Evaluation of the impacts of community-based prevention and wellness programs on Medicare beneficiaries

This is an 8(a) and Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified 8(a) sources and Small Business; and (2) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered an 8(a) and Small Business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. THIS IS STRICTLY MARKET RESEARCH. THE CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES (CMS) WILL NOT ENTERTAIN QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS MARKET RESEARCH. Background Section 4202 subsection (b) of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) directs the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct an evaluation of the impacts of community-based prevention and wellness programs on Medicare beneficiaries. As set forth in the statute, the intent of this evaluation is to determine whether and how these programs 1) reduce beneficiary health risks, 2) improve health outcomes, 3) promote healthy behaviors, 4) improve disease management skills and practices, and 5) reduce the utilization of health services and the costs associated with them. The evaluation shall consist of an evidence review and an independent evaluation of existing evidence-based community prevention and wellness programs. Specifically, the evidence review will examine programs sponsored by the Administration on Aging (AoA) and possibly other outreach groups that are designed to address physical activity, nutrition, obesity, falls, chronic disease self-management, and mental health. The potential programs to come under this provision are numerous. The AoA is currently sponsoring 13 different community based interventions programs in 47 states. The scope and maturity of the programs being implemented vary state to state and site to site. Some programs such as the Chronic Disease Self Management Program have a broad focus and are being widely implemented. Other programs, such those surrounding the management of depression, have a much more narrow focus and more limited implementation Data collection for these programs will also vary by program and site. In order to conduct an effective evaluation, it is important to understand the scope and intricacies of the implementation of the programs and what beneficiary level data could be feasibly collected and made available to evaluators in the context of the specific programs. Because of the large number of programs and scope of some of the individual programs, CMS anticipates a two-phase evaluation approach. In the first phase, CMS will work with a contractor to 1) conduct an environmental scan of all of the potential programs to be evaluated under this provision, 2) to conduct an extensive and exhaustive review of the literature surrounding community-based wellness and prevention programs, including evidence of their effectiveness and factors surrounding their implementation, 3) to synthesize these findings into a final report to CMS, and 4) to help CMS plan key elements of the evaluation study that will be implemented in phase 2. In the second phase, CMS anticipates on awarding a separate contract to implement the evaluation study and report the results. NOTES: 1) THE AWARDEE OF PHASE 1 WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN PHASE 2. 2) MAJOR PORTION OF THE EFFORT WILL NEED TO BE COMPLETED WITHIN THE FIRST 6 MONTHS OF THE PROJECT. Purpose of Action The purpose of this action is to implement the first phase of the evaluation as outlined above. Anticipated Period of Performance It is anticipated that the period of performance will be 12 months in duration. However, some critical deliverables will be due within 6 months of the award in order to accommodate the start of the second phase of the evaluation. The target start date for the project will be October 2010. Work on the project needs to be completed by October 2011. Response Requested CMS seeks responses from small businesses that may be available and capable of performing the work during the specified period of performance. Requirements Please demonstrate: - Experience in completing an effort of this nature within a limited timeframe. - Knowledge of the substantive Medicare program policy areas and populations involved. - The key personnel to be utilized; including educational backgrounds, professional experience, and special qualifications directly related to the effort. - How tasks are organized, managed, sequenced, in what time frames, and what management control and coordination tools used to assure the timely and successful conduct of efforts. - The ability to comprehensively identify and describe evidenced based wellness and prevention programs operating in communities throughout the United States, including both those sponsored by the Administration on Aging and those sponsored by other entities. - The ability to deploy multiple teams to multiple sites throughout the country within a 6-month timeframe. - The qualitative and quantitative research expertise to conduct the necessary data collection to gather the information from the programs and the sites that would be needed to inform the evaluation design within a 6-month timeframe. - The ability to gain a thorough understanding of the implementation and inner workings of various community based programs operating in various parts of the country via multiple site visits and frequent communication with stakeholders both in and outside of the government within a 6-month timeframe. - The ability to identify potential programs and sites for evaluation within a 6-month timeframe. - The ability to assess different programs to electronically collect patient identifying information that allows for current and future linkages to Medicare claims and administrative data within a 6-month timeframe. - The ability to create an inventory of electronic data collection software in use as well as an inventory of any paper data collection efforts within a 6-month timeframe. - The ability to develop a strategy to accurately identify and track Medicare beneficiaries participating in the community based programs that allows for future linkages to Medicare claims and administrative data within a 6-month timeframe. - An extensive understanding of both potential sources data available to Medicare and of methodologies in the evaluative sciences that will allow the offeror to propose specific research questions tailored to each of the programs being evaluated within a 6-month timeframe. - Knowledge and ability to contact and interact with stakeholders to obtain relevant information. - An understanding of government contracting rules to be able to support CMS in the development of procurement documents for the second phase of the evaluation. - The ability to conduct an extensive and exhaustive review of the literature surrounding community-based wellness and prevention programs, including evidence of their effectiveness and factors surrounding their implementation. - The ability to synthesize the findings of the literature review into a final report to CMS that is ready for public release. - Capability and experience in creating 508 compliant documents. CMS also requests the following additional information: Business Information: - DUNS - Company Name - Company Address - Current GSA Schedules appropriate to this Sources Sought - Do you have a Government approved accounting system? If so, please identify the agency that approved the system. - Type of company (e.g., small business, 8(a), woman owned, veteran, etc.) as validated via the Central Contractor Registration (CCR). All offerors must register on the CCR located at http://www.ccr.gov/index.asp - Company Point of Contact, Phone and Email address Teaming Arrangements: - All teaming arrangements should also include the above-cited information and certifications for each entity on the proposed team. Additional Information: - Potential offerors are hereby advised that their accounting system must be adequate for determining costs applicable to the contract - FAR Clause 52.219-14 Limitations of Subcontracting will be incorporated into the solicitation and resultant contract. Information Submission Instructions - Email responses addressing the above specific requests to the following address: edward.cooney@cms.hhs.gov and evelyn.dixon@cms.hhs.gov. All responses are due by 12:00 PM local time Baltimore, MD June 23, 2010. - Please be advised that email transmitted files over 5 megabytes are not delivered during standard working hours, are only released from the CMS server after 5:00 PM EST, and may affect the timeliness of your response. - Please limit your documents to the following Page Size, Font Type and Size, Spacing and Page Numbering - Preference for Microsoft Word (or PDF) document with page size 8.5 by 11 inches. Font shall be Times New Roman Size 12 with no less than single spacing between lines. The maximum number of pages for submission is 10 pages. Disclaimer and Important Notes This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s). On behalf of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, we thank you for your interest.