Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center (90C), 1100 N. College Avenue, Fayetteville, AR 72703

Q -- PHARMACY MANAGEMENT SERVICES SOL RFQ 564-13-00 DUE 071400 POC Eleanor Dalmut (501) 444-5027 This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6 as supplemented with additional information contained in this notice. This procurement is being conducted under Simplified Acquisition Procedures in accordance with FAR Part 13. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested and a written solicitation WILL NOT be issued. The solicitation is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ) 564-13-00. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through FAC 97-17 This acquisition is 100% small business set-aside and the SIC Code is 8099 with a small business size standard of $5.0 million. The VA intends to solicit quotes and award a firm-fixed priced, non-personal services contract for Health Care Resources in accordance with Public Law 104-262 and the authority of Title 38 USC Section 8153. Pharmacy Benefits Management- The successful Contractor shall provide pharmacy benefit management products and services to VA eligible beneficiaries in accordance with the requirements of this contract for the VA Medical Center, Fayetteville, Arkansas, Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC). Contractor shall provide dispensing fee per prescription and discount offered from the Drug Topics Red Book (DTRB) Average Wholesale Price (AWP). Services shall be required for the proposed community-based outpatient clinic in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Additional areas will be added to the contract, as services are needed for future Community-Based Outpatient Clinics within the VAMC, Fayetteville, Arkansas primary service area. 1. Base Year: August 1, 2000 through July 31, 2001 (with four one year options), 2. Option Year 1:August 1, 2001 through July 31, 2002 3. Option Year 2: August 1, 2002 through July 31, 2003 4. Option Year 3: August 1, 2003 through July 31, 2004 a. Generic Prescriptions: Discount from AWP _________%; b. Brand Name Prescriptions: Discount from AWP _________%; c. Dispensing Fee perprescription: $_________ NOTE: It is estimated there will be approximately 1,000 patients at the Fort Smith CBOC the initial year. It is estimated that 25% or less of prescriptions will result in an urgent prescription requiring a first-fill under a contract resulting from this solicitation. 1. The contractor shall provide Pharmacy Management Services to include traditional prescription screening, dispensing and counseling services (by a registered and licensed pharmacist) to eligible veterans presenting authorized prescriptions from providers at the VA Medical Center Community Based Outpatient Clinics a. Printed drug information will be provided to each patient to supplement verbal instructions. These services will require a medication history and check for allergies, interactions and duplications. b. Contractor's staff and facility must meet all applicable federal and state requirements for performing services under this contract. Contractor must provide a copy of each pharmacist's license (Arkansas Board of Pharmacy) and the license for the facility to dispense pharmaceuticals to the Contracting Officer prior to commencing work under a contract resulting from this solicitation. The Contractor will also provide copies of renewed licenses or licenses when new pharmacists are hired. c. The contractor shall fill and dispense medications written on original prescriptions, VA Form 10-2577d, and signed by a VA-approved provider working out of the VA Medical Center, Fayetteville, Arkansas Community Based Outpatient Clinic located in Fort Smith, AR. The VA will provide the contractor with a list of VA-approved providers and their signatures. d. The purpose of this contract is to provide prescription-filling services (first fill) for acute conditions deemed to be urgent by the CBOC provider. Acute conditions are cough, infection, colds, pain, and other severe medical conditions that drug therapy treatment must be started within 15 days of a patient's visit to the CBOC. The Contractor will screen these prescriptions andvalidate (if necessary) the urgent nature of the first fill. e. Prescriptions will be filled and dispensed only for medications listed in the VA formulary. Changes, additions and deletions to the formulary will be provided to the contractor as they occur. Only those medications that are on the National Formulary or Approved Non-Formulary medications will be dispensed under this contract. f. At a minimum, the contractor will have a facility located within close proximity of the VA Medical Center, Fayetteville, Arkansas Community Based Outpatient Clinic located in Fort Smith, AR. The facility shall be handicapped accessible, have handicapped accessible ramps, have handicapped parking spaces available and have seating for patients waiting for prescriptions. g. All prescriptions shall be filled for the quantities as written, not to