DHHS, Office of the Secretary, Office of Acquisition Management; Room 443H, Humphrey Building; 200 Independence Avenue, S.W.; Washington, D.C. 20201

R -- SPORADIC PHONE ANSWERING SERVICES TO ACCOMMODATE OVERFLOW OF MEDICARE CALLS TO THE OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL HOTLINE SOL RFP-3-99-HHS-OS DUE 010599 POC Point of Contact: Gwen Briscoe, Contract Specialist, 202-690-8658 This is a combined synopsis solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested in response to the following statement of work and a written solicitation will not be issued. This is a request for proposal, RFP-3-99-HHS-OS. This solicitation document and its incorporated provisions are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular #97-07. This is a full and open competition which will result in the award of a firm fixed price type contract. The period of performance shall be nine months. Statement of Work: The purpose of this procurement is to provide additional phone answering capacity for the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Hotline. The OIG anticipates that immediately after a February 24, 1999 national kick off event and for a week after, the Hotline will experience a significant surge in calls. At this time, it is not possible to determine the extent of the surge because we cannot be certain of the extent and duration of the press coverage and the activity the coverage will generate. However, the OIG Hotline needs to be prepared to cover both the spike in phone calls the kick off will generate, as well as an increase in the "steady state" in the number of phone calls that will be generated by the kick off and the continuing education events across the country. In addition to the national event, the OIG anticipates the need for surge capacity in April or May 1999 when HCFA, in cooperation with the OIG, will include the OIG hotline number on the Explanation of Medicare Benefits (EOMBs) and Medicare Summary Notices (MSNs) sent to beneficiaries in Florida, Texas and California and possibly several other states. We anticipate that we will need additional contractor capacity for at least two months. During 1999, other currently unpredictable but later anticipated spikes in call volume may occur as a result of planned outreach events. These spikes may exceed the standing capacity of the hotline staff and thus would require the assistance of the contractor to meet this call volume. Scope of Work: The OIG will provide the contractor with the initial screening message that will be used during the kick off event. The OIG will program the Hotline phone system to refer calls directly to the contractor that are beyond the capacity of the Hotline to answer. During the event the OIG Hotline will have no more than 15 callers in the queue waiting for an operator. Call number 16 (and above) will be routed to the contractor if the caller specifies it is a Medicare call in response to the initial screening questions. The contractor will not be expected to handle non- Medicare calls. When the caller dials 1-800-HHS-TIPS, the call will be routed directly to the contractor if the caller is the 16th (and higher) call in the queue. The contractor, in consultation with the OIG and other technical specialists if needed, shall place the event screening message on their system so that incoming Hotline callers hear the screening message prior to going to a contractor operator. The contractor shall, in consultation with the OIG, develop data entry screens (including help screens) and, if necessary, screens that prompt interviewers with appropriate questions and responses. The OIG, in consultation with the contractor, will develop an automated system using ACCESS, that will collect call and complaint data information that can be electronically submitted to the OIG Hotline manager. The contractor shall maintain a "Call Derivation Sheet". During the kick off event the contractor shall provide OIG management with call data on a daily basis. Data to be reported includes total calls transferred to contractor, total calls answered, average talk time, total calls abandoned, average abandon time, number of callers in contractor queue, average queue time, breakdown by menu selection (if additional prompts are used), number of rotary callers, number of callers receiving a busy signal at contractor site. During the EOMB/MSN event the contractor shall provide the OIG management team with call data on a weekly basis. The OIG will develop and provide training, in consultation with the contractor, to all contractor operators working the OIG account. The contractor shall make available all operators and provide facilities for the training. The training shall occur within three weeks of the kick off event. Estimated training time is 1 full day. The contractor shall provide Spanish speaking operators to handle those callers who speak Spanish. The contractor shall provide sufficient phone operators to cover all calls that cannot be taken by the OIG Hotline staff and that are not screened out by the initial message. The contractor shall provide operators to answer phones during standard business hours from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday, excluding Federal Holidays. The contractor shall provide the facilities for the operators includingall phone equipment, computer equipment and software. The contractor shall provide adequate supervision of the operators and ensure adequate quality assurance to make sure that all calls are answered promptly, that callers are treated respectfully, that correct and complete information is provided to the caller, and that sufficient data is collected on the call