A. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice, FAR Part 12, Acquisition of Commercial Items (Title VIII of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994) (Public Law 103-355) & FAR 37.4, Non-Personal Health Care Services Contract (10 U.S.C. 2304 and 41 U.S.C 253). This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.
B. The Great Plains Area Indian Health Service (IHS) intends to award a Firm-Fixed Price, Non-Personal Health Care Service, Commercial Item, Purchase Order in response to Request for Quote (RFQ) RFQ-23-149.
C. This solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2023-05, 08/08/2023.
D. This RFQ is issued as “100% Small Business Set-Aside, Indian Economic Enterprise (IEE) solicitation and the associated NAICS Code is 621399, which has a small business standard size of $8M.
E. The quoted unit pricing must be all inclusive (to include but not be limited to travel, lodging, per diem, fringe benefits, federal, state and local taxes). Plus, all other costs pertinent to the performance of this contract. Utilize your most competitive and reasonable rates.
Complete the attached Specification Lists
1. Workday Dental Assistant 2000 HR $____________ $____________
Assignment shall require 8-hour shift, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm with two 15-minute breaks and 30-minute lunch break, Monday through Friday. Occasionally additional hours may be required to accommodate unexpected patient care. The typical work week will be 40 hours. Any hours worked beyond a 40-hour time frame will be paid at regular stated contract hourly rate. All federal holidays will be observed.
F. To provide one (1) Dental Assistant.
G. To be provided for the Fort Thompson IHS Health Care Center, located at 1323 BIA Route 4, Fort Thompson, SD 57339. The period of performance will be award of purchase order for one (1) year.
H. FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (March 2023).
Quotes shall be submitted on company letterhead stationery, signed, dated and it shall include:
1. Solicitation number RFQ-23-149.
2. Closing Date: September 15, 2023 at 12:00 pm CST.
3. Name, address and telephone number of company and email address of contact person.
4. Technical description of the item/service being offered in sufficient detail to evaluate compliance with the requirements of the solicitation. This may include product literature, or other documents, if necessary.
5. Terms of any express warranty.
6. Price and any discount terms.
7. “Remit to” address, if different than mailing address.
8. A completed copy of the representations and certifications at FAR 52.212-3 (see FAR 52.212-3(b) for those representations and certifications that the offeror shall complete electronically).
9. Acknowledgment of Solicitation Amendments (if any issued)
10. Past performance information, when included as an evaluation factor, to include recent and relevant contracts for the same or similar items and other references (including contract numbers, points of contact with telephone numbers and other relevant information).
11. A statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation. Offerors that fail to furnish required representations or information, or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be excluded from consideration.
Basis of award is Lowest Price Technically Acceptable “LPTA” factors in determining the successful contractor.
• Contractor will work within the designated schedule.
• Ability to provide at one (1) Dental Assistant who can be scheduled to work throughout the entire length of the contract or provide a competent replacement provider.
• Contractor provides all supporting documents as required in the Statement of Work.
I. FAR 52.212-3 Offer Representations and Certifications-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (December 2022) See attachment for full text. The Offeror shall complete only paragraphs (b) of this provision if the Offeror has completed the annual representations and certification electronically via the System for Award Management (SAM) website accessed through http://www.acquisition.gov. If the Offeror has not completed the annual representations and certifications electronically, the Offeror shall complete only paragraphs (c) through (p) of this provision.
J. FAR 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (December 2022) – See attachment; in by reference.
K. FAR 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (June 2023) - See attachment for full text.
L. Attached are the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) & Health & Human Services Acquisition Regulation (HHSAR) clauses that are applicable including below.
M. Submit quote to:
Great Plains Area Indian Health Service
Attn: Ursula Maslonka, Contract Specialist
115 4th Ave. SE, Room 309
Aberdeen, SD 57401
Email: Ursula.Maslonka@ihs.gov
Questions in regards to this solicitation shall be submitted in writing by either email no later than September 12, 2023, 1:00 pm CDT.
Contractors will need a UEI number, TIN number, and be registered with www.sam.gov.
SECURITY CLEARANCE
A security pre-clearance must be performed for any employees referred to IHS through this contract.
Fingerprints must be completed and adjudicated prior to services being performed under this contract.
No contract award shall be made to any vendor or provider listed on the OIG Exclusion List http://exclusions.oig.hhs.gov throughout the duration of the contract. It shall be the responsibility of the contractor to notify the acquisition official if there is a change in provider.
Performance of this contract will require routine access by employees of the Contractor or its subcontractors to facilities or systems controlled by the Indian Health Service (I.H.S.). Before starting work requiring routine access to I.H.S. facilities or systems each person must complete a FBI National Criminal History Check (Fingerprint Check) adjudicated by an I.H.S. employee using the Office of Personnel Management Personnel Investigations Processing System.
