SOURCES SOUGHT
R -- Healthcare Data Analytics and Statistical Products
- Notice Date
- 11/8/2018
- Notice Type
- Synopsis
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- 5600 Fishers Lane Mailstop: 06N34B Rockville MD 20857
- ZIP Code
- 20857
- Solicitation Number
- HHS-AHRQ-SBSS-19-10002
- Response Due
- 11/23/2018
- Point of Contact
- Scott S. Henderson, Contract Specialist, Phone 3014271764, - Erin B. Mills, Contracting Officer, Phone 3014271169
- E-Mail Address
-
scott.henderson@ahrq.hhs.gov, Erin.Mills@ahrq.hhs.gov
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice (SBSS). 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 small business sources; (2) whether they are small business; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) 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 a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. A related Request for Information (RFI) was issued May 3, 2018. Notice HHS-AHRQ-RFI-18-10001 can be found at https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/AHRQ/DCM/HHS-AHRQ-RFI-18-10001/listing.html. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) supports health services research initiatives that seek to improve the quality of health care in America. AHRQ's mission is to produce evidence to make health care safer, higher quality, more accessible, equitable, and affordable. AHRQ works to fulfill its mission by conducting research and provides information on a number of critical issues related to healthcare and quality which are of particular interest to government agencies, legislative bodies, health policy makers and other health professionals. The research is primarily based on the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) and the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). MEPS is the only national data source measuring how Americans use and pay for medical care, health insurance, and out-of-pocket spending. Annual surveys of individuals and families, as well as their health care providers, provide data on health status, the use of medical services, charges, insurance coverage, and satisfaction with care. HCUP is the Nation's most comprehensive source of hospital care data, including information on in-patient stays, ambulatory surgery and services visits, and emergency department encounters. HCUP enables researchers, insurers, policymakers and others to study health care delivery and patient outcomes over time, and at the national, regional, State, and community levels. In addition, AHRQ produces the National Healthcare Quality and Disparity Report annually to inform the nation on healthcare quality and disparities in health care. The first report was released in fall of 2003. This report uses the MEPS and HCUP databases to produce their analyses but also utilizes other databases in an effort to provide as comprehensive a picture as possible on these issues to policymakers. The National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report presents trends for measures related to access to care, affordable care, care coordination, effective treatment, healthy living, patient safety, and person-centered care. The report presents, in chart form, the latest available findings on quality of and access to healthcare, as well as disparities related to race and ethnicity, income, and other social determinants of health. Major tasks for this project: Data Security - Provide for the secure and confidential storage of all electronic files as specified by AHRQ. Additionally, provide for the secure and confidential transmission of data between users at the Contractor's worksite and between the Contractor and the AHRQ network. The plan and actual implementation of data security shall conform to all current government regulations for the use and storage of confidential data. The data system will contain indirectly Personally Identifiable Information and has a Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 199 level of "Moderate" security designation. All requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974 and FAR Clause 48 CFR 352.239.72 will be abided by. These data systems are quite large; the requirement includes the need to host more than 60 terabytes of data (not counting backups) at inception with an anticipated growth of 10 percent per year. Maintaining AHRQ Databases - Maintain, store, catalogue, document, edit, and update files for AHRQ (MEPS and HCUP) databases. The contractor can anticipate receiving daily deliveries of new or updated files through FTP or similar secure protocols. The contractor will provide services for designing, testing, and running programs to edit raw data including matching, resolving logical inconsistencies and performing imputations, matching algorithms, and other available methods to account for missing data; creating appropriate sample weights and variance estimates in an efficient manner; and performing quality control checks on final versions of the files. The Contractor shall be responsible for the following database tasks: 1. Annually editing and top-coding variables derived from reported household-reported income data, and imputing missing data, as described in the documentation for the MEPS Full Year Consolidated Data File: https://meps.ahrq.gov/data_stats/download_data/pufs/h181/h181doc.shtml#IncomeTax 2. Annually editing and imputing household-reported out-of-pocket premiums for private health insurance using methods summarized in documentation for the MEPS Person-Round-Plan File: https://meps.ahrq.gov/data_stats/download_data/pufs/h179/h179doc.shtml#OutofPocket343 3. Annually editing and imputing household-reported assets using imputation. 