Procurement Portal
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Pharmaceuticals and Related Products and Services
Last updated by Addendum #1 on Dec 2, 2021 8:40 PMSee what changed
Procurement
26900, 27176, 47569, 94872
Project ID: 21-208
Release Date: Monday, November 29, 2021
· Due Date: Friday, December 17, 2021 3:00pm
Posted Monday, November 29, 2021 4:37pm
All dates & times in Central Time
Question & Answer
Questions and clarifications about the project
1. Pricing Nov 30 2021 at 10:31 AM
- Anonymous Nov 30 2021 at 10:31 AMUser information is private
The RFP references "Attachment A 'Dispensing Fee Worksheet'" and a table in the Pricing Proposal section. However, neither are provided, can those be uploaded? - Dec 2 2021 at 2:09 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
Pricing requirements will be updated by an Addendum to the RFP.
2. Correctional Facilities Nov 30 2021 at 10:39 AM
- Anonymous Nov 30 2021 at 10:39 AMUser information is private
Is a resulting contract intended to be utilized by only correctional facilities? - Dec 2 2021 at 2:09 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
The original intent of this RFP was for use by correctional facilities. PSA members include local governments, schools, universities, and non-profit organizations. If you can show a viable use for pharmaceutical services by one of the other groups of PSA members in your proposal, a contract will be considered. PSA retains the right to make a single award or multiple awards.
3. Correctional Facilities Nov 30 2021 at 10:39 AM
- Anonymous Nov 30 2021 at 10:39 AMUser information is private
Will an offer that that cannot meet all of the requirements specific to correctional facilities be rejected? For example, my company can provide unit of use and bulk pharmaceuticals, but cannot label medications in accordance with the "Pharmaceutical Labeling" section. - Dec 2 2021 at 2:09 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
The original intent of this RFP was for use by correctional facilities. PSA members include local governments, schools, universities, and non-profit organizations. If you can show a viable use for pharmaceutical services by one of the other groups of PSA members in your proposal, a contract will be considered. PSA retains the right to make a single award or multiple awards.
4. Correctional Facilities Dec 2 2021 at 12:23 PM
- Anonymous Dec 2 2021 at 12:23 PMUser information is private
Is a resulting contract intended to be utilized by only correctional facilities? - Dec 2 2021 at 2:09 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
The original intent of this RFP was for use by correctional facilities. PSA members include local governments, schools, universities, and non-profit organizations. If you can show a viable use for pharmaceutical services by one of the other groups of PSA members in your proposal, a contract will be considered. PSA retains the right to make a single award or multiple awards.
5. PSA Membership Dec 2 2021 at 12:23 PM
- Anonymous Dec 2 2021 at 12:23 PMUser information is private
2.) What is the number of entities participating in the cooperative? - Dec 2 2021 at 2:09 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
PSA currently has 476 member entities. A list of members can be found at psabuy.org/membership.
6. PSA Membership Dec 2 2021 at 12:23 PM
- Anonymous Dec 2 2021 at 12:23 PMUser information is private
3.) Would PSA provide a list of participating entities? - Dec 2 2021 at 2:09 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
PSA currently has 476 member entities. A list of members can be found at psabuy.org/membership.
7. Software/EMR Dec 2 2021 at 12:23 PM
- Anonymous Dec 2 2021 at 12:23 PMUser information is private
4.) What software/EMR system is currently being used? - Dec 2 2021 at 2:09 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
This RFP is being solicited by a purchasing cooperative rather than a single entity. Any of the 476 PSA members will have the opportunity, but not the requirement, to use the resulting contract.
