SOURCES SOUGHT
R -- Print Fulfillment Sources Sought
- Notice Date
- 6/28/2013
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 323111
— Commercial Printing (except Screen and Books)
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of Acquisition and Grants Management, 7500 Security Blvd., C2-21-15, Baltimore, Maryland, 21244-1850
- ZIP Code
- 21244-1850
- Solicitation Number
- HHS-CMS-DBSC-SBSS-13-015
- Archive Date
- 7/27/2013
- Point of Contact
- Jennifer L. Hennessy, Phone: 4107862460
- E-Mail Address
-
jennifer.hennessy@cms.hhs.gov
(jennifer.hennessy@cms.hhs.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This is a SMALL BUSINESS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of qualified small businesses (e.g., 8(a), service-disabled veteran owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, veteran-owned small business, and women-owned small business), that can provide a print fulfillment solution to accurately fulfill requests for preprinted (static) publications, written correspondence letters, confirmation letters, customized print on demand (POD) publications, postcards, and other CMS publication materials in alternate media formats, such as audiocassettes, CDs, letters, braille, large print, etc. The contractor shall provide a print fulfillment operation to publish, house, distribute and support outbound print communications such as letters, printed materials, and alternative media correspondence as needed to respond to beneficiary inquiries. The information from this market research will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. BACKGROUND The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is the largest purchaser of health insurance in the United States, purchasing health care for an estimated 79 million people through Medicare and Medicaid. CMS works to ensure high quality health care at a reasonable price and to provide information about benefits, health promotion, and choices. CMS is responsible for accurate, timely, relevant, understandable, and easily accessible information that will help individuals evaluate health plan options, nursing home options, and make decisions on their individual health care needs. CMS is required to broadly disseminate information to people with Medicare (and prospective people with Medicare) on the coverage options available, prescription drug information and General Medicare information. In order to meet national program missions and strategies as well as legislative mandates (Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and Medicare Modernization Act of 2003), CMS operates a toll-free nation-wide, 24 x 7 contact center to provide Medicare beneficiary customer service and address beneficiary inquiries. Beneficiaries often request printed materials including static publications, customized print on demand (POD) packages, other publications, alternative media & formats including Braille, CDs, etc. Print fulfillment also handles all form response letters to written and fax correspondence, as well as other information dissemination packages. On March 23, 2010, the President signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148). On March 23, 2010, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 200 (P.L. 111-152) was signed into law. The two laws are collectively referred to as the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Affordable Care Act creates new competitive private health insurance markets - called Marketplaces - that will give millions of Americans and small businesses access to affordable coverage and the same insurance choices that members of Congress will have. Marketplaces will help individuals and small employers shop for, select, and enroll in high quality, affordable private health plans that fit their needs at competitive prices. CMS is working with States (including the District of Columbia and all the territories) to establish Marketplaces in every State. The law gives States the opportunity to establish State-based Marketplaces, subject to certification that the State-based Marketplace meets federal standards and will be ready to offer health care coverage on January 1, 2014. In a State that does not achieve certification by the deadline, the law directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to facilitate the establishment of a Marketplace in that State. In addition to the toll-free nation-wide, 24 x 7 Medicare contact center, CMS will also operate a Marketplace call center to provide answers to questions about the Health Insurance Marketplace. The inquiries that the Contact Center Operations (CCO) will be responsible for generally align with the different traditional benefits and programs, as well as questions about general policies, referrals for assistance in decision-making or other individual healthcare needs. As such, timely and accurate fulfillment of print requests and confirmation letters is a vital part of the decision-making process for CMS's consumer base. The contractor will leverage its printing and mailing experience and use industry best practices to print and fulfill orders placed through CMS's print systems. The contractor will also utilize industry best practices to mail orders and minimize postage costs through efficient solutions. Medicare and the Health Insurance Marketplace are critical nation-wide programs that are politically sensitive and highly visible. The contact center program serves as one of the primary outreach channels for over 300 million people and therefore requires high performance standards, disaster planning (business continuity), and other important oversight and monitoring functions. Requirements for Print Fulfillment and Print on Demand operations follow including detail on specific operational requirements. Please see Attachment 1 for additional Security & Technical Requirements.   