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FBO DAILY ISSUE OF OCTOBER 13, 2012 FBO #3976
DOCUMENT

99 -- Wellness and Veterinary Health Care Plans - Attachment

Notice Date

10/11/2012
 

Notice Type

Attachment
 

NAICS

541940 — Veterinary Services
 

Contracting Office

US Department of Veterans Affairs;Veterans Health Administration;Service Area Office (SAO) East;323 North Shore Drive, Suite 500;Pittsburgh PA 15212-5319
 

ZIP Code

15212-5319
 

Solicitation Number

VA24013Q0003
 

Response Due

10/22/2012
 

Archive Date

1/20/2013
 

Point of Contact

Paula Stankovic, Contract Officer
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Description

VA Office of Research and Development PTSD Service Dog Study - Wellness and Veterinary Health Care Plans ***THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT/REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NO PRICING IS REQUIRED. THE VA IS ONLY SEEKING SOURCES AND INFORMATION. CONTRACTORS ARE WELCOME TO PROVIDE CAPABILITY STATEMENTS AND COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS CONCERNING FUTURE SOLICIATIONS.*** BACKGROUND On October 28, 2009, President Obama signed the FY 2010 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) (H.R. 2647) into law, which became Public Law No: 111-84. The law contains provisions for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to commence a three-year study to assess the benefits, feasibility, and advisability of using service dogs for the treatment or rehabilitation of veterans with physical or mental injuries or disabilities, including post-traumatic stress disorder. As a result, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is seeking to partner with a contractor that can provide dog wellness and veterinary health plans for service dogs that are enrolled in the Research Study mandated by Public Law No: 111-84. The Public Law states that 200 dogs (at maximum) will be enrolled into this research study. At this time, 17 pairings have already occurred. One or more dog vendors under contract to VA will provide trained service dogs. VA anticipates that the trained dogs will be 18-24 months of age when ready to be paired with a Veteran in the study. Just before pairing, VA will enroll the dog in a wellness plan and a veterinary medical plan, for at a period of at least 2 years. At this time, the breed(s) that might be trained are not known, but larger breeds of dogs typically chosen for service dog training will likely be utilized. Dogs will be certified clear for both hip and elbow dysplasia by the Orthopedic Foundation of America (OFA), and screened for eye disease and any genetic diseases recommended for that breed by OFA. REQUEST FOR INFORMATION/SUGGESTIONS FROM VENDORS VA requests comments and suggestions on the plan specifications below as to how VA can best protect the health of service dogs on the research study at a reasonable cost. VA also requests descriptions of representative plans that might meet VA's needs to provide wellness and veterinary health plans for service dogs, consistent with the specifications provided below. [Note: this request for information is unrelated to other VA solicitations targeted for service dogs that VA supports as a medical benefit; this solicitation applies only to service dogs that will be in the research study described above.] MINIMUM CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS VA seeks contractors that can provide wellness plans, comprehensive veterinary health plans, or both. Contractor must: "Demonstrate experience in administering either plan type. "Provide coverage in the state of Florida. VA is also interested in contractors capable of providing nationwide coverage. "Agree to be set up as a VA vendor ("vendorized") so that Direct Deposit payments for invoices can readily be made using the centralized VA vendor payment system. "Provide centralized invoicing for plans such that VA can reimburse a single vendor account for all plans. Contractor must also: "Be able to initiate coverage within 2 business days after being contacted by VA. "Agree to recognize VA as the owner of the plans, and provide VA timely information related to the status of plans, status of payments, and utilization of plans by veterans. "Agree to allow VA complete access to any veterinary medical records supported by the plan (to the extent that such access is within the contractor's corporate purview to provide). "Provide a copy of the plan benefits to the Veteran and VA research team which outlines the policy details in lay terms. "Provide to the Veterans a wallet-size plan identification card with a toll free hotline number in case they have questions or need assistance. DESIRABLE FEATURES OF WELLNESS AND VETERINARY HEALTH PLANS Desirable features of plans include: "Flexibility in providing plans by the month or by the year (both plans). "Options to cancel a plan without penalty and with refund of policy payments for any remaining months or fractional months (both plans). "A dedicated account representative