Inactive 8(a) Set-Aside (FAR 19.8)

The contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and quality control necessary, except as specified in Paragraph 3.0 as Government Furnished, to perform Integrated... The contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and quality control necessary, except as specified in Paragraph 3.0 as Government Furnished, to perform Integrated Behavioral Health System (IBHS) Services for members of the North Carolina Reserve Component Service members and their dependents, as defined in the attached PWS. Last day to present Questions: 2 June 25 1. Q. Is there an incumbent? A. W9124220P0084 Compass Medical Provider LLC (61UK6) 2. Q: Attachment 6 LoE. Can the Government please clarify what is meant in column H by “Non-Payroll taxed fringe benefits” and “Taxed Fringe Benefits”? A: Please consult with www.irs.gov for the most up-to-date information for tax laws regarding fringe benefits. 3. Q: In which volume should offerors include paragraph (c) of FAR clause 52.212-3? A: All firms shall respond to 52.212-3 via www.sam.gov registration; if presenting as a JV please identify so clearly throughout offer. 4. Q: Do cover pages or tables of contents count toward the 6-page maximum for the technical capability volume? No. 5. Q: Will JV offerors be required to count the completed paragraph (c) of FAR clause 52.212-3 as part of the 6-page maximum for the technical capability? A: No; all firms will respond to 52.212-3 via www.sam.gov registration which remains separate from the technical volume. 6. Q: Will the Gov't exclude a Title page, Table of Contents page, and Cover Letter/Introduction page from the maximum page allowance? A: Yes 7. Q: Can the Gov't clarify if the 3 sections (Pricing, Technical, Past performance) should be submitted in 3 separate volumes, or may we submit 1 volume with all 3 parts? A: 3 Volumes 8. Q: Will the Gov' clarify what it means by the term “approx.”? Is it the approximate number of pages or the approximate font type and size? A: “approx.” refers to the font type and size 9. Q: Are the 2 pages stated as the maximum for Past Performance the limits for the total Past Performance narrative or is it two pages per citation? A: 2 pages maximum for the volume 10. Q: The WDs include EO 14026. This was revoked on 14 March 2025. As a result, federal contractors are no longer required to adhere to the wage mandates established by EO 14026. Instead, they must comply with the minimum wage requirements set forth in EO 13658, which currently sets the federal contractor minimum wage at $13.30 per hour. In light of this change, will the Gov't update the Wage Determinations accordingly by removing EO 14026 references to ensure compliance with current federal guidance? A: The revocation is recognized; however, we do not have the ability to manipulate published wage decisions. Offerors are to comply with current DOL law, recognizing all revocations not yet reflected in the WD. 11. Q: Does the Gov't anticipate any mission changes that would necessitate increasing or decreasing the current labor mix? A: Not currently 12. Q: Can the offeror submit past performance from a major subcontractor (25% or more workshare)? A: Yes; please identify as such. 13. Q: Given the challenging nature of the performance location, would the Gov't consider requiring offerors to submit at least one past performance reference for each proposed major subcontractor? A: No, this will not become a requirement. 14. Q: Will the Government consider requiring a Letter of Commitment or Statement of Commitment from all teaming partners or subcontractors? This requirement was considered, added, then subsequently removed. 15. Q. Clarification requested regarding the number of option years; discrepancy identified in the attachments. A: Base plus 3 option years and 52.217-8; admin error updated. 16. Q: Is the labor mix by locations listed in the PWS the current labor mix being used to provide services under the current contract? (11 total staff covering 8 locations). A: Yes 17. Q: The PWS states that personnel must hold a valid North Carolina license. However, as this is a Non-Personal Services Contract and services will be performed on federal property, will the Government accept providers holding an active, unrestricted license from any U.S. state or territory, in accordance with standard federal contracting practice? A: Clinicians are scheduled to be on-call for the 24/7 Helpline; during these times the clinicians are not always located on federal property and as such must hold a NC license. 18. Q: How do we submit an RFI? A: Questions/RFIs will be accepted through 2 June 25 via email to the POC listed. 19. Q: How do we submit our proposal? A: Via email to the POC listed; if no receipt confirmation is received within 24 hours. POC will acknowledge receipt via email typically within 24 hours. 20. Q: Is Section 2.2 missing, or was there a numbering error? A: Numbering error; 2.3 was renamed to 2.2 (see 21 May 25 update to synopsitation) 21. TECHNICAL PAGE LIMIT HAS BEEN INCREASED FROM 6 TO 10; PLEASE SEE SYNOPSITATION updated 22 May 25 22. Error has been id'd within the stated size standard. Synopsitation has been updated 22 May 25 to reflect current size standard of $9M. 23. Synopsitation has been updated 27 May 25 to delete relative order of importance, allowable per FAR 13.106-1 24. Q: If an agency does not currently hold the 8(a) set-aside designation, but meets all the necessary requirements for 8(a) status, would it still be ineligible for consideration under that set-aside? A: Reference synopsitation 52.212-1 Addendum 2.1 (b)(vi). 