[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 22, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-3838]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: February 22, 1994]
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PROSPECTIVE PAYMENT ASSESSMENT COMMISSION
Request for Proposals
AGENCY: Prospective Payment Assessment Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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The Prospective Payment Assessment Commission (ProPAC) is seeking a
contractor to provide computer programming support services including
data base development/management and empirical analysis. These services
will support ProPAC's evaluation and monitoring of Medicare's
Prospective Payment System (PPS) for inpatient care and other Medicare
facility-related payment policies. A single contractor is being sought
to provide these services under a time-and-materials contract for a
period of one year with options to extend the contract for up to two
additional years. RFP 02-94-ProPAC will be issued on or about March 7,
1994. Interested sources must submit a written request to the address
below for a copy of this RFP.
Roles and Responsibilities of ProPAC
ProPAC was created in the same legislation that enacted Medicare's
prospective payment system for hospital inpatient care. ProPAC's
responsibilities include analyzing payment policies for all facility
services furnished to Medicare beneficiaries. Congress also has asked
ProPAC to examine and report on the Medicaid program, and on broader
issues regarding the effectiveness and quality of health care delivery
in the Untied States. ProPAC writes reports on various aspects of
health care reform, such as issues relating to expanding the PPS system
to all payers, and on issues pertaining to implementing a global budget
for health care service.
Criteria for Proposals
Applicants are requested to submit proposals to provide computer
programming support services in support of ProPAC's intramural research
activities (database development and empirical analyses) in the general
areas defined above. Work completed under this contract will be on an
as-required basis and shall be performed upon the issuance of task
requests by ProPAC's Project Officer and designated staff of the
Commission. The following provides a basic outline of what should be
included in a formal proposal:
1. Proposed personnel available to work on the contract.
2. Corporate qualifications, including documentation of the
offeror's experience with the skills and techniques required to perform
the required analyses using large Medicare databases.
3. Management plan, including a description of how the offeror
plans to use project staff, together with corporate resources, to
complete task requests. Special attention should be paid to describing
how the Contractor will meet ProPAC's peak work loads.
4. Technical approach, including a description of the offeror's
technical approach that is specific, detailed and complete enough to
clearly and fully demonstrate that the offeror thoroughly understands
the intent of the Statement of Work, together with proposed approaches.
It is recognized that all the technical factors cannot be detailed in
advance, but the technical proposal must be sufficient as to how it is
proposed to comply with the applicable Statement of Work, including a
full explanation of the techniques and procedures you propose to
follow. This discussion will describe the offeror's previous experience
with editing and manipulating Medicare Part A and Part B provider-level
and patient-level files, including a discussion of problems encountered
and how these problems were dealt with.
ProPAC currently uses the computer facilities of the House
Information Systems (HIS), U.S. House of Representatives. HIS provides
ProPAC with on-line and batch processing computer services using an IBM
9021-620, four-way multiprocessor, operating under Multiple Virtual
Storage, Enterprise System (MVS/ES). The Contractor shall be able to
carry out the programming tasks defined in this statement of work using
these facilities.
The Contractor shall expect that during the term of the contract
there will be special projects that will require the use of special
programs, hardware, and data. These projects will also require that the
Contractor transfer data across hardware platforms. The Contractor will
be required to respond to changing priorities as the Commission adjust
its analytic agenda. The types of tasks to be performed by the
Contractor under the contract are summarized as follows:
Database development. The Contractor shall provide programming
services supporting file establishment, testing, and documentation of
new data sets. These data sets include, but are not limited to:
Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) patient record data
files--for example, PATBILL, MEDPAR (for hospital, SNF, and HHA
patients), BMAD Beneficiary files, and National Claims History files;
HCFA facility data files--for example, Medicare Cost Reports (for
PPS and excluded hospitals, SNFs, HHAs, and dialysis facilities), BMAD
Provider file and Provider of Service (POS) files;
American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual and Panel surveys of
hospitals;
Other patient and provider data files--for example, California
Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development Disclosure Reports
for hospitals or skilled nursing facilities;
Geographic data files--for example, geographic information system
spatial databases (including state and county boundary files and
roadway networks) and socio-economic databases (such as the Area
Resource File).
Data base development activities include copying tapes and creating
HIS (disk or cartridge) files, comparing file documentation with actual
file structure (and updating documentation where necessary), editing
files, and preparing descriptive statistics (on file variables to check
variable ranges, etc.). The Contractor will also be required to key-in
data elements not readily available in machine-readable form.
User-file creation. The Contractor will create analysis files for
statistical applications software (e.g., SAS), other applications
software (e.g. TransCAD geographic information microcomputer software)
or programming languages (e.g., PL/I). The construction of analysis
files will involve merging and extracting data elements from multiple
sources, such as the linking of multiple claims files to create
episodes of service. In addition to file construction, activities will
include developing documentation and file layouts for analysis files
and conducting edit checks of existing and created variables in
analysis files.
Empirical analysis of data files. The Contractor shall develop
analytical programs using either statistical software packages or
programming languages. ProPAC project analysts will provide written
requests for empirical analysis with specifications such as the data
files to use, calculations to perform, procedures to use, tables to
generate, and statistical tests to conduct. The analytical programming
will support ProPAC analyses in the project areas including, but not
limited to the following:
1. Facility Costs and Payments;
2. Variations in Resource Use;
3. Studies of Medical Technologies, Procedures, and Practice;
4. Beneficiary Access to and Quality of Care;
5. Patterns of Care Across Providers;
6. Outpatient and Post-Acute (SNF and Home Health) Services;
7. End-stage Renal Disease;
8. Other Topic Areas, including analysis of PPS outlier payment
policy, hospital productivity, changes in case mix, rural hospitals and
cost-shifting.
The Contractor shall ensure that data are provided accurately and
on time. This includes ensuring the programs are debugged, proper
screens are applied to the data, and the final product represents what
the analyst requested.
Developing and Updating Simulation Models
The Contractor will develop and update models (programs) that
simulate payments to hospitals under PPS and additional models related
to PPS or other Medicare payment systems (for example simulation of
alternative payment systems for payments to hospitals for ambulatory
surgery or radiology provided on an outpatient basis). These models
will incorporate policy parameters such as payments for medical
education and capital; changes in hospital labor market area
definitions and wage indexes; changes in the DRG classification system;
and changing from national to regional limits on allowable costs for
payments to SNFs.
Submission of Proposals
Applicants will be given approximately 30 days to submit a formal
proposal.
Review of Proposals
Proposals will be reviewed by a panel of at least four (4)
individuals. Reviewers will score applications, basing their scoring
decisions and approval recommendations on the criteria established in
the RFP. Foremost consideration will be given to the technical
evaluation, however, a proposal must be fairly and reasonably priced to
win the award.
General Information
Number and Size of Project
One contract will be awarded in response to this RFP. The period of
performance of the basic contract will be for one year from the date of
award. At the option of the government, the period of performance may
be extended for up to two additional one-year periods.
Authority
The Commission's authority for issuing this RFP is based on Section
1886(e)(6)(c)(iii) of the Social Security Act.
Submission Address
For a copy of this RFP, all interested sources must submit a
written request to the following address: Prospective Payment
Assessment Commission, 300 7th Street, SW., Suite 301B, Washington, DC
20024, ATTN: Mrs. Jeannette A. Younes.
Obligation
This notice in no way commits ProPAC to obligate funds to any
offeror.
Dated: February 15, 1994.
Donald A. Young,
Executive Director.
[FR Doc. 94-3838 Filed 2-18-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-BW-M