8. Form 1295 Dec 7 2021 at 1:17 PM
- Dec 7 2021 at 1:17 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
Who is the Interested Party (or Parties) that should be listed on the Form 1295? - Dec 7 2021 at 1:37 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
According to the Texas Ethics Commission, no interested parties are needed for publicly traded companies. An interested party is: 1) a person who has a controlling interest in a business entity with whom a governmental entity or state agency contracts; or 2) an intermediary. An interested party has a controlling interest in the business entity if the interested party meets one or more of the following conditions: 1) has an ownership interest or participating interest in a business entity by virtue of units, percentage, shares, stock, or otherwise that exceeds 10 percent; 2) is a member of the board of directors or other governing body of a business entity of which the board or other governing body is composed of not more than 10 members; or 3) serves as an officer of a business entity that has four or fewer officers, or serves as one of the four officers most highly compensated by a business entity that has more than four officers. Subsection (c) of this section does not apply to an officer of a publicly held business entity or its wholly owned subsidiaries. An interested party has an intermediary interest in a contract if the person actively participates in facilitating a contract or negotiating the terms of a contract with a governmental entity or state agency, including a broker, intermediary, advisor, attorney, or representative of or agent for the business entity who meets all of the following conditions: 1) receives compensation from the business entity for the person's participation; 2) communicates directly with the governmental entity or state agency on behalf of the business entity regarding the contract; and 3) is not an employee of the business entity or of an entity with a controlling interest in the business entity.
9. Form 1295 Dec 7 2021 at 2:06 PM
- Dec 7 2021 at 2:06 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
Does the Form 1295 need to be notarized? - Dec 7 2021 at 2:08 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
No, the Form 1295 does not need to be notarized before it is submitted.
10. Existing Contract Dec 7 2021 at 3:05 PM
- Dec 7 2021 at 3:05 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
Will users of the Existing Contract 16-206 automatically transfer to the contract awarded through this RFP 21-208? - Dec 7 2021 at 3:18 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
No. PSA is an optional use program, so every member is free to decide whether they wish to use any specific PSA contract; furthermore, the contract that will be awarded from RFP 21-208 will be separate and distinct from the contract that was awarded to RFP 16-208.
11. Customer Rebates Dec 7 2021 at 3:16 PM
- Dec 7 2021 at 3:16 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
Section 5 Item 19 mentions an Incentive and Rebate program. Is this a requirement? - Dec 7 2021 at 3:18 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
No. Customer incentives and rebates are optional. They will be considered in the evaluation of Value Added Services.
12. Prescription Vs. Purchase Order Dec 9 2021 at 12:57 PM
- Anonymous Dec 9 2021 at 12:57 PMUser information is private
This RFP mentions both 'prescriptions', and 'purchase orders'. May I confirm that all medication orders will be accompanied by a valid prescription? May vendors apply to provide pharmacy services only with a valid prescription? From my understanding, it looks like the PSA is interested in multiple awards. Thank you in advance for your time! - Dec 10 2021 at 3:32 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
PSA has some members who require prescriptions, and other members who can purchase in bulk. PSA will consider both types of contracts.
13. Technical Response Dec 9 2021 at 11:10 PM
- Anonymous Dec 9 2021 at 11:10 PMUser information is private
In the Technical Response questions, it seems that there is no Section 4 and Section 7. Should these sections be omitted? - Dec 10 2021 at 3:32 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
There is a numbering error in the Instructions for the Preparing a Response, for the Technical Response and the Required Attachments. Please disregard the missing numbers. If your word processor uses automatic numbering, you may renumber the sections to be sequential numbers.
14. Program Structure Dec 14 2021 at 10:43 AM
- Anonymous Dec 14 2021 at 10:43 AMUser information is private
Regarding the PSA program structure: • Do PSA contractors hold the actual contract with member facilities? • Or, does PSA hold all contracts? • In the event there is a change of pharmacy providers, it does not appear that the existing member contracts move to the incoming pharmacy provider. Would the incoming pharmacy provider be permitted to solicit those existing members under contract with the incumbent so that PSA would continue to receive the administrative fee? - Dec 14 2021 at 3:34 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
There are several contracts involved. First, PSA holds an interlocal agreement with member facilities, stating the terms which PSA and member facilities are working together for the purposes of purchasing. Second, PSA holds a contract with each of the PSA vendors, stating the terms and conditions under which the vendor can sell products/services to PSA members. Third, the PSA vendor (or contractor) holds a contract with each PSA member to whom the vendor is selling products/services. This contract is linked back to the contract between PSA and the vendor, providing an umbrella of pricing, terms and conditions. When a contract ends between PSA and a vendor, the contract between the vendor and PSA member may remain active for an additional time. Termination of the PSA-vendor contract does not necessarily terminate the vendor-member contract. If PSA no longer has an active contract with the incumbent vendor, there would be nothing to prevent a secondary vendor from soliciting the customers of the incumbent vendor.
