Employee Drug and Disease Testing Services

Harris County Hospital District, doing business as Harris Health, is soliciting offers for comprehensive Employee Drug and Disease Testing Services through Request for Offer (RFO) #AB02182026. The solicitation seeks qualified vendors to provide pre-employment, post-accident, random, and for-cause drug and disease testing for applicants who have received employment offers, employees in safety-sensitive positions, and employees whose workplace activity raises reasonable suspicion of substance abuse. Deliverables include urine and saliva drug screening using a 12-panel configuration (6-AM, fentanyl, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, cocaine, MDMA, marijuana metabolites, methadone, opiates, oxycodone, PCP, and propoxyphene); blood testing for immunity to measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, hepatitis B, and tuberculosis via Interferon-Gamma Release Assay; specimen collection supply provision; specimen pickup and transport from designated Harris Health facilities including Ben Taub Hospital and Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital; offsite vendor collection capabilities at nationwide locations; Medical Review Officer services for positive results; and 24/7 availability for post-accident and reasonable suspicion testing. All testing must comply with applicable local, state, and federal regulations and guidelines. Required vendor qualifications include CLIA certification, proper licensure and authorization in all jurisdictions where services are provided, employment of a licensed physician to serve as Medical Review Officer, and nationwide specimen collection site availability. Estimated annual test volumes include 2,550 urine drug tests collected by Harris Health staff, 50 urine drug tests collected at vendor locations, 30 tests each for MMR titers, varicella titers, hepatitis B surface antibody titers, and quantiferon gold tests, and 34 reasonable suspicion/post-accident tests. Proposals will be evaluated using a weighted scoring methodology: Qualifications (35%), Solution/Service Delivery (35%), and Pricing (30%). The question submission deadline is March 10, 2026, with proposals due March 20, 2026. The initial contract term begins April 2026 and continues for twelve months, with four optional one-year renewal periods available.

The solicitation includes a 12% Minority and Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) participation goal, with acceptable certifications including City of Houston, State of Texas Historically Underutilized Business (HUB), Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE), and U.S. Small Business Administration 8(a) designations. Bidders unable to meet the MWBE goal must document Good Faith Efforts through a comprehensive checklist including pre-bid meeting attendance, solicitation of at least ten MWBE firms with minimum ten business days' notice, provision of adequate bid information, good faith negotiation with interested M/WBEs, and assistance with bonding, financing, equipment, and supplies. Tax residence certification is required under Texas Government Code 2252.001, with preferential treatment available for resident bidders with principal places of business in Texas. All vendors must maintain primary commercial insurance throughout the contract period, including Workers Compensation ($1,000,000 each for accident and disease per employee), Commercial General Liability ($1,000,000 per occurrence/$2,000,000 general aggregate), Automobile Liability ($1,000,000 combined single limits), Umbrella/Excess Liability ($1,000,000 per occurrence/aggregate), and Professional/Errors & Omissions Liability ($1,000,000 per occurrence/aggregate). Harris County must be named as Additional Insured on a primary/non-contributory basis for general liability, automobile liability, and umbrella coverage. The current annual budget is estimated at approximately $100,000, subject to change based on funding availability. Pricing must be submitted on a per-test basis as all-inclusive pricing with no separate charges for supplies, shipping, standard reporting, or Medical Review Officer services, with price escalations during renewal years capped at the year-over-year change in the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index. Harris Health anticipates awarding to one or two vendors based on test availability and best value considerations.