Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF MAY 08, 2011 FBO #3452
SOLICITATION NOTICE

D -- World Trade Center Payment Contract

Notice Date

5/6/2011
 

Notice Type

Justification and Approval (J&A)
 

NAICS

541511 — Custom Computer Programming Services
 

Contracting Office

Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of Acquisition and Grants Management, 7500 Security Blvd., C2-21-15, Baltimore, Maryland, 21244-1850
 

ZIP Code

21244-1850
 

Solicitation Number

HHSM-500-2011-00050C
 

Archive Date

6/4/2011
 

Point of Contact

Edward M. Rutherford, Phone: 4107866648, Theresa - Schultz, Phone: 410-786-8496
 

E-Mail Address

edward.rutherford@cms.hhs.gov, theresa.schultz@cms.hhs.gov
(edward.rutherford@cms.hhs.gov, theresa.schultz@cms.hhs.gov)
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Award Number

HHSM-500-2011-00050C
 

Award Date

5/5/2011
 

Description

This notice is for INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is not a request for proposals. IAW with FAR 6.305 notice is hereby given of Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition. 1. Identification of the agency and contracting activity. HHS/Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved. This justification is for the authority to issue Cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for a one year performance period to National Government Services (NGS) to provide payment services to first responders in accordance with the WTC Act. Due to the urgent and compelling need to begin making payments to providers for medical treatment of first responders by July 2011, it is critical to limit this solicitation to a contractor with the capability of issuing payments outside the Medicare claim processing system using established, tested and approved software and technology, that complies with CMS security and architecture requirements. In addition the contractor must have an established EFT transfer connectivity with a Medicare bank (either US Bank or JP Morgan) via Gentran at the CMS data center. The contractor must also be FISMA and 508 compliant and meet all security, compliance and financial management and liability requirements that are identified in the MAC contracts at time of award. After the one year period, the contract shall be re-competed under competitive procedures. There is no other viable alternative to awarding a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract that could be found which would meet the collective requirements of time, end result effectiveness, cost/price, lowest risk to the Government, and highest quality result. Under the James Zadroga 9/11 Health Compensation Act of 2010 (Pub.L.111-347), hereinafter referred to the World Trade Center (WTC) Act, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has been authorized to establish Clinical Centers of Excellence (CCEs) to provide health care for first responders to the World Trade Center (WTC) September 2001 incident. Section 3331 of the Act requires the CDC to pay claims associated with medical treatment for first responders. The WTC Health Program also requires that an OPDIV other than NIOSH (CDC) process the payments for these services. CMS is able to provide payment services in compliance with the legislation and has initiated preliminary conversations with CDC to effectuate that arrangement. NGS is currently contracting with CMS to provide similar services as the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Payment File Development Contractor. NGS is currently under contract to provide similar payment services to providers under the HITECH program using an established payment system that meets all the stated CMS requirements and can easily be leveraged to make WTC payments in accordance with the July 2011 timetable. The contract action associated with this justification will be for a 12-month performance period from the date of award. The attacks at the World Trade Center (WTC) on September 11, 2001 exposed rescue and recovery workers to unprecedented risks for job-related injury, illness, and death. Starting in FY 2002, funds were appropriated by Congress to the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to provide medical screening and monitoring for these workers, and in FY 2006, additional funds for medical treatment of this population. In response to Congressional appropriations language, NIOSH implemented health programs for responders and non-responders (workers, residents, and others in the vicinity of the WTC site). The following link can be used to access information related to these programs: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/wtc/ On December 22, 2010 legislation was passed by the Congress to provide health monitoring and treatment to 9/11 workers and survivors. On January 2, 2011, the President signed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act into law and it is hereafter referred to as the "WTC Act". The WTC Act encompasses a myriad of responsibilities associated with the administration and performance needed to screen and monitor eligible individuals, provide treatment and reimburse clinics for the eligible healthcare that is provided. The WTC Act can be found at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-111hr847enr/pdf/BILLS-111hr847enr.pdf Importantly, the WTC Act specifies that CDC/NIOSH cannot be authorized or associated with the claims compensation-and-disbursement function of the WTC Program. In that regard, there is a deliberate and clear separation of authority between program administration and fiscal activities related to claims payments. Therefore another Government authority, or a designated trusted agent, must oversee the claims payment processing. However, there are ongoing responsibilities related to "Program Management and Administration" that must include informational interfaces to the Payor function to provide oversight and accountability. 