Third Party Collections and Billing in support of 75 Military Treatment Facilities (MTF) at both stateside and overseas locations

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

RFI: FA805219RFI01

1.0 Description

1.1 The 773d Enterprise Sourcing Squadron (ESS), in support of the Office of the Air Force Surgeon General, is conducting a market survey to determine commercial and industry capabilities and practices, to identify qualified sources, and to solicit comments on the attached Performance Work Statement (PWS). This Request for Information (RFI) is in reference to Third Party Collections and Billing in support of 75 Military Treatment Facilities (MTF) at both stateside and overseas locations (attachment 1, PWS).

1.2 THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes - it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any service whatsoever. Furthermore, the Government is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Responders are advised that the Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in a future RFP, if one is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website. It is the responsibility of the potential offeror to monitor FedBizOpps for additional information pertaining to this requirement.

2.0 Background

2.1 The Air Force Medical Service is seeking contract support for various medical billing and collection activities in accordance with the attached Performance Work Statement (PWS).

2.2 A description of the anticipated effort is outlined in the attached PWS. Please be advised this is a draft PWS and is subject to change based on the information received from this RFI.

2.3 Delivery Period: One (1) Base Year contract plus four (4) Option Years beginning in or around September 2020.

2.4 Security Requirements: As defined in the PWS.

3.0 Requested Information

3.1 Performance Metrics: Briefly describe industry and commercial standards your organization currently employs to measure performance? How would you apply or adapt these metrics to measure performance for services described in the PWS? Are there additional or new quality indicators within the healthcare industry that would strengthen the PWS?

3.2 Business Model: Provide a general overview of how your business structure would accommodate billing for up to 75 MTF's located throughout the United States and Overseas. For planning purposes, estimations should be based on at least 1.5 million outpatient and 2,000 inpatient claims per year. In your business model description, include the specific resource allocation you propose, i.e. locate billing personnel at each MTF, establish a vendor hosted, centralized billing hub, employ a hybrid/combination of the two methods, or other. Provide the rational for your approach. Responses should include the ability to remotely access Department of Defense systems as well as the possibility remote access will not be available. Responses to this RFI should also include your organizations current and planned methodologies for other health insurance (OHI) discovery? Describe previous experience your organization may have with regard to the transition into a contract similar to this acquisition. Please also provide a rough order magnitude (ROM) cost estimate for the proposed contract.

3.3 Risk Areas: What tasks and/or managerial aspects applicable to this acquisition would you characterize as high-risk areas? What mitigation techniques would you recommend be employed to those respective risks?

3.4 Contract Type: To ensure timely and complete follow-up collection activities occur under the proposed contract, briefly describe reimbursement methodologies you recommend to incentivize performance? What industry practices are currently used to maximize collections and reduce collection time? Previous methods employed by the AFMS focused on reimbursements based on a percentage of payments collected for billed claims. Are there other options you would recommend, i.e. firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursement, etc.? Provide the rational for your recommended contract type and or reimbursement methodology. You may reference the Federal Acquisition Regulation, Part 16, for specific guidance. Paragraph 2.1 in the attached PWS describes a possible method of reimbursement and includes the definition of a "completed claim." Is the definition clear and easily understood? If not, what details or information should we include to ensure a mutually agreed upon understanding of the phrase, "completed claim"?

3.5 Security: Describe how your organization secures patient data and protects against unauthorized disclosure. Can you recommend areas for improvement or necessary changes within the attached PWS to appropriately align our security requirements with current industry standards?

3.6 Do you have any additional comments or suggestions to improve the attached PWS? Are there any areas that are unclear?

4.0 Responses

4.1 Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with a white paper.

4.2 White papers in Microsoft Word for Office 2016 or compatible format are due no later than 29 May 2019 at 1:00PM CST. Responses shall be limited to 10 pages for Section 2 and submitted via e-mail only to arthur.mitchell@us.af.mil. You may call Mr. Arthur C. Mitchell at (210) 395-9826 and verify receipt of your submission. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY IDENTIFIED. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned, nor will any costs associated with the preparation or submission of your response be reimbursed.