exceed a 14 day supply with the exception of those products that the manufacturer's package size prohibits dispensing in a smaller quantity (e.g., inhalers, insulin vials). h. No refills of prescriptions will be allowed. The contractor may only accept new prescriptions. i. Contractor will not mail filled prescriptions to the patient. j. Medical supplies, injectables and prosthetic items are not included in this contract except for emergency supply of insulin vials and syringes. k. Prescriptions filled under this contract shall be, to the extent permitted by law, the least expensive drug product the pharmacy has in stock. Generic drugs shall be dispensed whenever possible. Generic drugs shall be dispensed if, in the professional judgment of the pharmacist, the substitute product is available, safe, effective and to the greatest extent possible, contains the same chemical ingredients of the same strength, quantity, and dosage of the brand name. All generic products used must be in compliance with Federal and State requirements. The generic name must be indicated on drug label for all medications. l. Requests to use generics not listed in the DTRB will be sent to the Contracting Officer through the COTR. Under no circumstances are private company generics to be dispensed until the Contractor receives written approval from the Contracting Officer. m. Those products that must be dispensed by brand name only are Lanoxin, Coumadin, Dilantin, Tegretol, and Synthroid. n. Pharmacies authorized to fill prescriptions under the contractor's plan must agree to the following conditions: (1) The contractor and its contract pharmacies shall keep all information concerning VA beneficiaries confidential and shall not release or disclose information to any person, except as authorized in writing and according to all applicable laws. The Privacy Act of 1974, public Law 93-579 applies to this contract. (2) Representatives of the VA are authorized to visit the premises of any pharmacy filling VA prescriptions under the contractor's plan during business hours for the purpose of auditing and evaluation, which may include the inspection of clinical records. (3) All adverse drug events reported to the contractor's pharmacies by beneficiaries of the VA will be reported to Chief, Pharmacy Service, Fayetteville, Arkansas. Adverse drug events include dispensing errors, drug allergies, and adverse drug reactions. (4) Pharmaceutical care provided to beneficiaries under this contract shall meet all standards applicable to Medicaid recipients in the State where the services are provided and standards set forth in the current JCAHO accreditation manual for Ambulatory Care/Pharmaceutical Services. o. Contract pharmacies shall maintain a log of VA prescriptions filled and have the patient sign next to each prescription number for each prescription received. A copy of the log shall be maintained at the contract pharmacy and be readily accessible for random VA audit. p. Contractor must have a minimum of two licensed pharmacies accepting its plan in each of the following areas: Fort Smith, Arkansas and VA Medical Center, Fayetteville, Arkansas primary service area. A minimum of one or two may be allowed for future CBOC's. However, it isthe intent of the Government, that the contractor has more than two in all areas to provide patients with more choices and additional access to pharmacies. q. As services are needed for new CBOC's in the VA Medical Center, Fayetteville, AR primary service area, additional pharmacies will be added to this contract. When a new CBOC is to be opened, the contracting officer will notify the contractor. At that time, the contractor shall submit a listing of proposed pharmacies for that area to the contracting officer. The contracting officer shall approve additional pharmacies for that area. The contracting officer shall approve additional pharmacies via a supplemental agreement to the contract. r. The contractor shall be advised of all existing and/or new VA physician's state license number and his/her federal and state drug license number. The contractor shall immediately notify its contract pharmacies in that CBOC's area of the new physician information so as to avoid delay in patient services. Notification of physician information may occur on either the day the VA physician fills in at the CBOC or prior to CBOC duty as time allows. s. The Government reserves the right to fill any prescription covered under this contract through the use of its own resources and/or staff. 