3. Description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency's needs (including the estimated value). a. Project title. WTC Payment Contractor b. Project description. The CMS Financial Services Group (FSG), Division of Financial Strategies and Evaluation (DFSE), has agreed to coordinate the payment processing on behalf of CDC/NIOSH for the WTC program through a Payment Contractor (NGS). To facilitate this payment function, CMS has defined our services as follows: 1. CMS shall disburse payments through a WTC Payment Contractor that shall leverage the payment system developed for the HITECH EHR Incentive Payment Program and process these payments through the CMS Demonstration Payment System (DPS), Financial Accounting Control System (FACS) and a Medicare bank account. CMS shall establish one or more CAN numbers for the WTC payment appropriation to draw funding against for each payment cycle. 2. The WTC Payment Contractor shall receive an electronic payment information file from CDC/NIOSH or designated contractor with the eligible payment recipients and amounts for each payment cycle. The payment information file shall be in a format to be defined and shall include the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), full legal/business name, the necessary banking (account/routing numbers and type of account -savings/checking) to disburse EFTs and the payment address to mail paper check payments as required. Payment information files received by the WTC Payment Contractor that do not contain the necessary information to make accurate payments or are otherwise incomplete shall be rejected and returned to the CDC/NIOSH or designated contractor. 3. From the electronic payment information file, the WTC Payment Contractor shall: prepare an EFT file and/or positive pay checks issuance file to send to the Medicare bank; conduct Federal Payment Levy Program (FPLP) withholding through the Treasury on the recipient payments; and prepare a summary file for payment authorization by a CMS official. 4. The authorized payment shall be processed by CMS through DPS and FACs and sent to the Treasury; the Treasury shall deposit the funds into the Medicare bank account and the bank shall deposit the EFTs into the recipient bank accounts. 5. The WTC Payment Contractor shall reconcile the Medicare bank account and forward financial reports to CMS; CMS shall forward the detailed payment cycle reports to both CMS and CDC/NIOSH. 6. The WTC Payment Contractor shall process and mail all 1099 tax forms as required for these payments. The following services must be provided by CDC/NIOSH and shall not be provided by CMS or its WTC Payment Contractor: 1. Adjudicate the claim. 2. Identify eligible recipients 3. Determine payment appropriateness or payment amounts to eligible recipients. 4. Gather banking information on eligible recipients. 5. Construct the payment information file. 6. Resolve exceptions and error correction. 4. Identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition. This acquisition is conducted under the authority of 41USC §253(c)(2) as implemented by FAR 6.302-2, Unusual and Compelling Urgency - delay in the award from using full and open competition would result in the failure of the Government to make payments to providers of healthcare for WTC first responders by the required start date of July 1, 2011. 5. Demonstration that the proposed contractor(s) unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited. a. Name and address of the proposed contractor(s). National Government Services (NGS) 9901 Linn Station Road Louisville, Kentucky 40223 b. Nature of the acquisition and proposed unique qualifications of the contractor(s). Due to the urgent and compelling need to begin making payments to providers for medical treatment of first responders by July 1, 2011, it is critical to obtain the services of a contractor with the existing capability of issuing payments outside the Medicare claim processing system using established, tested and approved software and technology, that complies with CMS security and architecture requirements. In addition the contractor must have established EFT transfer connectivity with a Medicare bank (either US Bank or JP Morgan) via Gentran at the CMS data center. The contractor must also be FISMA and 508 compliant and meet all security, compliance and financial management and liability requirements that are identified in the MAC contracts at time of award. Because NGS is currently under contract to provide similar payment services to providers under the HITECH program using an established payment system that meets all the stated CMS requirements and can easily be leveraged to make WTC payments in accordance with the July 2011 timetable, CMS intends to issue a contract to NGS for a period of one year. After the one year period, the contract shall be re-competed using competitive procedures. There are no other contractors that have an established payment system (outside of the Medicare claims payment processing system) that conforms to all CMS security and programmatic requirements that have been thoroughly vetted by CMS technical review board and tested by an independent testing contractor, capable of making payments to WTC recipients by July 1, 2011. In addition, the request for CMS to participate in this project with CDC/NIOSH was not agreed upon until only recently. The inter-agency agreement between these two partners that states the terms that execute these functions has only recently, first part of March 2011, been drafted and agreed to. The inter-agency agreement is currently completed and awaiting signature. The respective roles and requirements for CMS and the CDC are clearly outlined and there is no expectation that these will be subject to change. 