Contractors shall allow five business days for I.H.S. processing of fingerprints taken electronically at an I.H.S. site and thirty business days for non-electronic processing of fingerprints using FBI Form FD-258. A list of I.H.S. sites with electronic fingerprint capability is available from the Contracting Officer.
In addition, no Contractor or subcontractor employee shall be permitted to perform work under this contract if listed on the HHS Office of Inspector General List of Excluded Individuals/Entities (LEIE), http://exclusions.oig.hhs.gov. As soon as practicable prior to the start of work, the performance of the work the Contractor shall provide to the Contracting Officer the names of all individuals to be used in performance of work for screening against the LEIE. During the performance, the Contractor shall provide the Contracting Officer the names of any additional or substitute employees for screening before they begin work.
The Contractor is responsible for conducting security preclearance investigations in sufficient depth to ensure that each Contractor or subcontractor employee referred to I.H.S. is not on the LEIE and can obtain a favorable fingerprint clearance. Each security preclearance shall be conducted sufficiently in advance of the start of performance to avoid delays caused by denial of access. If this is a Time and Materials, Labor-Hour or Cost Reimbursement contract, the contractor shall not charge for or be reimbursed for labor hours or other costs incurred for employees who are unable to perform due to denial or access or the excess time required to resolve and clear unfavorable security clearance findings. If this is a Fixed Price contract, denial of access due to security clearance findings shall not be a basis for excusable delay or an increase to the contract amount.
Government will pay for the cost to process the contractor’s suitability clearances. However, multiple investigations for the same position may, at the Contracting Officers discretion, lead to reduction(s) in the contract price of no more than the cost of the extra investigation(s).
Employees that DO NOT have access to LMS, contractors, volunteers, or IHS employees with IPA’s or MOA’s to tribal organizations please, click here IHS Sexual Abuse Prevention website. When the contractors have completed and passed the training, please have them send a copy of the last page of the training with Name, Date, and Time to their Supervisor, COR, and Kimmen LeBeau, e-mail: Kimmen.LeBeau@ihs.gov
No contract award shall be made to any vendor listed on the OIG Exclusions List at http://exclusions.org.hhs.gov throughout the duration of the contract.
Contractor must be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) at www.sam.gov
ACCEPTANCE PERIOD: Your proposal must stipulate that it is predicated upon all the terms and conditions of this RFQ. In addition, it must contain a statement to the effect that it is firm for a period of at least 30 days from the date of receipt by the Government.
“Dental Assistant will arrive on a Business Day ONLY to complete all Orientation and Background procedures. The Chief Dental Officer or Designee will ensure all Orientation and Background procedures have been completed and an email will be sent to the Contracting department to state as such. The Dental Assistant will NOT see patients until Background/Fingerprints have been cleared.”
“The standards of medical practice and duties of the Contractor through its Dental Assistant shall be determined pursuant to the bylaws of the Service Unit. The regulations of the hospital, applicable provisions of law, other rules and regulations of any and all governmental authorities relating to licensure and regulation of physicians and hospitals must be followed. Also, the standards and recommendations of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) or the Accreditation Organization must be adhered to. The Contract Dental Assistant shall be required to participate in a quality improvement program, which is consistent with current requirements for ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the quality and appropriateness of care.”
Invoice Processing Platform (IPP)
The Indian Health Service (IHS) is in the process of implementing an electronic invoicing system in compliance with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) M-15-19 memorandum “Improving Government Efficiency and Saving Taxpayer Dollars Through Electronic Invoicing” directing Federal agencies to adopt electronic invoicing as the primary means to disburse payment to vendors. Invoices submitted under any award resulting from this solicitation will be required to utilize the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) in accordance with HHSAR 352.232-71, Electronic Submission and Processing of Payment Requests.
IPP is a secure, web-based electronic invoicing system provided by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service, in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRSTL). Respondents to this solicitation are encouraged to register an account with IPP if they have not already done so. If your organization is already registered to use IPP, you will not be required to re-register- however, we encourage you make sure your organization and designated IPP user accounts are valid and up to date.
The IPP website address is: https://www.ipp.gov
If you require assistance registering or IPP account access, please contact the IPP Helpdesk at (866) 973-3131 (M-F 8AM to 6PM ET), or IPPCustomerSupport@fiscal.treasury.gov
“Should the contractor feel that use of the IPP would be unduly burdensome, their response to this solicitation should include an explanation of this position for a determination by the contracting officer”.
ACCEPTANCE PERIOD: Your quote must stipulate that it is predicated upon all the terms and conditions of this RFQ. In addition, it must contain a statement to the effect that it is firm for a period of at least 60 days from the date of receipt by the Government.
