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) 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 service, ID/IQ contract, single award, commercial item, in response to 75H70624R00005. The contract resulting from this solicitation will not obligate funds; funds must be obligated prior to starting performance through a task order. Orders may be submitted electronically, facsimile or hard copy.
C. The solicitation documents and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2024-03 dated 02/23/2024.
D. The RFP is issued as 100% Indian Economic Enterprise, Small Business set-aside, and the associated NAICS Code is 541512, which is small business standard of $34.0 million and 238210 with a small business standard of $19.0 million.
E. The quoted “Unit Price” is an all-inclusive cost. All “inclusive cost” is defined to include travel, lodging, per diem, fringe benefits, i.e., life insurance, social security, federal, state, and local taxes, plus all other costs pertinent to the performance of this contract. Utilize your most competitive rates. See attached SF-1449 and Bid Schedule. Complete, sign and return with your proposal.
F. To provide and maintain FIPS-201 and HSPD 12 Compliance on Physical Access Control and Surveillance platform for the Great Plains Area Hospitals, Clinics and Area Office located in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa. The period of performance will be for one (1) year from the date of award with four (4), one (1) option year periods.
G. FAR 52.212-1 - Instructions to Offerors - Commercial Items (September 2023):
1. Solicitation number: 75H70624R00005.
2. Closing date of August 30, 2024 at 3:00pm CST.
3. Name, address, telephone number of the offeror and email address of the contact person.
4. Technical description of the item/service being offered in sufficient detail to evaluate compliance with the requirements in the solicitation. This may include documents, if necessary;
5. Terms of any express warranty.
6. Price of 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.
9. Acknowledgement of any 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); and
11. A statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions and provisions included in the solicitations. Offerors that fail to furnish required representations or information, or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be excluded.
In addition, Contractors shall provide the following:
- Name and phone number of three (3) professional references.
- Shall meet the qualifications in the Statement of Work and provide copies of requested documents.
Attachments:
- Statement of Objectives
- Provisions and Clauses incorporated by reference and full text
- Business Associate Agreement
- Indian Economic Enterprise Representation Form
- Contractor’s Performance Conditions & Responsibilities
- HHS Residual Standard of Conduct
- Workplace Violence & Violence in the Workplace
- Courtesy and Respect in the Workplace Policy
- Mandatory Seasonal Influenza
- Wage Determinations
Basis of Award: Lowest Price, Technically Acceptable (LPTA). See requirements in the Statement of Objectives. Contractor shall include a completed, signed, SF-1449, completed Bid Schedule and Indian Economic Enterprise Representation Form.
H. FAR 52.212-3 - Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items (February 2024) - See attachment for full text and instruction for completion. An offeror shall complete only paragraph (b) of this provision if the offeror has completed the annual representations and certifications electronically via http://www.sam.gov. If an offeror has completed the annual representations and certifications electronically at the System for Award Management (SAM) website, the offeror shall complete only paragraph (c) through (o) of this provision.
I. FAR 52.212-4 - Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items (November 2023)
- See attachment; in by reference
J. FAR 52.212-5 - Contract Terms & Condition's Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders - Commercial Items (February 2024) - See attachment for full text.
K. Attached are the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and the Health & Human Services Acquisition Regulation (HHSAR) clauses that are applicable including the following:
L. Proposals will be accepted electronically, submit via e-mail to the following:
Great Plains Area Indian Health Service
Nichole Lerew, Supervisory Contract Specialist
115 4th Avenue SE, Room 309, Federal Building
Aberdeen, South Dakota 57401
e-mail: nichole.lerew@ihs.gov
Questions in regards to this solicitation shall be submitted in writing by either email, fax or mail. The last day to submit questions is August 13, 2024 12:00pm, CT.
Contractor will need a UEI number, TIN number and be registered with www.SAM.gov
ACCEPTANCE PERIOD: Your proposal must stipulate that it is predicated upon all the terms and conditions of this RFP. 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. Quotation must set forth full, accurate, and complete information as required by the RFP and be returned no later than the date referenced. All required information must be submitted in order to be considered responsive and eligible for award.
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.
The Government reserves the right to accept or reject services, if the level of performance is unacceptable.
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”.
The Contractor must provide only new equipment and new parts for the required products described herein; no used, refurbished, or remanufactured equipment or parts shall be provided under any circumstances. Absolutely no “Gray Market Goods” or “Counterfeit Electronic Parts” shall be provided. Gray Market Goods are defined as genuine branded goods intentionally or unintentionally sold outside of an authorized sales-territory or by non-authorized dealers in an authorized territory. All equipment shall be accompanied by the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM’s) warranty. Counterfeit Electronic Parts are defined as unlawful or unauthorized reproduction, substitution, or alteration that has been knowingly mismarked, misidentified, or otherwise misrepresented to be an authentic, unmodified electronic part from the original manufacturer, or a source with the express written authority of the original manufacturer or current design activity, including an authorized aftermarket manufacturer. Unlawful or unauthorized substitution includes used electronic parts represented as new, or the false identification of grade, serial number, lot number, date code, or performance characteristics.
“The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) mandates that U.S. federal agencies use the Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6). In November 2020, OMB issued memorandum M-21-07 "Completing the Transition to IPv6”, which outlines the Federal government's strategic intent "to deliver its information services, operate its networks, and access the services of others using only IPv6". The IHS requires all new IT systems (hardware and software) to operate in a pure IPv6 network environment. This includes on-premises services or third-party hosted services that require network integration into the IHS network. The Offeror's solution shall comply with the IPv6 standards profile as defined by the NIST USGv6 Program: https://www.nist.gov/programs-projects/usgv6-program
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 contractors 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.go