25. Q: Are all the positions currently filled, for all locations? A: No, the Charlotte/Lenoir position is currently open 26. IAW Section 2.1(b)(iii) of the solicitation, we understand the requirement to provide brief summaries of qualifications and experience for proposed personnel. Do these summaries need to be for each position or can they be more general in nature? A: Each position 27. Q: Please identify Key Personnel. A: See update to Synopsitation 52.212-1 Addendum Technical 2.1 (b) (viii) updated 30 May 25. (Later removed) 28. Q: Ktr asked for an additional exclusion from the technical volume for a glossary and compliance matrix A: Additional exclusions will not be granted 29. Q: Ktr asked for an additional exclusion from the past performance volume for a cover page and table of contents A: Additional exclusions will not be granted 30. Q: Ktr asked for confirmation that Times New Roman 10 is acceptable for graphics and tables. A: Minimum of 11 is recommended. Please use discernment as content must be easily discernable to the evaluation team. 31. Q: Please include the workload data in the RFP, such as number of calls, types of calls, locations of call origination, etc. A: Reference PWS document; historic data was included on the last page 32. Q: Was the Wake County WD left out? A: Yes; this was an admin error. WD has been uploaded 30 May 25 33. Q: In order for offerors to provide fully compliant and responsive proposals, please provide an extension of the due date of at least two weeks from release of final answers to questions and associated information. A: This is essentially a request for a 2 business day extension until the 16th. At this time, the solicitation will not be extended however, timelines and significance of changes are actively being monitored, and will be extended if deemed necessary by the Contracting Officer. (Bid time later extended to June 16th) 34. Q: The content of Volume A. Pricing (a. Pricing) is listed as: "Bid Schedule to be completed." However, no pricing template is provided with the Synopsitation. A: Reference Bid Schedule contained in the Synopsitation 35. Q: Could the government please confirm that the Offerors are to submit completed Exhibit 1 as part of the technical volume, despite it having to contain cost data? A: Yes. Note: 52.222-46 is included in the synopsitation, and Exhibit 1 is the mechanism the Gov't will use to evaluate. As stated in FAR 52.222-46(d), "failure to comply with these provisions may constitute sufficient cause to justify rejection of a proposal". This contract includes roles which meet the definition of a "professional employee" per 29 USC § 152(12), which can be found at https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title29/chapter7/subchapter2&edition=prelim 36. Q: How is the 25% travel requirement for Psychotherapists incorporated into labor rates? Are weekend, after-hours, and on-call rotations factored into hourly labor rates? A: All labor should be factored into your labor rate using all information provided in the PWS. Given it is a performance based FFP contract, the Gov't is unable to identify firm quantities of FTEs. 37. Q: Is there a separate allocation for labor associated with hotline rotation, administrative support, and on-call responsibilities? A: No; All costs shall distributed appropriately amongst the CLINs identified in the synopsitation 38. Q: How are travel costs (including statewide and occasional nationwide travel) structured in the cost proposal, considering the $40,000 reimbursable line item? A: Reference Travel CLINS and associated language identified in the synopsiation; any other costs associated with travel that are not allowable under JFTR should be accounted for in other CLIN pricing. 39. Q: Are labor and travel costs for the 30-day phase-in and phase-out periods separately identified in the proposal? If transition costs are blended into base year pricing, how is that documented and presented? A: PWS Para 1.4.15 has been updated for clarity. 40.Q: How are continuing education or licensing renewal costs incorporated? Are costs for mandatory training (AT Level 1, iWATCH, IA training) captured in direct labor or in indirect costs? Are costs for maintaining licensing and certification (e.g., LCSW, LPC, LMFT) for all staff included? See PWS Para 1.1 and 5.2.5; the contractor is responsible for these costs unless otherwise specified. 41. Q: Are costs for the $1.5M professional liability insurance requirement for contract staff included as a direct or indirect cost? A: Contractors are to provide Firm Fixed Prices IAW the bid schedule (see synopsitation) accounting for all potential costs 42. Q: PWS 5.2.3.1 cites a 15–20 case load. Does this apply to the Lead Psychotherapist, Psychotherapists, or both? A: PWS Para 5.2.3.1 refers to the Lead Psychotherapist. Currently, 15-20 cases is average for all Psychotherapists; however, there is a greater chance for this number to ebb and flow as compared to the lead psychotherapist role due to additional duties. 43. Q: Does the PWS 1.4.7.1 certification requirement apply to Health & Wellness Advocates and the Coordinator? A: No. See update to PWS 1.4.7.1 for clarified exemptions. See update to PWS 5.1.3 for updated Coordinator degree requirement. 44. Q: Do the duties in 5.1.1 and 5.2.1 (e.g., helpline support, clinical care ) apply to all staff or only Clinical Psychotherapists? A: All IBHS Contractor Employees per 5.1.1 and 5.2.1. Note: 5.2.1.6 has been moved to 5.2.5. 45. Q: Do all the licensed personnel currently provide coverage for the helpline or just the psychotherapists? A: Psychotherapists; PWS has been updated with clarity. 