report data back to the OIG. The OIG will provide on-site staff for technical assistance, as needed, to the contractor operators. The contractor shall ensure that for those calls that the operator determines are "complaints" sufficient information is collected to refer that call to the OIG Hotline including information to re-contact the caller, if necessary. Approximately 10 percent of calls answered are "complaints". The contractor shall maintain strict confidentiality on the nature of the phone calls received and the identity of the callers. The contractor is forbidden to share this information with anyone other than the OIG. Three weeks prior to the February 24 kick off event, the contractor, working with the OIG, shall pilot test all systems, scripts, data entry screens and processes for 2 to 3 days. Two weeks prior to the kick off event, the contractor and the OIG shall make mutually agreed upon changes based on the pilot test experience. One week prior to the kick off event, the contractor shall begin answering phones using final scripts, data entry systems, and call referral systems. The performance period of the event phase is estimated to be January 15, 1999 through March 10, 1999. The performance period for the EOMB phase is estimated to be from April 15, 1999 through June 15, 1999 (pending availability of funds and the timing of HCFA notifications to the carrier). Supplemental documentation pertaining to this scope of work may be found on our website: www.dhhs.gov/progorg/oam/contrct. Submissions shall consist of a pricing proposal that fully details 1) Set up fee including program design, call guide systems and report development, testing implementation, telecommunications development and testing and operator training and 2) Monthly fees including management fee, call processing, and any additional transaction fees (explain); and a technical proposal consisting of a cover sheet on letterhead stationary listing the RFP being responded to, the offeror's name, location, and telephone/fax numbers, a statement indicating understanding of the requirements in sufficient detail to address the evaluation criteria listed below. In order to evaluate past performance, offerors must provide (as part of the technical proposal) the names and points of contact with current telephone and fax numbers for your three most similar recent contracts with major national organizations. The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The evaluation will be conducted in accordance with the following weighted criteria: (a) Past Performance (Weight 55%)- Ability and existing resources to provide technical capacity to answer an unpredictable number of overflow calls, route calls, install automated messages as demonstrated by past performance with at least three major national organizations. (b) Technical -- 1) Demonstrated ability to handle at least 10,000 overflow calls within a two week period with no queue (Weight: 25%); 2) Demonstrated ability to handle calls from senior citizens and non-English speaking populations (Weight: 10%); and 3) Demonstrated ability to handle Medicare calls or calls involving elderly health care issues (Weight: 10%). (c) Pricing -- Proposals will be evaluated for price reasonableness. Technical and past performance, when combined, are significantly more important than price. The relationship of these three factors will be assessed to determine which proposal represents the best value to the government. A small business source demonstrating the best value to the Government will be considered for award. The provision at FAR 52.212-1 is applicable to this solicitation. Offerors must include a complete copy of the provision at FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications- Commercial Items, with their offer as part of the pricing proposal. The clause at FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions -- Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. The clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders applies to this solicitation with the following clause checked: FAR 52.222-41, Service Contract Act of 1965. The contractor will be required to pay employees in accordance with the U.S. Department of Labor Wage Determination that applies where his/her business is located. Any clauses or provisions referenced in this notice can be accessed through the Internet address that follows: http://www.arnet.gov . Please submit (4) four copies of both the technical and business proposals. The government reserves the right to award basedon initial proposals without entering into negotiations. Offers are due January 5, 1999, 4:00 PM EDT, at the following location: Department of Health and Human Services, OS/Office of Acquisition Management, Room 443H, Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC, 20201, ATTN: Gwen Briscoe (202-690-8658). If hand-delivering the proposal, security will ask the courier to remain with the package in the lobby of the building and to call either Ms. Briscoe or Cassandra Richardson on 690-8538. They will escort you to Room 443H where your proposal will be time stamped. Your proposal will only be considered valid with this time stamp. Please take this delay into consideration when hand-delivering. Proposals received through mail or other methods will also be time stamped upon receipt in Room 443H. If hand- delivering, please arrive at the building at least one hour prior to the time due to accommodate these security measures. Amendments to this solicitation, if any, shall also be published as a Commerce Business Daily Synopsis. See Note 1. Posted 12/15/98 (D-SN280604). (0349)

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