4. Annually create a file that links the MEPS sample to their respective identifiers in the National Health Interview Survey. The file is described here: https://meps.ahrq.gov/data_stats/download_data/pufs/meps_nhislink/meps15_nhislink.pdf Statistical Analysis and Programming - Provide programming and statistical analysis services using MEPS and HCUP data. Additionally, work with econometric and statistical techniques used with a variety of large data sources including national surveys, discharge and claims databases. It will be necessary for the Contractor to design, program, test and run statistical analyses using software programs such as SAS, STATA, SUDAAN, and R. This statistical programing is exceptionally complex and involves developing and documenting code for complex nested programs that require sequential execution and review of output by Government staff over days to weeks. The activity also includes the development of analytic files programmed to precise specifications provided by the government. This requirement supports the development of advanced statistical and econometric models by Ph.D. levels researchers suitable for publication in a range of peer-reviewed scientific journals such as the Journal of Health Economics, JAMA, Health Affairs, and Health Services Research, as well as in responding to requests for advanced statistical analyses from CBO, Treasury, and other clients. In addition to traditional analytic approaches, the Contractor shall be well-versed in predictive analytic techniques (such as Lasso regression, random forest, gradient boosting machine, and artificial neural network) to be able to detect outliers in data, classify variables, perform subgroup analyses, and predict health system outcomes. The Contractor shall be responsible for the following tasks: 1. Developing analytic files and plans- often employing complex algorithms for combining information across a variety of variables and multiple datasets stored at different levels; 2. Applying imputation techniques for missing data; 3. Development of statistical and econometric models including longitudinal analyses; 4. Conducting statistical analyses for online publications; 5. Developing and testing data collection methodologies; 6. Developing survey design plans; 7. Conducting analysis for microsimulation modeling projects using data from MEPS, NHIS, CPS, MCBS and with detailed insurance coverage information; 8. Conducting state level analysis to produce simulated public program eligibility: 9. Constructing and updating unique hierarchical databases by statistically matching data from the MEPS-HC, MEPS-IC and other employee and employer databases 10. The Contractor shall provide programming services required to identify and select the MEPS sample, including: 1) Formatting and quality control of NHIS data files for use in the MEPS sample selection, 2) Quality control review of variables necessary for sample selection, 3) Identification of sample domains, 4) Implementation of MEPS sampling specifications, and 5) Preparation of data files to be transmitted to the MEPS-HC Contractor. 11. Benchmarking AHRQ Databases to external data sources. Above tasks will require the Contractor to access internal datasets as well as other federal and state government healthcare data e.g., Medicare Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS); Medicare Data on Provider Practice and Specialty (MD-PPAS); Medicare and Medicaid Claims and Enrollment Data; Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Plan Finder data and Marketplace public use files; HRSA healthcare data and Census Bureau data; CDC surveys such as NHIS, NHANES, NMACS and BRFSS may also be required for analyses. Additionally, the Agency may provide commercially available data sets such as MEDSTAT, Marketscan, and clinically-enhanced administrative databases for analytical purposes. Public Use Data File Production - Create four public-use files annually from MEPS data along with required documentation about the variables and file contents as well as the codebook. The Contractor will be required to prepare the SAS, SPSS and STATA programming statements (TXT file type) for posting. For web posting, all documents will be in html and PDF formats that are 508 compliant. The Contractor shall prepare the micro-data files to be posted on the MEPS website ( https://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb ) in ASCII and SAS transport formats. Annual PUF files are as follows: The prescribed medicines file: https://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_stats/download_data_files_detail.jsp?cboPufNumber=HC-178A MEPS longitudinal file: https://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_stats/download_data_files_detail.jsp?cboPufNumber=HC-183 MEPS 1996-201X Pooled Linkage Variance Estimation File: https://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_stats/download_data_files_detail.jsp?cboPufNumber=HC-036 and MEPS 1996-201X Replicates for Variance Estimation File: https://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_stats/download_data_files_detail.jsp?cboPufNumber=HC-036BRR MEPS Web Publications - Write programs using analyst provided specifications and perform statistical analysis on selected MEPS variables needed for statistical briefs and research findings. Additionally, perform technical editing, copyediting, and finalizing figures as well as supporting adherence of Section 508 compliance and updating the style guide as necessary. See the following examples: Characteristics of Practices Used as Usual Source of Care Providers during 2015, by Age- Results from the MEPS Medical Organizations Survey Statistical Brief 509 https://meps.ahrq.gov/data_files/publications/st509/stat509.pdf The Uninsured in America, 2013-2015: Estimates for Non-Elderly Adults Uninsured throughout Each Calendar Year, by Selected Population Sub-groups and State Medicaid Expansion Status Research Findings 35 https://meps.ahrq.gov/data_files/publications/rf35/rf35.pdf Data Center - Provide onsite support for the AHRQ Data Center. This includes the development of and updates to policy and procedure manuals, inventory control, training, data migration, and other functions that pertain to the support and operations of the AHRQ Data Center. Also, provide technical support for developing analytical files using confidential data; merge data brought by outside users; and consult with staff and/or outside users on security arrangements for the use of the data within the AHRQ data center. Additionally, provide two levels of "virtual seats" (basic and enhanced) in a secure data environment for analytic processing and storage. The basic virtual seat will provide a means for an AHRQ-approved outside researcher to gain access to data on the secure LAN and to develop analytic files and run statistical programming analyses using software such as (but not limited to) SAS, STATA, and SUDAAN. The enhanced virtual seat will provide access to data on the secure LAN as described for the basic virtual seat with expanded processing and data storage capacity sufficient to accommodate running ten analyses