2. Invoicing And Payment: a. The contractor shall submit monthly invoices in arrears within thirty (30) calendar days from the last day of the previous month. The monthly invoice shall contain at a minimum the following information: Name and Social Security Number of Patient. Name, strength and quantity of medication dispensed; Date dispensed; Cost of medication; Dispensing fee; Prescription number from VA Form 10-2777d; Name of VA provider writing the prescription; Contract Number; b. Payments made by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) under this contract shall constitute the total cost of services provided by the Contractor. Contractor hereby agrees, that in no event shall Contractor bill, charge, collect a deposit from, seek compensation, remuneration, or reimbursement from, or have any recourse against the beneficiary, the beneficiary's family, private insurer, Medicare or any other entity acting on the beneficiary's behalf, for services provided pursuant to this contract. Billings rendered by the contractor to the VA for services furnished a VA beneficiary under the terms of this contract shall be billings in full. c. Reimbursement shall be determined by the Average Wholesale Price (AWP) discounted by the applicable percentage plus the applicable dispensing fee. The total price charge to the VA shall not exceed that charged to the general public and shall not exceed the price charged by the contractor's lowest third party reimbursement plant. 3. Services: a. The services specified may be changed by written modification to this contract. b. The services to be performed by the contractor will be performed in accordance with VA policies and procedures and the regulations of the medical staff by laws of the VA facility. The services to be performed by the contractor will be under the direction of the Chief of Staff and the Chief, Pharmacy Service. d. Under the authority of Public Law 104-262 and 38 USC 8153, the contractor agrees to provide Health Care Resources in accordance with the terms and conditions stated herein, to furnish the services and prices specified in this contract. 4. Term Of Contract: This contract is effective one year from date of award plus four one year options that may be exercised by the VA. The contract is subject to the availability of VA funds. No service shall be performed by the contractor after September 30, each year until the contracting officer authorizes such services in writing. 5. Qualifications: Personnel assigned by the Contractor to perform the services covered by this contract shall have an active, unrestricted license in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States or the District of Columbia. The qualifications of such personnel shall also be subject to review by the VA Chief of Staff and approval by the VA Facility Director. Each person assigned to work under this contract shall be licensed in accordance with the requirements of the State in which the services are being provided. 6. Workhours: . The services covered by this contract shall be furnished by the Contractor as defined herein.b. The following terms have the following meaning: (1) Work Hours Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. -- 6:00 p.m. (2) National Holidays: (a). The 10 holidays observed by the Federal Government are: New Year's Day, Washington's Birthday, Martin Luther King's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas; or any other day specifically declared by the President of the United States to be a national holiday. (b) Except in case of an emergency as determined by the Chief of Staff or his designee, work will be not be required on a national holiday observed by the Federal Government or on Saturday or Sunday. 7. Personnel Policy: The Contractor shall be responsible for protecting the personnel furnishing services under this contract. To carry out this responsibility, the contractor shall provide the following for these personnel -- worker's compensation, professional liability insurance, health examinations, income tax withholding, and social security payments. The parties agree that such personnel shall not be considered a VA employee for any purpose and shall be considered employees of the contractor.8. Contract Monitoring Procedures: a. The Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) is the Chief, Pharmacy Service and is the VA official responsible for verifying and monitoring contract compliance. b. Any incident of contractor non-compliance as evidenced by the monitoring procedures, shall be reported immediately by the COTR to the Contracting Officer. Failure of contractor to follow procedure may result in nonpayment or delay of payment. c. Record-Keeping Monitoring System: Contractor and VA will establish record keeping systems to verify contract performance. Data will be recorded and retrieved as necessary. Contract will be monitored and validated against monthly billings. d. The COTR will furnish a statement in writing to the Contracting Officer at the close out of the contract to include summary of contractor actions and a statement that all requirements of the contract were fulfilled as agreed. e. A summary evaluation of contractor performance, based upon the compliance or noncompliance of contract requirements as evidenced under the monitoring procedures shall be forwarded by the monitoring official to the Contracting Officer prior to exercising any option. 