SOLICITATION NOTICE
V -- Special Needs Travel Support Services
- Notice Date
- 7/25/2024 12:13:02 PM
- Notice Type
- Solicitation
- NAICS
- 485991
— Special Needs Transportation
- Contracting Office
- RPO EAST (36C24E) PITTSBURGH PA 15212 USA
- ZIP Code
- 15212
- Solicitation Number
- 36C24E24R0009
- Response Due
- 8/1/2024 7:00:00 AM
- Archive Date
- 08/31/2024
- Point of Contact
- Michael D Haydo, Contracting Officer
- E-Mail Address
-
Michael.Haydo@va.gov
(Michael.Haydo@va.gov)
- Awardee
- null
- Description
- Vendor Questions 1 Q: Specific locations and destinations from where the patient travel will commence. A: Please see Statement of Work Sections I and II. Q: Frequency and schedule of the travel (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly). A: Will be awarded based on VA need and the estimated 147 participants. Q: Are there any particular routes or detours that need to be considered? A: Other than most cost beneficial route, there are no other special requirements. Q: The expected duration of the contract. A: See Statement of Work Section IV. Q: Any specific start and end dates would be greatly appreciated. A: The base contract will have an Ordering/Performance period based on the actual award date. Specific periods of performance will be awarded by individual task order and based on VA needs. Q: Any special requirements or accommodations that need to be provided during transportation. A: None, other than those outlined in the specifications. Q: Any specific documentation or certifications required for this contract. A: None, other than those outlined in the specifications. Q: Are there any other factors or considerations we should know to ensure we meet all the contract requirements and provide a comprehensive proposal? A: None, other than those outlined in the specifications. Q: Was the similar solicitation from last year awarded? If not, why? A: Yes, a similar solicitation was posted approximately 1 year ago, but there was very little interest and the VA end user funding was redirected to other projects. The Q: If last year's solicitation was awarded, may we ask what the awarded rates were? A: No award was made. Q: Can you provide guidance on the expected length (in pages) for Volume II - Technical proposal? A: Only Volume II shall meet the 30-page limitation with additional instructions as follows: Under Volume II Technical Proposal there are two versions of the same information, so there is a 30-page limit for each version (redacted version limit 30-pages and unredacted limit 30-pages). The past performance surveys required under Volume III and any additional past performance information provided by the offeror will not count against the 30-page limit. Therefore, only Volume II as outlined above will be subject to the page limitations. Volumes I, III, and IV are not subject to page limitations. The minimum font for all volumes is hereby changed to size 10 to allow space for additional details, but the font type is still limited to Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman. Q: Since Volume III is measured through surveys sent directly to you, please confirm there is no active deliverable expected from us in the proposal package and that section can be blank. A: The surveys are required, but the offeror shall provide a Volume III with further explanation of relevant past projects and any other information outlined in the solicitation for that section. Q: How many participants are expected to be in wheelchairs? A: These participants are unilateral or bilateral above the knee amputees. It is expected that all participants (N=147) may require wheelchair assistance periodically. Q: Will participants require overnight stays while at the facility, or should we assume same-day check-outs? A: Participants will stay overnight for each visit. Minimum of 1 night up to 14 nights. Q: Are overnight stays at the facility covered by the facility, or are we expected to provide these? If so, on average, how many days are participants expected to be on-site? A: Overnight stays are expected to be provided by the travel contract. Only exception will be when the participant is on site for surgery. Q: On page 5 under III. Work Requirements, Itinerary, does the travel cost guidance apply only to per diem or all travel expenses? A: All travel expenses shall be limited as stated in Section A. Q: Why is automobile insurance needed when we organize travel as travel and case managers? We are not going to be driving participants ourselves. We do have a $6 million general liability policy. A: The clause under C.6 SUPPLEMENTAL INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS deals with company liability. Section (C) would only apply if the company owns the automobile (or other mode of transportation). If the offeror is leasing, or utilizing commercial transportation (i.e. taxi, ride share, etc..), then insurance would be required by the provider of the services. Q: Could you provide a template or desired format for client surveys? A: A Past Performance Survey template has been posted with this amendment as Attachment 2. Q: All the 147 patients will have above the knee amputations. Given this information, is there a known number of wheelchair patients or patients who require special travel accommodations? NOTE: Wheelchair patients will require special accommodations for ground transportation. To accommodate for this, these trips will exceed the government rate. As there is no government established rate for these transports, I am unsure of how to price this. We have a strong network of NEMT providers nationwide, but it will be a variable rate based on a variety of factors. A: The exact number of wheelchairs patients is unknown. Many will be able to navigate with crutches but may require wheelchairs for long walks (ie. through airports). Q: How is the awarded contractor expected to book government rates if they are a contractor, not a federal government employee? NOTE: Most government partners require proof (ID) of government employment to honor the government rate, will the VA provide some form of documentation for patients to satisfy this requirement? A: The contractor is not expected to book government rates, but abide by the rate limits outlined in the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR). Travel accommodations and per diem should not exceed the federal limits for a local area. See also section Volume IV: Costs are not-to-exceed and should be limited to essential travel and limited to government rate or similar, but with the ability to exceed, if justified (e.g., for ADA compliance reasons). Q: Because the origin of each trip will vary, how is a contractor expected to provide a flat rate per trip? A: The prices are Not to Exceed, so the proposal should contain the price which would cover the furthest distance. Q: Has the government considered alternative modes of transportation for the convenience of each patient? NOTE 1: Given their needs for accommodations, has the government considered long-haul transports by NEMT providers? For rural based patients, this might be something to consider. NOTE 2: For nearby patients, this might be something to consider as well. For example, the cheapest transport from all DC airports to one of the five listed VAMCs is to Minneapolis and St. Paul, both for $178 (government rate), but the simplest solution would be an NEMT ground transport from the northern Virginia area to Richmond, VA. A: Some participants that are more local to one of the study sites, will be able to travel by car. Providing ground transportation as mentioned in the example above is allowable as long as travel time is not excessive if air travel would be significantly quicker. Q: Is there an estimated amount of notice given for each of the appointments? NOTE: i.e. Travel requests will be placed a minimum 6 months in advance or 6 days in advance? A: Due to the complexity of the study and the time commitment required by the participants, we would like to have as much flexibility as possible in the travel requests. Some of the visits will require participants to miss multiple days of work and/or make arrangements for childcare, etc. The maximum limit for travel request should not exceed 6 months and the minimum could be as low as 7 days, though this will be a rare occurrence. Q: The price/cost schedule (B.2) reflects one CLINS for a quantity of one. There is also a price list. Are these prices supposed to reflect the cost of transportation OR are they supposed to reflect the cost for arranging the transportation? A: The price/cost schedule only outlines the ordering/performance period of the base contract. When services are needed, then a task order will be awarded based on the price list attached to the base contract. Has the VA considered doing a cost reimbursement pricing structure plus a management fee? NOTE: This would equate to the government only paying for what each veteran receives while traveling. A: No. the current contract type of Indefinite Delivery/Requirements with task orders based on the attached price list is sufficient. The prices will be listed as not-to-exceed limits.
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