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

R -- EVALUATE PARITY WITHIN THE FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM SOL RFP-15-00-HHS-OS POC Point of Contact: Cheryl Howe, Contract Specialist, 202-690-5552 The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will jointly seek qualified offerors to assist them in conducting an evaluation of the impact of requiring full parity for mental health and substance abuse benefits within health plans participating in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program. The goal of this contract is to assess the effects of a parity requirement on the following: benefit design and management; costs; access; utilization; quality; and satisfaction with mental health and substance abuse benefits and services in the largest private employer-sponsored health care plan in the country; namely, the FEHB. The FEHB has approximately 300 participating health plans that offer health insurance coverage to over 8.7 million federal employees, annuitants, and dependents. In 1999, 26% of those enrolled in the FEHB were federal employees, 21% were annuitants or federal retirees, and 53% were dependents (i.e., spouses and/or children of federal employees). In addressing research questions of interest to the Government, the contractor will conduct a variety of both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis activities. This procurement is a full and open competition. The period of performance will be approximately 36 months. A cost type contract is anticipated. The date of issue for this RFP will be approximately June 2, 2000. Proposals will be due 45 days after issuance date of the RFP. It is anticipated that the solicitation document will be available on the DHHS website at www.os.dhhs.gov/progorg/oam/contrct within 5 business days of issuance of the paper copies. However, to assure receipt, you should request a paper copy. Requests for paper copies of this RFP must be made in writing to the address and contact point listed above. Requests may be faxed to Cheryl Howe at (202) 690-5698. There will not be a bidder's conference. Any questions on the RFP will be due in writing approximately 14 calendar days after RFP issuance. Posted 05/11/00 (D-SN453849). (0132)

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