4.3. Section 1 of the white paper shall provide administrative information, and shall include the following as a minimum:

4.3.1. Name, mailing address, phone number, fax number, and e-mail of designated point of contact.

4.3.2. Business type (large business, small business, small disadvantaged business, 8(a)-certified small disadvantaged business, HUBZone small business, woman-owned small business, very small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business) based upon North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 541219, Other Accounting Services. Standards and conditions apply. Please refer to Federal Acquisition Regulation FAR 19 for detailed information on Small Business Size Standards. The FAR is available at http://farsite.hill.af.mil.

4.4. The number of pages in Section 1 of the white paper shall not be included in the 10 page limitation, i.e., the 10 page limitation applies only to Section 2 of the white paper.

4.5. Section 2 of the white paper shall answer the issues addressed in Section 3 of this RFI and shall be limited to 10 pages.

5.0 Questions

Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing via e-mail to the contract administrator, Mr. Arthur C. Mitchell at (210) 395-9826, at arthur.mitchell@us.af.mil. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. Questions will be answered and provided to all interested vendors via email; and posted to FedBizOpps website accordingly, questions shall NOT contain proprietary or classified information. The Government does not guarantee that questions received after 21 May 2019 at 1:00PM CST will be answered. Interested parties are invited to subscribe to the FedBizOpps website, located at https://www.fbo.gov, to ensure they receive any updated information concerning this RFI at the appropiate time.

6.0 Summary and Applicable Clauses

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY to seek industry's knowledge about, and identify sources for, providing Third Party Collection services. The information provided in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. The Government has not made a commitment to procure any of the items discussed, and release of this RFI should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

Pursuant to FAR 52.215-3, your attention is required to the following provision:
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION OR SOLICITATION FOR PLANNING PURPOSES (OCT 1997)
(a) The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this request for information or to otherwise pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subsection FAR 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

(b) Although "proposal" and "offeror" are used in this RFI, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal.

(c) This request for information is issued for the purpose of gathering information regarding the medical billing industry and to request comments on the attached DRAFT Performance Work Statement. Comments received may be used to review and revise the DRAFT Performance Work Statement when developing the final forthcoming Solicitation.

Attachment 1:

Draft: Performance Work Statement (PWS) dated: October 2018

.

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

RFI: FA805219RFI01

1.0 Description

1.1 The 773d Enterprise Sourcing Squadron (ESS), in support of the Office of the Air Force Surgeon General, is conducting a market survey to determine commercial and industry capabilities and practices, to identify qualified sources, and to solicit comments on the attached Performance Work Statement (PWS). This Request for Information (RFI) is in reference to Third Party Collections and Billing in support of 75 Military Treatment Facilities (MTF) at both stateside and overseas locations (attachment 1, PWS).

1.2 THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes - it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any service whatsoever. Furthermore, the Government is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Responders are advised that the Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in a future RFP, if one is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website. It is the responsibility of the potential offeror to monitor FedBizOpps for additional information pertaining to this requirement.

2.0 Background

2.1 The Air Force Medical Service is seeking contract support for various medical billing and collection activities in accordance with the attached Performance Work Statement (PWS).

2.2 A description of the anticipated effort is outlined in the attached PWS. Please be advised this is a draft PWS and is subject to change based on the information received from this RFI.

2.3 Delivery Period: One (1) Base Year contract plus four (4) Option Years beginning in or around September 2020.

2.4 Security Requirements: As defined in the PWS.

3.0 Requested Information

3.1 Performance Metrics: Briefly describe industry and commercial standards your organization currently employs to measure performance? How would you apply or adapt these metrics to measure performance for services described in the PWS? Are there additional or new quality indicators within the healthcare industry that would strengthen the PWS?

3.2 Business Model: Provide a general overview of how your business structure would accommodate billing for up to 75 MTF's located throughout the United States and Overseas. For planning purposes, estimations should be based on at least 1.5 million outpatient and 2,000 inpatient claims per year. In your business model description, include the specific resource allocation you propose, i.e. locate billing personnel at each MTF, establish a vendor hosted, centralized billing hub, employ a hybrid/combination of the two methods, or other. Provide the rational for your approach. Responses should include the ability to remotely access Department of Defense systems as well as the possibility remote access will not be available. Responses to this RFI should also include your organizations current and planned methodologies for other health insurance (OHI) discovery? Describe previous experience your organization may have with regard to the transition into a contract similar to this acquisition. Please also provide a rough order magnitude (ROM) cost estimate for the proposed contract.