REQUIREMENTS OVERVIEW AND OPERATIONS The following provides potential responders with an overview of the types of support that would be required of the Print Fulfillment contractor. Note that although this is an extensive list, it is not meant to be all inclusive. Print Fulfillment and Print on Demand Requirements: The Print Fulfillment Contractor will: a) Provide a print fulfillment operation to publish, house and distribute both static and POD printed materials. b) Support outbound communications such as postcards, confirmation letters, entitlement letters, written correspondence responses and alternative media correspondence (Braille, Large Print, CD/DVDs) as needed to respond to inquiries. c) Provide a print fulfillment and mailing solution application that allows for collaboration with CMS systems and ensures connectivity to CMS's existing print fulfillment request application. Provide an application that facilitates retrieval requests in the Contractor's print fulfillment and mailing solution application and that provides an inventory tracking system to assist with the management of the print fulfillment and POD activities. d) Fulfill print fulfillment and POD requests within three (3) business days of receipt of request with a minimum accuracy rate of 97%. Respond to rapid changes in print volumes including meeting service level agreements (SLAs) and performance standards. e) Utilize secure print fulfillment and mailing procedures that ensure adherence to HIPAA, Privacy Act, and federal security rules and standards for handling sensitive personal health/medical information and personally identifiable information (PHI and PII). f) Maintain facilities with sufficient space to store approximately three (3) month's inventory of static publications, provided by CMS, which requires storage of approximately 750,000 publications within any given month of the year. g) Leverage its print and mailing experience and use industry best practices to print and fulfill orders placed through CMS's provided print ordering application. This system accepts orders placed via telephone calls, the network Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system, XML files from orders placed through the www.medicare.gov, www.mymedicare.gov, and www.healthcare.gov web sites, or through other channels. h) Tab self-mailers to prevent an open edge from jamming USPS high-speed processing equipment. i) Follow all USPS regulations for size, weight, and paper choices for mailers to ensure mailing costs are economical. j) Provide and utilize a label creation software program that is a USPS-approved address update tool and provides for adherence to applicable USPS classification reform requirements, including bar coding/Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB). k) Comply with USPS special needs postage requirements. Fulfill print requests utilizing secure mail processes and procedures to protect and ensure the integrity and security of packages including personally identifiable information and/or personal health information (PII and PHI). l) Ensure that all POD mailings are tamper-proof and do not disclose any sensitive information, including PII and PHI. m) Use an end-to-end custom book-building program which can automatically assemble specific XML data, gathered and created by the various decision tools on www.Medicare.gov, www.mymedicare.gov, and www.healthcare.gov to build on-demand personalized health care POD documents to be mailed directly to the each consumer. n) Design and create POD publications and maintain the publications using a version management software program. Current examples of CMS POD options, which are being provided here for reference only, include: • Medicare Plan Finder • Your Medicare Coverage • Find-a-Doctor (Participating Physician Directory) • Supplier Directory CAPABILITY STATEMENT INFORMATION Please address your knowledge and experience within the last three years and how you will provide each of the following points (A) through (F). Reference where applicable specific items from the Requirements Overview in demonstrating your expertise and experience providing print fulfillment, Print-on-demand, and efficient mailing of printed materials. (A). Demonstrate your expertise and experience in providing a print fulfillment and mailing solution equivalent to CMS's current print (see (B). below) and inventory volume (see (f) above) needs to accurately fulfill requests for preprinted (static) publications, print on demand (POD) publications, and other CMS publication materials, such as postcards, CDs/DVDs, entitlement letters, informational packages, confirmation letters, and Braille booklets with a turnaround time of three (3) business days since request with the ability to respond to rapid changes in print volumes. (B). Demonstrate your expertise in and experience with print fulfillment services handling at least 200,000 customized print-on-demand booklets, and approximately 4,000,000 letters and 1,000,000 static publications. Please include your ability to handle fulfillment requests for pre-printed and supplied Braille, Large Print, CD/DVD, and other alternative media print and outbound materials. (C). Demonstrate your experience and expertise in implementing and utilizing secure print fulfillment and mailing procedures aligned with USPS acceptable standards while ensuring the maximum security and integrity of mail packages that include personally identifiable information and personal health information (PII and PHI). Please include your experience and expertise in adhering to HIPAA, Privacy Act, and federal Security rules and standards on print fulfillment and mailing that includes handling sensitive personal health/medical information and personally identifiable information (PHI and PII). (D). Demonstrate expertise and experience in implementing a quality control process including measuring, reporting, and improving the quality of handling to print fulfillment requests and mailing procedures without degradation to operations and performance standards. (E). Demonstrate your experience and understanding of integrating, tracking, and reporting print fulfillment and mailing data while meeting performance standards and using industry best practices. (F). Demonstrate your expertise and experience using industry best practices to efficiently print and mail materials within three (3) business days and your ability to achieve efficiencies and develop innovative solutions to minimize postage costs. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUESTED: Interested parties having the capabilities necessary to perform this requirement may submit capability statements via email to Jennifer Hennessy (Jennifer.Hennessy@cms.hhs.gov). CAPABILITY STATEMENTS MUST DEMONSTRATE THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS OUTLINED ABOVE. Please address each in order listed above under "Capability Statement Information." Capability statements shall also include the following information: (Capability Statements shall be limited to 15 pages and shall designate any/all teaming arrangements and the work proposed to be performed by each team member.) Business Information -- 1) DUNS 2) Tax ID 3) Company Name 4) Company Address 5) Company Point of Contact, Phone and Email address 6) Current GSA Contracts a. Schedule b. 8(a) STARS GWAC c. Vets GWAC 7) Do you have a Government approved accounting system? If so, please identify the agency that approved the system. 