CMS Releases RFP For MSP Business Program Operations Contract
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a request for proposal (RFP) designated as a “Business Program Operations Contract” related to Medicare Secondary Payer Compliance (MSP).
A copy of this RFP, and supporting documentation, may be obtained here.
The stated purpose of this RFP is “to establish a centralized Coordination of Benefits (COB) and Medicare Secondary Payer (MSPR) operation by consolidating all activities that support the collection, management, and reporting of other insurance coverage of Medicare beneficiaries and the collection of conditional payments or mistaken primary payments.”
Under the RFP’s timelines, interested parties were to file an “Intent to Submit a Proposal” by December 13, 2011. CMS is permitting parties to submit questions regarding the RFP electronically in the required format by 3:00 p.m. EST on December 16, 2011. CMS will post answers to selected questions in the form of a “solicitation amendment” on the Federal Business Opportunities website (www.fedbizopps.gov or www.fbo.gov) on or about January 5, 2012.
Thereafter, formal proposals are due no later than 11:00 a.m. EST on January 23, 2012. Specific filing and submission requirements are contained in the RFP which should be carefully reviewed to ensure proper compliance with all relevant instructions.
A noted RFP component of likely interest is Section M entitled Evaluation of Factors for Award (p.101-109). This section outlines certain criteria to be used by CMS in evaluating a candidate’s understanding and ability to support key MSP activities such as, MSP data collection, MSP recovery processes and customer service related matters.
The proposed contract term is stated as “a base year with four option years.” It is anticipated that a single cost-plus-award contract will result from the RFP solicitation process, although CMS reserves the right to choose another contract type at its discretion.
Also of likely interest is Appendix 8 entitled MSP Recovery Policy Attachment. This 128 page document, watermarked with a “Draft” indication throughout, contains numerous sections relating to what appear to be draft or proposed operational directions and guidelines regarding MSP recovery and collection efforts.
The RFP also contains a Statement of Work (Attachment J1 – 118 pages) which contains pertinent background related to the Medicare program and various matters related to CMS’ administration of the program. Section 3.6 of this document relates specifically to MSP “recovery activities and requirements.”
Crowe Paradis Services Corporation will closely monitor this RFP process and will provide updates as to all pertinent developments in this area.