in parallel, and the capacity to use additional statistical software such as R, Shiny R, Stat Transfer, and Python. Website Management and Web Tools - Websites will be hosted on a designated server provided by the contractor. Provide technical editing, graphical services and quality control services to facilitate timely and accurate data products for posting on designated websites. Perform quality control activities on Individual pages, links and databases on an ongoing fashion. Notify AHRQ as soon as an unexpected website outage is encountered. This notification shall include proposed solutions and a timeline for implementation. Correct any identified errors within four hours of discovery. All web documents shall be in compliance with Section 508 accessibility standards, post all web publications in html and PDF formats. Maintain and manage the following AHRQ online statistical computing tools: HCUPnet ( https://hcupnet.ahrq.gov/ ), provide monthly updates which include the uploading of new data, website editing, and any needed corrections identified in the prior month. Additionally, provide services for implementing data and HCUPnet website upgrades and enhancements. MEPSnet/HC ( https://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_stats/MEPSnetHC/startup ), update annually with new data. MEPSnet/IC ( https://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_stats/MEPSnetIC/startup ), maintain and update the MEPS-IC Tables on the MEPS website within a pre-approved timeframe after receiving them from Census. Updates are made twice per year. Maintain and update the MEPS-HC summary tables web application ( https://meps.ahrq.gov/mepstrends/home/index.html ) annually. Provide general support for MEPS Public Use Files (PUFs), 20 per year, including performing data management activities for PUFs residing on the project network drive, reviewing PUF materials sent to AHRQ from the MEPS Data Collection Contractor, checking the correctness of the PUF postings to the MEPS Website, and creating HTML versions of the PUF codebooks. Also, check for the accuracy of data created by SPSS and Stata programs posted to the MEPS Website for reading PUF data, provide editorial support for PUF activities and investigate web-based publishing issues that affect the PUFs. National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report (NHQDR) - Generate an annual NHQDR measure set from analytic data tables and build a meta-table with summary statistics, making statistical comparisons of source data from annual analytic datasets using SAS, Excel, and other software applications. Conduct statistical analyses on trends in healthcare quality and disparities for approximately 250 measures for the annual NHQDR Report (Excel Meta-analyses table template will be provided). Calculate national achievable benchmarks for approximately 120 measures for a National Benchmarks tool. Provide support and the maintenance of the Oracle database, the basis of the data used for the NHQDR online tools: National Benchmarks; State Snapshots; Data Query Tool, and the IQDnet tool. This includes formatting and uploading over 2000 data tables for 400 measures from approximately 40 data sources into the website's Oracle database each year. Anticipated period of performance: The anticipated period of performance is June 16, 2019 to June 15, 2024 with a base period of one year, and four one-year option periods. Other important considerations: N/A Information Sought: The tailored response to this Small Business Sources Sought notice should describe the requested information below. Respondents must describe their capacity and experience as it relates to all the project requirements described above. Specifically, address experience in the following areas as they relate to the project requirements listed above: a) Data management, computer programming, statistics and econometrics, website services and development, writing and editing. b) Statistical programming, especially with complex healthcare survey data, support of econometric analysis, conducting state of the art modeling and microsimulation, and the management of multiple complex databases. c) Production of web based statistical publications, development of web based data tools and overall maintenance of websites. Respondents must provide, as part of their response, information concerning: a) Staff expertise, including their availability, experience, and formal and other training; b) Current in-house capability and capacity to perform the work; c) Corporate experience and management capability; d) Prior completed projects of similar size; and e) Examples of prior completed Government contracts, references, and other related information. Information Submission Instructions: Interested qualified small business organizations should submit a tailored capability statement for this requirement. The cover page must include the following: • DUNS number • Organization name • Organization address • Size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, etc.) pursuant to NAICS code 541990. • Technical point(s) of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone, and e-mail addresses. All Capability Statements sent in response to this SMALL BUSINESS SOURCES SOUGHT notice must be submitted electronically (via e-mail) to Scott Henderson, Contract Specialist, scott.henderson@ahrq.hhs.gov in MS Word, or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), no later than 5:00 PM on November 23, 2018. Responses should not exceed 15 single-sided pages (including the cover page, all attachments, resumes, charts, etc.) presented in single-space and using a 12-point font size minimum, that clearly details the ability to perform the aspects of the notice described above. 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 will 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). NOTE: THIS NOTICE MAY HAVE POSTED ON FEDBIZOPPS ON THE DATE INDICATED IN THE NOTICE ITSELF (08-NOV-2018). IT ACTUALLY APPEARED OR REAPPEARED ON THE FEDBIZOPPS SYSTEM ON 20-DEC-2018, BUT REAPPEARED IN THE FTP FEED FOR THIS POSTING DATE. PLEASE CONTACT 877-472-3779 or fbo.support@gsa.gov REGARDING THIS ISSUE.
- Web Link
-
Link To Document
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/AHRQ/DCM/HHS-AHRQ-SBSS-19-10002/listing.html)
- Record
- SN05179592-F 20181222/181220230017 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |