[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