5600 Fishers Lane, Room 13A-19 Rockville, MD 20857

R -- POLICY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS SOL HRSA-250-OA-08(0) POC Sarah Bueter 301-443-5352 WEB: Click here to download a copy of the RFP, www.hrsa.dhhs.gov/contract.htm. E-MAIL: Click here to contact the contracting officer via, SBueter@hrsa.gov. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has a requirement to let a contract to provide for short term evaluation and analysis assistance, specifically in the area of Policy and Environmental Assessments. Task orders awarded under this proposed requirement will focus on environmental/policy assessment of issues which may affect HRSA-supported activities or are otherwise relevant to HRSA's broader interests . While policy/environmental assessment is a broad category, most task orders will focus either on 1) the external context of programs and how forces in the larger society affect HRSA programs and their progress toward achieving their goals and objectives or 2) the development and assessment of various policies alternatives related to HRSA programs and interests. Policy and Environmental assessments focusing on the external context could look at the following types of issues: health and human service system changes, such as the increase in managed care or the changes in the welfare system; social, economic and political changes, such as the increase in the population without health insurance or the renewed interest in health care reform; assessments of population/community needs; interaction among various HRSA-supported activities in meeting Agency objectives and goals; and impact of the changing health care market place on the public health infra-structure and the personal health care delivery systems. Studies of policy alternatives will focus on how actual, planned, or potential changes in current public and private policies and implementation strategies would affect attainment of program goals and objectives. Policy alternatives might include topics, such as: interaction of local, State, and Federal policies on HRSA-supported activities; impact of policy changes (non-HRSA) on HRSA-supported activities, such as changes in Medicare or Medicaid eligibility on the viability of Health Centers or the elimination of affirmative action programs in education on the goals of HRSA's educational programs to increase the diversity of health care practitioners; impact of changes in financial policy by Federal payers on the recipients of HRSA funds and their clients or patients; potential unanticipated consequences of policy changes; and effects of changes in Federal Welfare policy on HRSA's role in assuring access to health care for underserved populations. Because timeliness of information is critical to policy assessments, these studies typically require review, abstraction, analysis, and interpretation of current information and existing data bases. The solicitation will be issued on or about 4/11/00. You may be able to access the solicitation electronically at the following location on the web: www.hrsa.dhhs.gov/contract.htm. If you are able to download the solicitation electronically, please submit your name, address and phone number to this office so that you can be included on our source list. (It is the offerors responsibility to monitor the above internet site for the release of this solicitation and amendments, if any). If you are NOT able to download the solicitation electronically, all requests for a hard copy of the solicitation must be in writing, to the attention of Sarah Bueter and cite RFP No. HRSA 250-OA-08(0)sb. Your written request for the solicitation should be mailed to the attention of Sarah Bueter, HRSA, Room 13A-19, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland, 20857. You may FAX your request to the attention of Sarah Bueter at 301-443-6038. If you choose to FAX your request, please send the hard copy in the mail as the FAX copies are sometimes unreadable. The electronic mailing address is: sbueter@hrsa.gov. All requests should include the name of the contact person, mailing address, telephone number, email address and FAX number in the body of the letter. Telephone requests for the solicitation cannot be honored. Posted 03/24/00 (W-SN437952). (0084)

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