46. Q: Is the IBHS Coordinator currently 100% remote? A: Yes 47. Q: Historically, which labor categories are covered under the SCA? A: Please contact the Wage and Hour Division's toll-free help line for any questions regarding conformance for unlisted occupations under SCA WDs. 1-866-4-USWAGE (1-866-487-9243) 48. Q: Please confirm the primary office location for each Clinical Psychotherapist as they are currently situated under the incumbent contract. A: See PWS 1.4.1 Note 7 49. Q: Please list specific NCNG locations where Psychotherapists may travel to based on past or projected needs. A: See PWS 1.4.12 50. Q: Please list specific NCNG locations where Health & Wellness Advocates may provide services or conduct outreach. A: See PWS 1.4.1 Note 2 / 1.4.12 51. Q: Please list specific NCNG locations where Health & Wellness Advocates may provide services or conduct outreach. A: See PWS 1.4.1 Note 2 / 1.4.12 52. Q: Please provide any location-specific statistics available to allow us to validate the current coverage model and align our proposed staffing accordingly. A: The locations are identified by the Gov’t based on an ongoing analysis of eligible member population density. If a location change is required, a modification would be processed to accommodate for any upward or downward price impact to the SCA rates, whether listed or identified through the Wage and Hour Division SCA Conformance process. 53. Q: For Health & Wellness Advocates with “significant travel,” are there mileage ranges or duty station limits? A: See PWS 1.4.1 Note 2 / 1.4.12 54. Q: Will the government confirm if proposed LOEs are fixed, or are they flexible based on actual service demands? A: A copy of the awardee’s Exhibit 1 Level of Effort Labor Mix with Proposed Compensation Packages will be incorporated into the final contract to reflect agreed upon minimums. 55. Q: Is the government aware of any upcoming changes that would affect demand (e.g., expansion of services, new locations)? A: No 56. Q: Beyond the primary locations, are there any expected obligations to support statewide events or National Guard unit activities at other sites (e.g. attending drill weekends at various armories, Yellow Ribbon events, or emergency response situations across the state)? If so, how often do such events occur and what would the travel expectations be for contractor staff? A: See PWS 1.4.12 57. Q: Apart from the helpline, is there any expectation for in-person after-hours response (for instance, meeting a service member in crisis at a facility or coordinating emergency care), or is the after-hours support strictly limited to telephone counseling/triage? Understanding the scope of after-hours duties will help us ensure we have proper protocols and personnel in place. A: No in-person response after-hours, strictly telephone counseling/triage 58. Q: During the evaluation , will the Government accept corporate experience or past performance in providing similar behavioral health staffing as part of the technical evaluation? A: Yes; relevance and recency will apply no differently 59. Q: The Synopsitation that was released on 30 May 2025 includes a new requirement for “Statements of Commitment from Key Personnel (1 Director, 1 Coordinator, and at minimum 4 Psychotherapists and 2 Health and Wellness Advocates).” This new requirement is a major change in the proposal requirements and is not required for the stated evaluation schema (contradicting the evaluation goal of low turn-over as stated in the note under “technical evaluation” in 52.212-2). In addition, it may severely limit competition because it is not possible for non-incumbent offerors to identify, screen, and recruit sufficient personnel to meet this requirement this late in the solicitation process. Can the Government please remove this requirement? A: The Gov’t will evaluate the potential of low turn-over no differently with the additional requirement of obtaining Statements of Commitment from the identified Key Personnel. The solicitation will be extended until 16 June in consideration for the additional time needed to meet this requirement. (Statements of Commitment from Key Personnel Req't was later removed 4 June 25) 60. Q: What positions are SCA? A: Please see the response to question 47 above. 61. Q: What are the current LCATs? A: SCA Labor Categories are not readily discernable from the Wage Determination; please see the response to question 47 above. 62: Q: Are there any incumbent personnel? A: Yes. 63: Q: Are the option years three or four? A: The 4th set of option CLINS on the synopsitation refers to the 52.217-8 phase, should it become necessary. 64. Statements of Commitment from Key Personnel (1 Director, 1 Coordinator, and at minimum 4 Psychotherapists and 2 Health and Wellness Advocates) requirement has been removed; reference synopsitation dated 4 June 25. 65. Q: Clarification re: how to respond to 52.212-3? A: All firms shall respond to 52.212-3 via www.sam.gov registration. To be further specific: 52.212-3 is in everyone’s sam.gov record. I will pull a copy of that record during the evaluation process. It will not be counted toward your technical volume, and you do not need to submit it with your proposal…..you simply need to ensure it is current and accurate in sam.gov at the time of solicitation closing. 66. Added clarity provided surrounding evaluation; formal source selection procedures in FAR Part 15 are not being used. See updated synopsitation dated 12 June 25. 67. Clarity being provided that Statements of Commitment from Key Personnel requirement was removed on 4 June 25. The text was inadvertently left in the 12 June 25 update (clerical error).