9. Annual Report: The contractor shall provide the contracting officer with an annual report showing the total number of prescriptions filled and total dollar amount per CBOC location at the end of each contract year on or before July 15th. The Government reserves the right to negotiate lower fees and/or higher discounts should the combined total warrant lower fees and/or higher discounts. Should lower fees and/or higher discounts be negotiated, a supplemental agreement to the contract will be issued. 10. Contractor will maintain an ongoing performance measurement assessment and improvement process to assess the services provided under this contract (e.g., customer's satisfaction survey). 11. Key Personnel And Temporary Emergency Substitutions: The Contractor shall assign to this contract the following key personnel: 12. Program Manager/Contractor Representative a. During the first ninety (90) days of performance, the Contractor shall make NO substitutions of key personnel unless illness, death, or termination of employment necessitates the substitution. The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer, in writing, within 15 calendar days after the occurrence of any of these events and provide the information required by paragraph (c) below. After the initial 90-day period of the contract, the Contractor shall submit the information required by paragraph (c) to the Contracting Officer at least 15days prior to making any permanent substitutions. b. The Contractor shall provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating the proposed substitutions, complete resumes for the proposed substitutes, and any additional information requested by the Contracting Officer. Proposed substitutes shall have comparable qualifications to those of the persons being replaced. The Contracting Officer will notify the Contractor within 15 calendar days after receipt of all required information of the decision on the proposed substitutes. The contract will be modified to reflect any approved changes of key personnel. c. For temporary substitutions where the key person will not be reporting to work for three (3) consecutive work days or more, the Contractor will provide a qualified replacement for the key person. This substitute shall have comparable qualifications to the key person. Any period exceeding two weeks will require the procedure as stated above.Full text of clauses and provisions are available at Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR): http://www.arnet.gov/References/References.html and Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulations (VAAR): http://www.va.gov/oa&mm/vaar. The following provisions apply to this acquisition and may be obtained from the web: 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors Commercial Items; 52.217-5 Evaluation of Options in Solicitation; and the offeror shall submit a completed copy of provisions at 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items; and VAAR 852.219-70 Veteran-Owned Small Business with its quotation; 852.233-70 Protest Content; 852.233-71 Alternate Protest Procedure; 852.270-1 Representatives of the contracting officers. The following clauses apply to this acquisition and may be obtained from the web: FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions Commercial Items; 52.216-18 Ordering. Such orders may be issued for a base year, one (1) year from the date of award plus four (4) option years that may be exercised; 52.216-19 Order Limitations; 52.216-21 Requirements; 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services; 52.217-9 Option To Extend The Term Of The Contract-Services; 52.224-1 Privacy Act Notification; 52.224-2 Privacy Act; 52.237-7 Indemnification and Medical Liability Insurance; VAAR 852.216-70 Estimated Quantities for Requirements Contracts; 852.237-70 Contractor Responsibilities (as required by the laws of the State of Arkansas); 852.270-4 Commercial Advertising; 852.271-70 Services. Provided Beneficiaries; 52.212-5 Contract terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items applies to this acquisition. In addition to clause 52.212-5, the Contracting Officer has determined the following FAR clauses cited in the clause are applicable to this acquisition: 52.203-6 Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government, with Alternate I; 52-217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract; 52.219-8 Utilization of Small Business Concerns; 52.219-14 Limitations on Subcontracting; 52.222-21 Prohibition of Segregated Facilities, 52.222-26 Equal Opportunity; 52.222-35-Affirmative Action for Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Ear; 52.222-36 Affirmative Action for Workers and Disabilities; 52.222-37 Employment Reports on Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era; 52.232-18; Availability Of Funds; 52-232-19 Availability of Funds for the Next Fiscal Year; 52.232-34 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer Other Than Central Contractor Registration. 52.212-2 Evaluation -- Commercial Items (Jan 1999) (a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the resp Posted 06/23/00 (W-SN467982). 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