6. Description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable. Indicate whether a FedBizOpps notice was or will be publicized as required by FAR Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under FAR 5.202 applies. NGS is currently under contract to provide similar payment services to providers under the HITECH program using an established payment system that meets all the stated CMS requirements and can easily be leveraged to make WTC payments in accordance with the July 2011 timetable. NGS is the only contactor that meets all CMS requirements for the WTC Payment Contractor with an established payment system that can process separately appropriated or designated funds outside the Medicare claims payments system; that is connected to CMS, the Treasury, and the Medicare Bank; that has been thoroughly tested by an independent testing contractor, and approved by the CMS Systems Architecture Technical Review Board; that meets all CMS IT security requirements; and that can be adapted and implemented for the purpose of making WTC payments by July 1, 2011. A FedBizOpps notice was not published as the exception at 5.202(a)(2) applies. The proposed contract action is made under the conditions described in 6.302-2 "unusual and compelling urgency" and the Government would be seriously disadvantaged if the agency complies with the time periods specified in 5.203 as the agency would be unable to meet the July 2011 deadline to commence making payments. 7. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost/price to the Government will be fair and reasonable. Prior to the award of the contract, a determination was made by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government is fair and reasonable. The Contracting Officer obtained cost and pricing information and also required that such cost and pricing information be certified in accordance with FAR 15.406-2. The Contracting Officer performed cost analysis to determine that the price to the Government for the services covered by this JOFOC is fair and reasonable in accordance with FAR 15.4. A separate audit of the proposal is not anticipated due to CMS having current audit information in house. 8. Description of the market research conducted (see FAR Part 10) and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted. Market research was conducted and only one company provided the expertise to perform the requirements within the required timelines for the following reason: The only contractors that meet the financial management and liability qualifications associated with the WTC requirements are the MACs. With the exception of NGS, none of the current MACs are capable of making payment without a Letter of Credit funding authorization as used to make Medicare payments to Medicare providers; however, because Letters of Credit will not be used in the WTC program and the funding is not Medicare funding and the providers are not Medicare providers, the contractor must have a separate payment system, manage a separate account with the Medicare bank (US Bank) for WTC funds deposit, and make payments to non-Medicare providers. The payment system must meet all CMS business and security requirements and must be able to generate payments by 7/1/11. The contractor must also have the established capability for file exchange with the Treasury for the purpose of withholding for Federal Payment Levy Program (FPLP) tax and non tax debt from the WTC payments. NGS meets these requirements. NGS is under contract with CMS to make HITECH payments; similar to WTC payments, these are separately appropriated funds that must be tracked and managed separately; they cannot be comingled with other funding sources. Currently, because of the Letter of Credit funding process used by the MACs, only NGS can receive and manage separately appropriated funds without comingling them with Medicare funds. Furthermore, NGS was selected for the HITECH contract through full and open competition; the award was made after first reviewing, evaluating small businesses. None of these small businesses met the financial and technical requirements for the HITECH project. Because WTC is very similar to HITECH and due to the fact it has taken eight months to establish the payment system for HITECH that has been thoroughly tested and complies with all CMS requirements, we believe there is no other contractor currently capable of making WTC payments in compliance with all CMS requirements to begin operation by 7/1/11. 9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition. As previously mentioned, payments must be able to be disbursed beginning July 2011. In order to meet this timeframe, CMS seeks to issue a contract to a contractor that can leverage a similar existing system that has already been proven workable and approved by CMS. It would take the agency at least 60 - 90 days to complete a competition using a streamlined approach, such as GSA. Conducting a competition would not leave enough time for the contractor to get up and running and be able to start making payments as of July 2011. Further, based on our experience with the HITECH program, CMS believes that it would take a contractor, without an existing separate payment system, roughly eight months to be capable of making payments according to the WTC requirements. CMS's needs for these services are of such an unusual and compelling urgency that the Government would be severely disadvantaged, unless it is permitted to limit the number of sources for this work. If CMS is unable to issue this sole source contract, it will be unable to meet the requirements to begin making payments by July 1, 2011. Should these payments be delayed, there is a strong likelihood of adversely impacting the availability of future healthcare to those individuals covered under the WTC Act. 10. Listing of sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition. No other sources have expressed an interest, in writing, in the proposed acquisition. 11. Statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the required supplies or services. The Project Office will work with the cognizant Contracting Officer to develop a procurement strategy using competitive procedures for the continuation of this effort after the first year. This JOFOC covers a period of one year only.
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/HCFA/AGG/HHSM-500-2011-00050C/listing.html)
 

Place of Performance

Address: Contractor's Facility, Baltimore, Maryland, 21244, United States

Zip Code: 21244
 

Record

SN02442260-W 20110508/110506234733-1f63e77697ca1e2a93e8c3d7dfcb74f0 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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