70 -- Connect Direct for Mid-Tier UNIX and Gentran Integration Suite (GIS)

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. The announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. This solicitation is issued as a Request for Proposal (RFP). The solicitation number is RFP-CMS-2008-0012 The solicitation document and incorporated provision and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-21. The NAICS Code is 541511 with a size standard of 23,000,000.00. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) intends to negotiate, on a sole source basis, with Sterling Software (America). This commercial items acquisition is to acquire Connect Direct for Mid-Tier UNIX and Gentran Integration Suite (GIS) support, inclusive of license rights and license maintenance. The term will be for a one year period from date of award, with 4 one year options. The base period of performance is January 20, 2008 through January 19, 2009 with four 1 year options through January 19, 2013. Delivery shall be made to CMS, Baltimore, Maryland. FOB Destination. The provision 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors?Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. The provision 52.212-2, Evaluation ? Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. Offerors must include a completed copy of the provision, 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications?Commercial Items. The provision 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions?Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. The provision 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required To Implement Statutes or Executive Order ? Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. The following additional FAR clauses cited in 52.212-5 are applicable to this acquisition: 52.203-6, Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government (Sept 2006), with Alternate I (Oct 1995) (41 U.S.C. 253g and 10 U.S.C. 2402) 52.222-19, Child Labor?Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies (Aug 2007) (E.O. 13126). 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (Feb 1999). 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (Mar 2007) (E.O. 11246). 52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans (Sept 2006) (38 U.S.C. 4212). 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities (Jun 1998) (29 U.S.C. 793). 52.225-1, Buy American Act?Supplies (June 2003) (41 U.S.C. 10a-10d). 52.225-5, Trade Agreements (Nov 2007) (19 U.S.C. 2501, et seq., 19 U.S.C. 3301 note). 52.225-13, Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases (Feb 2006) (E.o.s, proclamations, and statutes administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury). 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer?Central Contractor Registration (Oct 2003) (31 U.S.C. 3332). 52.239-1, Privacy or Security Safeguards (Aug 1996) (5 U.S.C. 552a). The procurement will be conducted under other than full and open competition, under the authority of FAR 6.302-1. A redacted version of the brand name justification follows. JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION 1. Agency. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of Acquisition and Grants Management 2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved. This justification seeks authority to negotiate two (2) non-competitive commercial items contracts for software license maintenance and support with Sterling Commerce for Connect:Direct (C:D), and Gentran Integration Suite (GIS), which are installed at CMS and the intermediary/carrier Medicare sites. The applicable licenses will continue to allow CMS to support electronic file transfers. The term for both contracts will be a one year base period, with four (4) one year optional periods. The base period of performance for the C:D for OS390 (Mainframe) contract shall be from December 20, 2007 through December 19, 2008, with the optional periods running through December 19, 2012. The base period for the C:D for Mid Tier UNIX and GIS contract shall be from January 20, 2008 through January 19, 2009, with the optional periods running through January 19, 2013. 3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the Agency?s needs (including the estimated value). These required contracts for software license maintenance support of the C:D for OS390 and Mid-tier UNIX, and GIS products will include licensing rights, maintenance, technical support, software defect fixes, new releases of software and upgrade protection during the period of performance. The estimated price for the two contracts is as follows: ? C:D for OS 390, including the optional periods, is approximately $[redacted]. ? C:D for Mid Tier UNIX, and GIS, including the optional periods, is approximately $[redacted]. 4. Identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition. This justification is based upon the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1, that only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy the agency?s requirements. 5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor?s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited. C:D software is the industry standard for file transfer. This product has been installed and is currently being used at CMS, state and other federal agencies, and all Medicare and Medicaid sites since 1987. C:D is used to move data to support all CMS Medicare and Medicaid major business lines, including the following: [Redacted] This propriety software is critical to the success of CMS in administering the Medicare program, and the MMA. The use of C:D is critical since it is already widely used, understood and deeply embedded in Medicare file exchanges. In addition, Sterling?s GIS product, is seamlessly integrated into the current C:D based file transfer architecture at CMS. Since C:D and GIS are proprietary products of Sterling, there are no other sources that meet the Government?s needs. At the present time it is not possible to introduce a new contractor with an untested and potentially unreliable file transfer product. Any delay in awarding this order to Sterling will result in disruption to the processing of Medicare claims and potentially cause considerable harm to the Medicare program and its beneficiaries. Sterling is the only responsible source that can provide the software maintenance, and upgrades necessary to fulfill the requirement to transmit Medicare data between CMS and the intermediary/carrier processing centers, within the timeframes the Agency requires. 6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practical. A synopsis, in accordance with the exception for the acquisition of commercial items authorized under FAR 5.203(a)(1) and FAR 5.203(b), will be published after the approval of this JOFOC. Since this procurement is for brand name, proprietary products of Sterling Commerce, and Sterling does not have any authorized resellers of their products, CMS has determined that there are no other potential sources that can meet our requirements. 7. A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. [Redacted] 8. Description of the market survey conducted and the results or a statement of the reasons why a market survey was not conducted. In 2007, CMS evaluated several products as possible replacements for C:D. Two were identified as technically meeting minimum requirements for CMS file transfer. [Redacted] While these products were technically capable of performing the file transfer minimum functions, the effort to convert an estimated thirty thousand file transfer jobs at CMS and the Medicare Processing Centers was deemed too technically difficult to implement and cost prohibitive to undertake. In past discussions with the Gartner Group, it was determined that the best approach for business entities the size of CMS and the Medicare Contractor Data Centers is to continue using C:D and negotiate the best financial arrangement with Sterling. This has become the Office of Information Services (OIS) posture for file transfer. With the purchase of Sterling?s GIS, which tightly couples with the C:D product to exchange files with CMS business partners over the Internet, C:D became more deeply embedded in core CMS business functions and very difficult to replace. CMS will continue to monitor technical literature and trade journals for future trends in comparable file transfer products. 9. Other factors supporting the use of other than full and open competition: Additional factors supporting this JOFOC are: ? There are imbedded software references in programming that crosses all Tier levels. The impact of having to re-program this software would be extremely time and resource consuming. ? The cost to replace the existing File Transfer software is estimated to be over $[Redacted]. ? There would be an additional cost to the Consolidated Information Technology Infrastructure Contract (CITIC) staff to facilitate any conversion from one file transfer software vendor to another that is not directly provided for in the CITIC support contract. ? Finally, there is the impact on the transporting of data. CMS has a tremendous responsibility to provide the most proven file transfer software available, that cannot be jeopardized by incorporating an unproven file transfer product. 10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition: A synopsis, in accordance with the exception for the acquisition of commercial items authorized under FAR 5.203(a)(1) and FAR 5.203(b), will be published after the approval of this JOFOC. Any responses received will be properly evaluated. 11. A statement of the actions, if any, the Agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any substantial acquisition for the supplies or services required: As with all hardware and software architecture, OIS will continue its evaluation of the file transfer software products referred to in Item 8 for functionality, systems value, and overall benefit to the Agency and its directives. Although the migration to other file transfer software and the associated conversion of workloads at CMS and the Medicare Processing Centers was deemed to be cost-prohibitive at this time, OIS will continue to monitor trade journals and analyze comparable file transfer products for a potential replacement in the future. Offers must be received by 3:00 p.m., December 28, 2007, and should be emailed to Lacetta.Bowman@cms.hhs.gov and Donald.Knode@cms.hhs.gov For information regarding this solicitation, please contact Ms. Lacetta Bowman (410) 786-2088 or Lacetta.Bowman@cms.hhs.gov.