as a contact to answer questions about billing and payment issues (both plans). "Strategies that minimize or eliminate out-of-pocket expenses to Veterans obtaining services as part of the plan (both plans). "Strategies that minimize or eliminate the need for Veterans to provide payment at the time plan services are provided (both plans). "Plans that cover pre-existing medical conditions in dogs that do not affect the dog's ability to perform the trained tasks for the Veteran (both plans). "Incentives to encourage Veterans to complete wellness plan visits on schedule (wellness plan only). OBJECTIVES OF WELLNESS PLANS The objectives of the wellness plan will be to maintain a healthy service dog, prolong the working life of the dog, diagnose and treat medical problems or parasitism as soon as possible, and diagnose and treat any potentially zoonotic diseases to protect the health and well-being of Veterans and their families. 1. Required Components of Wellness Plans a. Vaccinations as recommended by the AVMA and any vaccinations appropriate for local endemic diseases. b. At least semi-annually: (1) Weight, heart rate, temperature, respiratory rate, heart auscultation. (2) Fecal analysis for presence of intestinal parasites, including Giardia spp. (3) Urinalysis via catch, including gross specifications (color/turbidity), specific gravity, sediment exam (presence/absence of white or red blood cells, crystals, casts, bacteria), chemical strip analysis (protein, glucose, ketones, bilirubin, occult blood, nitrites), and bacterial culture and sensitivity if indicated (4) Otoscopic examination with swab/culture as indicated. (5) Ophthalmic examination, slit lamp preferred, with ocular pressure check if indicated.. (6) Complete blood count/differential, including hematocrit, hemoglobin, red blood cell count and morphology, white blood cell count, WBC differential, and platelets. (7) Serum chemistries- blood glucose, BUN, creatinine, calcium, total protein, albumin, globulin, total bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, ALT (SGPT), cholesterol, sodium, potassium (8) Dental examination with tartar removal, if indicated. (9) Neurological exam, including tests for limb pain and paresis, and gait analysis. (10) Coat and skin examination, palpation for any tumors/swollen areas. (11) Rectal examination, including anal gland expression as needed. (12) Abdominal palpation c. At least annually: (1) Electrocardiogram (2) Heartworm/Lyme/Ehrlichia antibody testing, and Rocky Mountain tick fever testing if appropriate to locale. (3) Chest radiograph, >1 view if indicated. OBJECTIVES OF VETERINARY HEALTH PLAN The primary objective of the veterinary health plan is to defray the cost of diagnosis and treatment of medical problems as much as possible. This includes surgical and other required diagnostic interventions. 1. Required components of a veterinary health plan a. Access to and coverage of emergency clinic visits. b. Coverage for any breed/mixed breed dog utilized by VA as a service dog. c. Diagnosis and treatment for neoplastic, endocrine, musculoskeletal, and neurologic conditions that could affect the ability of the service dog to perform the needed tasks or could limit the working life of the dog. 2. A very desirable component of a veterinary health plan would be no or limited restrictions on pre-existing conditions. [Note: VA would be interested in risk-based rate reductions based upon sharing the results of an initial wellness examination prior to pairing a service dog with a Veteran.] PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE The performance period would be one base year plus four one-year options. The performance base period would not exceed 12 months from date of award of contract. CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS PROPOSED TASKS - (WILL BE MORE DEFINED UPON THE RELEASE OF A SOLICITATION/ REQUEST FOR QUOTES/REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.) Task 1- Provide copies of policies to the Veteran and VA Contract COR, and a wallet card with contact information and plan ID to the Veteran. Task 2 - Provide quarterly updates on plan utilization by each Veteran (Veteran/Dog Pairing Policy information) Task 3 - Provide quarterly updates on all plans in place, including start and expiration dates, and payment status.
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/notices/a386076ce4045ca038f856fe97d561ef)
 

Document(s)

Attachment
 

File Name: VA240-13-Q-0003 VA240-13-Q-0003.docx (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=496619&FileName=VA240-13-Q-0003-000.docx)

Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=496619&FileName=VA240-13-Q-0003-000.docx

 

Note: If links are broken, refer to Point of Contact above or contact the FBO Help Desk at 877-472-3779.
 

Record

SN02912589-W 20121013/121011234500-a386076ce4045ca038f856fe97d561ef (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

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

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