MODIFICATION
R -- PROFESSIONAL, ADMINISTRATIVE AND MANAGEMENT SUPPORT
- Notice Date
- 4/17/2002
- Notice Type
- Modification
- Contracting Office
- Attn: Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Contracting Officer, (90C), 4100 West Third Street, Dayton, Ohio 45428
- ZIP Code
- 45428
- Solicitation Number
- 552-07-02
- Response Due
- 4/25/2002
- Point of Contact
- Point of Contact - Linda Hess, Contract Specialist, (937) 262-2120, Contracting Officer - Linda Hess, Contract Specialist, (937) 262-2120
- E-Mail Address
-
Email your questions to Linda Hess
(linda.hess@med.va.gov)
- Description
- DESCRIPTION: This modification is being issued to correct the previously posted announcement dated 4/12/02. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation issued for commercial items and is prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 12, Acquisition of Commercial Items, Subpart 12.6, Streamlined Procedures for Evaluation and Solicitation for commercial Items, FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures, and as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This procurement is being conducted under FAR Subpart 13.5 test program; simplified acquisition procedures apply and VA shall conduct the procurement according to a combination of Parts 12 and 13. This announcement for Request for Quotation (RFQ) RFQ-552-07-02 entitled "Preferred Pricing Program" is hereby issued for a Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) and incorporates provisions and clauses in effect through FAR FAC 2001-05 and VAAR 97-8. NAICS Code 524130 applies for this procurement and the small business size standard is $6 million. This announcement/solicitation constitutes the only bid document that will be issued. A separate written solicitation document shall not be issued. Contractor's proposals (cost and technical) are herein requested. A response to requirements listed below shall be submitted on contractor's letterhead or formal quotation form and shall address all requirements listed in a separate technical proposal. Contractor's price and technical proposal shall contain the name, title and signature of person authorized to submit proposals/bids on behalf of the contractor. The Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 10 has identified a need for the following service. 1. A Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) is a written instrument of understanding, negotiated between VISN 10 and the contractor that contains (1) terms and clauses applying to future orders between the parties during its term, (2) a description of supplies and services to be provided, and (3) methods for pricing, issuing and delivering future orders under the BOA. A BOA is not a contract and nothing contained herein is intended to imply, and shall not be interpreted as implying, any agreement by the Government or any ordering activity specified in the BOA to place future contracts or orders against this BOA. 2. The performance period for this proposed BOA is for one year from date of award and is renewable for up to four (4) option years. All orders issued against the BOA shall be subject to the terms and conditions of this agreement. In the event of a conflict between a delivery order and this agreement, the agreement shall control. If this agreement needs to be revised prior to its expiration, due to mandatory statutory requirements, it shall be changed only by modifying through amendment and by mutual agreement and not by individual orders issued against it. 3. Delivery orders placed against the BOA shall contain the following: a. Date of order. b. BOA and individual purchase order number c. Item number and description, quantity and unit price. d. Delivery or performance date. e. Place of delivery or performance (including consignee). f. Packaging, packing and shipping instructions, if any. g. Accounting and appropriation data. h. Any other pertinent information. 6. The following VISN 10 VAMCs and facilities may issue delivery orders against this BOA: Cincinnati VA Medical Center 3200 Vine Street Cincinnati, OH 45220, Chillicothe VA Medical Center 17273 State Road 104 Chillicothe, OH 45601, Dayton VA Medical Center 4100 W. Third Street Dayton OH 45428, Cleveland VA Medical Center (Brecksville Unit) 1000Brecksville Road Brecksville OH 44141, VAOPC Columbus 543 Taylor Avenue Columbus OH 43203-7278 7. Delivery orders shall become binding on the date and signature of an Authorized Agent, unless the Contractor refuses the order in writing ten (10) calendar days after receipt of the order. 8. Payment terms are Net 30 days. Invoices shall be forwarded to the payment address noted on the individual delivery orders (shall be provided by each participating medical center) issued under this BOA. 9. Pricing is based on % of savings and in accordance with this agreement. Prices to the Government shall be as low as or lower than those charged the contractor's most favored customer for comparable quantities under similar terms and conditions, in addition to any discounts for prompt payment. 10. No guarantee is given that any delivery orders shall be issued under this BOA. The Government is obligated only to the extent of authorized purchases made under this BOA. 11. Delivery schedule shall be negotiated prior to issuance of a delivery order for each participating facility. 12. Day to day operations and methods of conducting business shall be coordinated with the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) and/or the individual Medical Center Representative. I. SCOPE OF SERVICES FOR CONTRACTOR'S PREFERRED PRICING PROGRAM A. Purpose of Preferred Pricing Program (PPP) The purpose of the PPP is to assist the VA in meeting their economic objectives. The VA shall not endorse or refer eligible veterans to individual physicians or PPO networks. When eligible veterans receive their healthcare from providers in the private sector through the VA Fee Basis, the PPP allows participating VAMCs to share in the savings available through the discounts in managed care networks. The program allows savings for a variety of health care services through Contractor's provider networks including hospitalization, outpatient care, ambulatory surgery, behavioral health, ancillary and other services. B. Preferred Pricing Program Processes The contractor shall perform preferred pricing services. This includes making health care provider networks available to the VA and providing the preferred price to the VA so the VA can then pay the provider. 1. When eligible veterans use PPP providers for hospitalizations, inpatient services, outpatient care, ambulatory surgery, dental, professional services, ancillary, and other services; discounted rates shall be available to VAMCs participating in the PPP. 2. All PPP providers shall submit their claims to the individual VAMC. The VAMC establishes eligibility, that the service is a covered benefit, and determines the VA allowable (the amount the VA shall pay on that particular claim). The participating VAMC shall document the VA allowable amount on the claim and forward claims greater than $150 to the contractor. The contractor shall verify the providers participation with the contractor's PPO and annotate their best price for the services claimed, returning the information to the VAMC. The VAMC shall determine the best value to the government and make payment on that basis. Reporting and invoicing protocols assume the VA shall select the lesser of the two prices. 3. The contractor shall provide monthly reports detailing the price the VAMC would have paid comparing it to the Contractor preferred price. These reports sha be provided within 10 days of the end of the calendar month in which the service was provided. Contractor shall calculate the amount saved and use that amount for invoicing. C. Preferred Pricing Program requires activities from four different entities. The VA shall exercise oversight of the contractor and shall have responsibilities for some portions of the claims flow. The VA shall issue the payments to providers from VA funds. D. VA Responsibility: 1. VAMCs shall appoint a liaison to assist in coordinating with internal VAMC assets. 2. VAMCs shall: copy claims; forward and receive copied documents from the PPP contractor; track and reconcile claims; reconcile and certify monthly invoices. 3. The VA shall retain responsibility for payment to providers submitting authorized claims. 4. VAMCs shall retain the responsibility for making payments to the contractor for certified savings in accordance with Section V. Participating Medical Centers may provide a No Charge (N/C) purchase order to the contractor to initiate this BOA. E. Contractor Responsibility: 1. The contractor shall serve as the prime contractor with overall responsibility for program management. The contractor shall integrate all subcontractor activities. The contractor shall ensure access to and adequacy of a discounted network to achieve savings from Medicare rates. The contractor's payment administrator shall process the claims from receipt up to, but not including, issuance of payment. 2. Provide VAMCs access to managed care provider networks offering discounts. 3. Working with internal and external claims personnel. 4. Re-pricing and returning claims within 6 business days for paper or fax claims and 3 business days for EDI claims. Invoices not processed within the designated turnaround time shall be treated as non-discountable and processed by the VA accordingly. The contractor fee shall be paid only when the network price is used, claims not meeting the turnaround time shall not be considered for reimbursement unless the PPP is utilized. 5. Contractor shall prepare an individual pricing form for every claim and return it to the VA with the discounted price clearly written on it. 6. Provide opportunity for future EDI transmission of claims. 7. Submit standard reports in a timely manor. Quarterly reports to VISN 10 shall include a summary of each participating facility's demonstrated cost savings. Monthly summary reports for each VAMC's COTR shall be provided with the invoice for fee reimbursement. ( See Paragraph I B 3 and Section III.) 8. The contractor shall pay for overnight or second day shipping when it is used. II. PROJECT PLAN A Project Plan shall be developed that includes the following: 1. Implementation Meeting (Representatives from the contractor, VAMC fee or business office, and the COTR) a. Review process b. Review responsibilities c. Identify key contact personnel d. Develop timeline estimates e. Gather claims volume estimates f. Identify known problem areas 2. Agree upon post-payment adjustment protocol. 3. Discuss interface with Claims staff (internal and external). 4. Schedule meeting with Claims staff for implementation. The contractor personnel shall travel to and from implementation meetings at the contractor's expense. 5. Gather provider contract information. 6. Make recommendations for modifying provider contracts as needed. 7. Perform preferred pricing. 8. Review Medical Center and COTR reports. 9. Conduct savings review with COTR. 10. Monitor preferred pricing process. 11. Establish ability to download claims electronically 12. Make recommendations to improve the effectiveness of preferred pricing. III. VALIDATING SAVINGS The individual VAMCs shall retain the right to review and otherwise audit any part of the preferred pricing process at any time. The contractor shall submit monthly reports to the VAMC showing claims submitted and claims with savings. This report shall list the VA price and the contractor price. The contractor shall use this savings report to generate invoices to each VAMC. IV. PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY The contractor shall comply with all statutory, regulatory, and VA policy requirements related to patient privacy and confidentiality. Reference FAR 52.224-1 Privacy Act Notification (Apr 1984) and FAR 52.224-2 Privacy Act (Apr 1984) of this agreement. V. PRICING The contractor shall provide preferred pricing services to the Department of Veterans Affairs. If there is no savings, there is no fee. The contractor fee is a percentage of savings on a per claim basis. The VA pays nothing until savings are realized. There is no additional fee beyond the percentage of savings fee. The fee for the contractor's preferred pricing services shall be incurred only when cost savings are recognized. The contractor fee shall be a percentage of the savings per claim. Savings are defined as the difference between the VA allowable (the amount the VA would pay) and the contractor PPP. Pricing Examples: Example 1 Claim value from provider (billed charges): $350.00 VA priced amount: $200.00 Contractor Network amount: $100.00 Savings: $100.00 Contractor Fee (25% of savings): $25.00; Example 2: Claim value from provider (billed charges): $1,500.00 VA priced amount: $975.00 Contractor Network amount: $325.00 Savings: $650.00 Contractor Fee (20% of savings): $130.00; Example 3: Claim value from provider (billed charges): $15,000.00 VA priced amount: $8,000.00 Contractor Network amount: $999.00 Savings: $7,001.00 Contractor Fee (15% of savings): $1,050.15 VI. PAYMENT Payment shall be made to the contractor in arrears, based on the agreed upon rates as applied to the reconciled and certified monthly invoices, by modification to the initial purchase order. VII. IMPLEMENTATION The contractor shall have 90 days for a start-up period after receipt of the individual Delivery Order from the specific, participating VAMC. VIII. EVALUATION FACTORS The Government shall award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation shall be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: (1) Technical ability to provide a PPP with an existing provider network as compared to the service area for VISN 10; (2) Experience and past performance as a PPP; (3) The percentage of fee assessed against PPP savings.; and Price or fee is approximately of equal importance to technical and past performance, when combined. Evaluations may be conducted to determine that the product(s) offered meet Government's requirements, technical capability and past performance history, delivery time frame and warranty to determine "best value" to the Government. Evaluation and/or award may be made without discussions. All responsible sources that can meet the requirements and provide items as listed above may respond to this solicitation by submitting cost and technical proposals on their company letterhead or bid form. The following provisions and clauses shall apply to this solicitation: 52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by Reference. This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this/these address (es): http://www.arnet.gov/far (FAR) and http://www.va.govoa&mm/vaar (VAAR); 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors Commercial Items; 52.212-2 Evaluation - Commercial Items; 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certification-Commercial Items (NOTE: offerors must include a completed copy of this clause along with his/her offer); 52-212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items; 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statues on Executive Orders-Commercial Items; 52.216-18 Ordering; 52-216-19 Order Limitations; 52.216-21 Requirements; VAAR 852.211-75 Technical Industry Standards; 852.270-4 Commercial Advertising; 852.219-70 Veteran-owned Business; 852.233-70 Protest Content; 852.236-76 Correspondence; 852.237-70 Contractor Responsibilities; 852.270-1 Representatives of Contracting Officers; and 852.233-71 Alternate Protest Procedure. 52.204-4 Printing/Copying Double-Sided on Recycled Paper JUN 1996 52.224-1 Privacy Act Notification APR 1984 52.224-2 Privacy Act APR 1984 52.233-2 Service of Protest AUG 1986 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services NOV 1999 52.232-18 Availability of Funds APR 1984 852.233-70 Protest Content JAN 1998 852.233-71 Alt Protest Procedures JAN 1998 52.219-4, Notice of Price Evaluation Preference for HUBZone Small Business Concerns (Jan 1999) (if the offeror elects to waive the preference, it shall so indicate in its offer). 52.219-23, Notice of Price Evaluation Adjustment for Small Disadvantaged Business Concerns (Pub. L. 103-355, section 7102, and 10 U.S.C. 2323) (if the offeror elects to waive the adjustment, it shall so indicate in its offer) 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (Feb 1999). 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (E.O. 11246). 52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans (38 U.S.C. 4212). 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities (29 U.S.C. 793). 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans (38 U.S.C. 4212). 52.225-13, Restriction on Certain Foreign Purchases (E.O. 12722, 12724, 13059, 13067, 13121, and 13129). Proposals shall include all information required in 52.212-1 Schedule of Prices Offered, Technical Capability, Past Performance, Price related elements and a completed copy of provision 52.212-3 Representations and Certifications. Submit all to Linda J. Hess, Contracting Officer (90C), VA Medical Center, Bldg. 408, Room 101, 4100 W. Third Street, Dayton, OH 45428. Contact Point is Linda J. Hess, telephone 937-262-2120. Proposals are due by 4:30 pm, EST, April 25, 2002.
- Web Link
-
RFP 552-07-02
(http://www.bos.oamm.va.gov/solicitation?number=552-07-02)
- Record
- SN00061305-W 20020419/020417213224 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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