SPECIAL NOTICE
R -- Contact Center Operations - Bridge Contract
- Notice Date
- 3/11/2022 11:17:05 AM
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 561422
— Telemarketing Bureaus and Other Contact Centers
- Contracting Office
- CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- 221202
- Response Due
- 3/28/2022 9:00:00 AM
- Point of Contact
- Brian Humes, Phone: 4107868898, Deborah Lester, Contracting Officer, Phone: 4107865136
- E-Mail Address
-
brian.humes@cms.hhs.gov, deborah.lester@cms.hhs.gov
(brian.humes@cms.hhs.gov, deborah.lester@cms.hhs.gov)
- Description
- NOTICE OF INTENT TO ISSUE SOLE SOURCE BRIDGE CONTRACT The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) intends to issue a Bridge Contract to Maximus Federal Services, Inc. for Contact Center Operations (CCO) support.��This CCO requirement is currently being recompeted utilizing full and open procedures; however, the award will not be made in time to allow for an adequate transition period prior to the expiration of the existing CCO contract HHSM-500-2013-00103C (May 31, 2022). Transition of a call center of this magnitude is extensive and is anticipated to take upwards of approximately 12 months.� The Bridge Contract will ensure continued and uninterrupted support of the CMS call center operations until a new contract can be awarded and transitioned. The CCO is a toll-free, nation-wide, 24 x 7 contact center with multiple sites that provides customer service and addresses inquiries, which includes 1-800 MEDICARE and the Marketplace (Exchange) call centers (Collectively called Contact Center Operations (CCO)). The operations include offering services across multiple contact channels such as telephone, written correspondence, TDD/TTY, and web chat. The primary purpose of the proposed Bridge Contract to be awarded on June 1, 2022, for a 12-month base period and two (2) 3-month option periods, is to acquire continued support of CCO operations with an objective of providing customer service functions which efficiently handle and answer inquiries with a high level of service across the United States and its territories. By maintaining the current contractor for this Bridge Contract, the need for extensive infrastructure implementation, and training of staff will be minimized. Furthermore, the Bridge Contract will eliminate the need for duplicative transition costs, resulting in a significant cost savings to the Government. The Bridge Contract also minimizes disruption to the work being performed. NOTE: On January 26, 2022, an Interim FAR rule was issued, under Executive Order 14026 �Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors�, raising the minimum wage paid to federal contractor employees to $15/hr.� The �Interim FAR rule prescribes a revised clause 52.222-55, Minimum Wages for Contractor Workers (JAN 2022), for applicable solicitations and contracts effective January 30, 2022. This FAR clause will be included in the Bridge Contract. This requirement will be solicited in accordance with the authority of 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1) and FAR Part 6.302-1 (a)(1), ""Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements."" The NAICS code for this procurement is 561422 - Telemarketing Bureaus and Other Contact Centers. The anticipated Product Service Code (PSC) for this procurement is R499 � Support � Professional: Other. Responsible sources�may�submit a capability statement (limited to 10 pages) which�shall�be considered by the agency. All responses to this notice must be addressed in writing via e-mail to Brian Humes, Contract Specialist, at brian.humes@cms.hhs.gov� no later than 12:00 PM EST on March 28, 2022. �Responses will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.� Any response to this notice must show clear, compelling and convincing evidence that competition will be advantageous to the Government.� A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed procurement based on the responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. This notice of intent is neither a formal solicitation nor a request for competitive proposals.� No award will be made on the basis of unsolicited quotations or offers received in response to this notice. � Protection of Privileged or Confidential Commercial or Financial Information The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. � 552, provides individuals with a right to access certain records in the possession of the Federal government, subject to certain exemptions. Exemption 4 of the FOIA permits information to be withheld that is in the nature of ""trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential."" The term ""person"" refers to a wide range of entities, including corporations, banks, state governments, agencies of foreign governments, and Native American tribes or nations, who provide information to the government.��� Information that does not qualify withholding under the Exemption will be disclosed. CMS may invoke Executive Order 12600 in accordance with FOIA Regulation 45 C.F.R. � 5.42.� Information provided by entities to CMS in response to this notice may be subject to FOIA disclosure requirements unless protected under Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act.� Should entities wish to protect any trade secret or confidential information under Exemption 4, they should mark their submission accordingly citing applicable redactions and non-disclosure rationale.� Pre-disclosure redactions and non-disclosure rationale shall be sent via e-mail to the requesting contracting officer with a copy to the CMS FOIA Office at 12600@cms.hhs.gov. If an entity�s submission is not marked and CMS receives a FOIA request related to this notice, the CMS Contracting Officer will notify the entity.� The entity will have 10 working days to object to the release of any part of their information submitted to CMS citing relevant case law.� Final determination on the applicability of Exemption 4 of the FOIA are made on a case-by-case basis by CMS. The statutory language of the FOIA is codified at 5 U.S.C. � 552(b). Additional information and resources, including the 9 FOIA Exemptions and HHS FOIA Regulation, and examples, can be found on the HHS FOIA Website.
- Web Link
-
SAM.gov Permalink
(https://sam.gov/opp/4255cf86150042d28c7a085f28e350c2/view)
- Record
- SN06264445-F 20220313/220311230102 (samdaily.us)
- Source
-
SAM.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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