8) Business Size Status (e.g., small business, 8(a), woman owned, veteran owned, etc.) as validated via the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) for the applicable 2012 NAICS code (i.e. 323111 ). All offerors must be registered in the CCR located at http://www.ccr.gov/index.asp. 9) Point of Contact, Phone and Email address of individuals who can verify the demonstrated capabilities identified in the responses. Responses must be submitted not later than July 12, 2013. Capability statements will not be returned and will not be accepted after the due date. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s). Questions concerning submission requirements may be directed to Jennifer Hennessy, Contract Specialist, 410-786-2460 or Jennifer.Hennessy@cms.hhs.gov. CMS will not entertain questions related to contracting strategy.   PRINT FULFILLMENT SOURCES SOUGHT (ATTACHMENT 1) Security & Technical Requirements: The Print Fulfillment Contractor will: i. Implement Section 508 compliant systems and electronic information materials. ii. Implement and maintain systems under FISMA moderate level compliance and pass security, ST&E, and certification & accreditation audits and processes following federal government standards and regulations. iii. Provide necessary premise-based network-communications equipment required to connect contractor facilities to the AT&T Global Network Service (AGNS) network or other CMS-chosen network. This includes, but is not limited to, LAN, firewalls, hubs, patch panels, and necessary cabling. iv. Ensure hardware and software are properly maintained to support interoperability between print fulfillment components and CMS provided infrastructure. Typical tasks may include, but are not limited to: a. Monitoring system operations and performance b. Addressing and correcting system errors c. Implementing software maintenance programs d. Scheduling deployments and upgrades for minimal project disruptions e. Installing software upgrades f. Providing performance tuning g. Providing on-site and off-site maintenance h. Providing on-site after hour and weekend support i. Providing maintenance to environmental systems including; power, HVAC, UPS, and fire suppression equipment v. Correct any security deficiencies, conditions, weaknesses, findings, or gaps identified by all audits, reviews, evaluations, tests and assessments, including but not limited to, the Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) -70 Reviews, Inspector General Audits, self-assessments, and Vulnerability Assessments in a timely manner. vi. Develop & provide corrective action plans and quarterly progress reports to CMS in accordance to the Business Partner System Security Manual (BPSSM) or otherwise as directed by CMS. vii. Comply with the CMS Certification & Accreditation (C&A) methodology, policies, standards, procedures, and guidelines for contractor facilities and systems. The CMS C&A methodology can be found on the CMS web site www.cms.gov/InformationSecurity. viii. Conduct or undergo an independent evaluation and test of systems security program in accordance with section 912 of the MMA. ix. Conduct, at a minimum, annual vulnerability assessment including penetration tests of the contractor's systems, program, and facility. x. Support CMS validation and accreditation of contractor systems and facilities in accordance with CMS C&A methodology. xi. Provide necessary staff to maintain equipment, and must be made available 24x7 if necessary to troubleshoot problems with CMS or other contractor staff.   xii. Develop & adhere to a Telecomm and IT Systems plan that outlines the approach and processes that will be used to manage these requirements, as well as a monthly Telecomm/IT Systems Outage Report that describes, at a minimum, the outage, the duration, the cause and the resolution. Security: The contractor shall comply with the applicable security requirements related to the operation of the print fulfillment operations under the contact center operations program defined in the Business Partner System Security Manual (BPSSM) (also known as IOM Publication 100-17), the Core Security Requirements and its operational appendices (A, B and C), found at http://www.cms.gov/Manuals/IOM/. The contractor shall implement a security program that adheres to CMS security standards. The Info Security Library can be found at http://www.cms.gov/InformationSecurity/ISD/list.asp. The contractor shall fully cooperate with CMS audits, reviews, evaluations, tests, and assessments of contractor systems, processes, and facilities. The following security regulations, policies, and guidelines are applicable to all CMS contractors: (I.) Public Law 93-579, The Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (II.) Public Law 99-474, Computer Fraud & Abuse Act of 1986 (III.) Public Law 100-235, Computer Security Act of 1987 (IV.) Public Law 104-13, Paperwork Reduction Act of 1978, as amended in 1995, U.S. Code 44 Chapter 35 (V.) Public Law 104-106, Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 (formerly known as the Information Technology Management Reform Act) (VI.) Public Law 104-191, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, 1996 (formerly known as the Kennedy-Kassenbaum Act) (VII.) Public Law 107-347, E-Government Act of 2002, Federal Information Systems Management Act (FISMA) (VIII.) Presidential Decision Directive/NSC-63 (PDD 63), Critical Infrastructure Protection, May 22, 1998 (IX.) Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular No. A-123, Management Accountability and Control, June 21, 1995 (X.) OMB Circular A-130, Management of Federal Information Resources, Transmittal 4, November 28, 2000 (XI.) Appendix III to OMB Circular No. A-130, Security of Federal Automated Information Resources, November 28, 2000 (XII.) GAO/AIMD-12.19.6, Federal Information System Controls Audit Manual (FISCAM), January 1999 (XIII.) CMS Business Partners System Security Manual, March 5, 2004 (XIV.) CMS Information System Security Policy, Standards and Guidelines handbook (The Handbook), version 1.2, July 19, 2004 (XV.) CMS System Security Plan Methodology, version 3.0, November 6, 2002 (XVI.) CMS Risk Assessment Methodology, version 2.1, April 22, 2005
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