3.3 Risk Areas: What tasks and/or managerial aspects applicable to this acquisition would you characterize as high-risk areas? What mitigation techniques would you recommend be employed to those respective risks?

3.4 Contract Type: To ensure timely and complete follow-up collection activities occur under the proposed contract, briefly describe reimbursement methodologies you recommend to incentivize performance? What industry practices are currently used to maximize collections and reduce collection time? Previous methods employed by the AFMS focused on reimbursements based on a percentage of payments collected for billed claims. Are there other options you would recommend, i.e. firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursement, etc.? Provide the rational for your recommended contract type and or reimbursement methodology. You may reference the Federal Acquisition Regulation, Part 16, for specific guidance. Paragraph 2.1 in the attached PWS describes a possible method of reimbursement and includes the definition of a "completed claim." Is the definition clear and easily understood? If not, what details or information should we include to ensure a mutually agreed upon understanding of the phrase, "completed claim"?

3.5 Security: Describe how your organization secures patient data and protects against unauthorized disclosure. Can you recommend areas for improvement or necessary changes within the attached PWS to appropriately align our security requirements with current industry standards?

3.6 Do you have any additional comments or suggestions to improve the attached PWS? Are there any areas that are unclear?

4.0 Responses

4.1 Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with a white paper.

4.2 White papers in Microsoft Word for Office 2016 or compatible format are due no later than 21 May 2019 at 1:00PM CST. Responses shall be limited to 10 pages for Section 2 and submitted via e-mail only to arthur.mitchell@us.af.mil. You may call Mr. Arthur C. Mitchell at (210) 395-9826 and verify receipt of your submission. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY IDENTIFIED. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned, nor will any costs associated with the preparation or submission of your response be reimbursed.

4.3. Section 1 of the white paper shall provide administrative information, and shall include the following as a minimum:

4.3.1. Name, mailing address, phone number, fax number, and e-mail of designated point of contact.

4.3.2. Business type (large business, small business, small disadvantaged business, 8(a)-certified small disadvantaged business, HUBZone small business, woman-owned small business, very small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business) based upon North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 541219, Other Accounting Services. Standards and conditions apply. Please refer to Federal Acquisition Regulation FAR 19 for detailed information on Small Business Size Standards. The FAR is available at http://farsite.hill.af.mil.

4.4. The number of pages in Section 1 of the white paper shall not be included in the 10 page limitation, i.e., the 10 page limitation applies only to Section 2 of the white paper.

4.5. Section 2 of the white paper shall answer the issues addressed in Section 3 of this RFI and shall be limited to 10 pages.

5.0 Questions

Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing via e-mail to the contract administrator, Mr. Arthur C. Mitchell at (210) 395-9826, at arthur.mitchell@us.af.mil. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. Questions will be answered and provided to all interested vendors via email; and posted to FedBizOpps website accordingly, questions shall NOT contain proprietary or classified information. The Government does not guarantee that questions received after 21 May 2019 at 1:00PM CST will be answered. Interested parties are invited to subscribe to the FedBizOpps website, located at https://www.fbo.gov, to ensure they receive any updated information concerning this RFI at the appropiate time.

6.0 Summary and Applicable Clauses

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY to seek industry's knowledge about, and identify sources for, providing Third Party Collection services. The information provided in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. The Government has not made a commitment to procure any of the items discussed, and release of this RFI should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

Pursuant to FAR 52.215-3, your attention is required to the following provision:
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION OR SOLICITATION FOR PLANNING PURPOSES (OCT 1997)
(a) The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this request for information or to otherwise pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subsection FAR 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

(b) Although "proposal" and "offeror" are used in this RFI, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal.

(c) This request for information is issued for the purpose of gathering information regarding the medical billing industry and to request comments on the attached DRAFT Performance Work Statement. Comments received may be used to review and revise the DRAFT Performance Work Statement when developing the final forthcoming Solicitation.

Attachment 1:

Draft: Performance Work Statement (PWS) dated: October 2018

.