R -- EXPERT CONSULTANT SERVICES FOR DEVELOPMENT AND ANALYSIS OF HEALTH POLICY ISSUES.

Notice Date

October 31, 2000

Contracting Office

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

ZIP Code

20201

Solicitation Number

RFP-01-00-HHS-OS

Response Due

November 17, 2000

Point of Contact

Point of Contact: Cheryl Howe, Contract Specialist, 202-690-5552

Description

This is a combined synopsis solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. SIC Code: 8732. 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-1-01-HHS-OS, for work to be performed for the Office of The Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This solicitation document and its incorporated provisions are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular #97-20. The period of performance shall be from the effective date of contract award through September 30, 2001. The contracts may be extended twice for one year each at the option of the Department. Work is to be performed at the contractor's place of work. No relocation or daily travel expenses will be provided. A level of effort Blanket Purchase Agreement will be awarded. Offers from individuals who have specific expertise in one or a few areas of expertise are encouraged. These awards are not intended to be a substitute for existing or future task order contracts or general Request for Proposals that will continue to be used for defined research projects. This procurement is intended to supplement the Office of Health Policy's previous procurement for expert consultant services dated December 2, 1999, by obtaining expertise from additional researchers in order to expand the range of subject areas in which ASPE may obtain expert assistance. Background: Expert consultant services are needed to assist the Office of Health Policy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The office has a broad range of responsibilities for advising the Secretary and other parts of the department on issues involving public health, health care financing, health insurance and health delivery systems. To further familiarize yourself with ASPE, you may visit our web site at the following URL: http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov Often the office must analyze new and complex policy initiatives, such as proposed legislation, within a very short time period; moreover, the issues are sometimes not well defined and subject to change in focus. The purpose of these contracts is to allow the office to quickly obtain the assistance of experts to help staff analyze policy proposals and alternatives. Work may include legal, economic, statistical, health policy, or organizational analysis that is quantitative or qualitative in nature. Scope of Work: Offerors are requested to submit a resume and a statement of technical capabilities, not to exceed five pages, which demonstrates the individual's experience and expertise in one or more of the following areas: parametric survival models; health and health care survey design, analysis and survey integration; CPS data analysis; legal and policy analysis of ERISA related issues; private health insurance (group and individual markets); quantitative analysis of mental health and substance abuse issues, including service utilization, expenditures, and insurance coverage and modeling; medicare trustees reports and technical panels; the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage; employee health plan benefit design and trends; health insurance pricing; minority and cross-cultural health issues, including low- English proficient populations and services; tax issues related to employee benefits and the health care system (e.g., profit vs. non-profit status); the market environment for health information technology, including innovations and new developments; issues of health data standards and the computerized patient medical record; knowledge of key private sector and public sector health initiatives (e.g., coverage expansion, quality measurement, public health, etc.); medicaid managed care; prescription drug issues; community-based approaches to integrating and delivering services to low-income populations (safety net); physician payment systems; Medicare governance issues. Organizations may submit proposals for individuals (with the organization's loaded billing rate for the individual expert consultant), however, evaluations will be based on the individuals' own expertise. A contractor, under the supervision of a contractor monitor, an ASPE staff person, would normally be expected to be available on short notice (generally to make some time available within ten days of notice) to provide expert assistance in ways that increase the ASPE's knowledge and understanding of an issue in the most efficient way possible. General time commitments will be negotiated when work is initially assigned and may change as the project necessitates. The contractors may supplement work performed by staff or may be asked to prepare a deliverable product. The scope of work initially assigned may change as work progresses. Evaluation of individual submissions will be assessed, in part, by the nature and complexity of the work that has been done. Offerors should demonstrate in their statement their understanding of, and unique expertise (Technical weight: 45%) with, the key policy issues in the areas for which they wish to be considered. Offerors should also give evidence of their oral and written communication skills (Technical weight: 15%). Recent work that has been published in scholarly journals, Congressional testimony, or other formal public statements should be cited (but not submitted), and evidence of providing expert analysis (Technical weight:30%) and assistance in developing policy under rapid response conditions should also be provided. These will be reviewed in determining an offeror's qualifications. Offerors should submit their hourly or daily billing rate. If the hourly or daily rate is a previously established government rate, offeror may submit copies of prior invoices paid to facilitate the evaluation. (Price weight 10%) Although the expectation is that the offeror will perform most of the work assigned, offerors must also submit rates for clerical and technical staff that they plan to assist them in completing assigned work. The rates for clerical and technical staff will not be evaluated. The Department anticipates awarding a number of Blanket Purchase Agreements to individuals for different areas of work. The number of awards will depend on the breadth of expertise of the offerors and the needs of the government. Zero dollar awards will be made. There is no guaranteed minimum. Projects will be awarded on an as needed basis. No Blanket Purchase Agreement awarded pursuant to this solicitation will exceed $100,000, in value which would include the cost of clerical or professional assistance and overhead. The cost of related services, such as mailing or copying, will be borne by the offeror. Offers are due 11/17/00, by 12:00 Noon EST, at the following location: Department of Health and Human Services, OS/Office of Acquisition Management, Room 443H, Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20201. The contact point for questions shall be Cheryl Howe, 202-690-5552. If hand delivering, offerors must go to the main Independence Avenue entrance to the guard desk and call either Cheryl Howe on 690- 5552 or Temugen Wallace on 690-8538, to pick up your proposal for delivery to the contracting office. Amendments to this solicitation, if any, shall also be published as a Commerce Business Daily synopsis.

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20001102/RSOL007.HTM (D-305 SN5055P9)