What, specifically, caused the reduction in spending in 2020? Not in Government’s control. Can’t answer.

a. Was the reduced spending due to a reduction in workforce? No

Does the compressed work week currently affect holiday accrual? If so, how? See below.

To clarify, are past performance citations only accepted IF the work was performed as a PRIME contractor? No

Are all contractor personnel currently working as SCA employees? No.

a. Specifically, are the PA/NP and/or Behavioral Health Provider classified as Professional? Yes.

Do the PA/NP wear scrubs? Is anyone else in uniform? Is there a uniform requirement? Contractor personnel shall wear identification badges distinguishing themselves as such. The badges shall have the company name, employee name and the word “contractor” displayed.

No discussion of malpractice insurance. Is this a requirement? Is the government paying malpractice insurance? For the NP/PA? Will they be touching patients? Not required as the positions do not require direct physical patient care.

Would a National Nurse Aide Assessment Program (NNAAP) certification be considered an appropriate licensing credential for the Physician Assistant/Nurse Practitioner position? The PA/NP shall maintain licensure through the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners and NCCPA certification/or Louisiana State Board of Nursing, as applicable. Must be able to obtain a CAC card. The Physician Assistant/Nurse Practitioner shall possess a minimum of 5 years’ experience as a PA/NP. Possess experience is serving military, specifically Army National Guard, Army, or veteran population.

The base period is defined as from the data of award through 31 May 2022 on page 2 of the solicitation and from 15 Sept 2021 through 31 May 2022 in section 7.5.1, while the CLIN structures depict 12 months for the base year and the Delivery Information starting on Page 28 describe a POP of 15 Sept 2021 through 14 Sept 2022 for the base year. Given that we are beyond 1 June 2021, should the quantity for the base year CLINS and the Delivery POP be adjusted or is the statement in the second paragraph of page 2 inaccurate (“The base period shall be from start of award – 31 May 2022 with four option years using 1 June – 31 May for each option year”)?

Start of award – 31 May 2022 BASE

Can the government share the current staffing numbers or confirm the expectation of the equivalent of 9 FTEs? The government is not giving the current staffing numbers. See technical exhibit 4 for staffing.

If the prime’s relevant past performance exceeds the timeframe, will three contract references from the subcontractor be considered acceptable? Yes, but only one from a subcontractor.