15. Annual Sales Dec 14 2021 at 10:44 AM
- Anonymous Dec 14 2021 at 10:44 AMUser information is private
Since there are no estimated usage amounts, can you please provide the current actual yearly sales dollars under contract with PSA member correctional facilities only? - Dec 16 2021 at 9:24 AMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
Please see question 21 for the number of annual prescriptions dispenses in 2019 and 2020.
16. Exhibit A Dec 14 2021 at 10:47 AM
- Anonymous Dec 14 2021 at 10:47 AMUser information is private
Article 19 of Sample Contract provided with RFP states that, “The CONTRACTOR reserves the right to provide and negotiate volume discounts that are less than the prices shown in Exhibit A - CONTRACTOR’s Response to RFP No. 21-208 to END USERS. In no case shall prices exceed those listed in Exhibit A.” • Was an Exhibit A provided with RFP or any addendums? - Dec 14 2021 at 3:34 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
In the Sample Contract, Exhibit A is the Contractor's response to the RFP, which contains the cost proposal. In other words, Exhibit A is the proposal the vendor submits for this RFP. The purpose of Article 19 is to allow the contractor to negotiate better prices for their high volume customers.
17. Credit Dec 14 2021 at 10:48 AM
- Anonymous Dec 14 2021 at 10:48 AMUser information is private
• Do your correctional member facilities currently receive credit for returned medications that directly lowers their pharmacy program costs? • Are they receiving credit on all oral solid returned medications or only on those where each individual bubble of the blister cards is labeled with the medication name and strength, lot number, expiration date, and manufacturer name? • Is there a card value minimum or processing fee assessed on returned medications? - Dec 14 2021 at 3:34 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
The terms and conditions of the current contract have no bearing on the contracting resulting from this RFP. Vendors are encouraged to provide their most competitive proposal. Proposals are evaluated based on best value to the End Users and PSA, according to the criteria specified within the RFP.
18. Insurance Requirements Dec 14 2021 at 10:48 AM
- Anonymous Dec 14 2021 at 10:48 AMUser information is private
• For the Professional Liability requirement, is a claims made form acceptable? • Also, can the single claim limit of $2,000,000 be met with an Umbrella policy? We have a $1,000,000 per claim and $3,000,000 base policy but have a form-following Umbrella policy that would achieve the expected limits.” - Dec 14 2021 at 3:34 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
These would be considered Exceptions to the RFP and should be listed in the Technical Response. They will be considered and negotiated if needed before signing the final contract.
19. Narrative Response Dec 14 2021 at 10:45 AM
- Anonymous Dec 14 2021 at 10:45 AMUser information is private
Please confirm if Offerors are to submit a narrative response to Items 1 through 18 of Section 5 - Technical Specifications and Scope of Work. Or, are these “must” and “shall” requirement of the RFP that do not require a response? - Dec 14 2021 at 3:34 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
Section 5 - Technical Specifications and Scope of Work - describes the products and services expected from the vendor. The vendor is expected to comply with everything in this section, excluding the items that the vendor lists as Exceptions to the RFP. No specific response to this section is required. The complete instructions for responding to this RFP are provided in Section 11 of the RFP.
20. Correctional Institutions Dec 14 2021 at 10:46 AM
- Anonymous Dec 14 2021 at 10:46 AMUser information is private
Since there are no estimated usage amounts, can you please provide the actual total number of correctional institutions accessing the current PSA account for prescription dispensing services? - Dec 14 2021 at 3:34 PMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
There are currently four facilities using PSA contract 16-206.
21. Annual Prescriptions Dec 14 2021 at 10:45 AM
- Anonymous Dec 14 2021 at 10:45 AMUser information is private
Since there are no estimated usage amounts, can you please provide the actual total number of prescriptions dispensed in calendar years 2019 and 2020 for member correctional facilities only? - Dec 16 2021 at 9:24 AMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
In 2019 there were 13,407 prescriptions dispensed. In 2020 there were 15,008 prescriptions dispensed.
22. Administrative Fee Dec 14 2021 at 10:47 AM
- Anonymous Dec 14 2021 at 10:47 AMUser information is private
Article 17 of Sample Contract provided with RFP states that, “The Administrative Fee on all Contractor sales made pursuant to the PSA contract is to be calculated by multiplying the total billed amount by 3%.” Page 26 of Addendum 1 states that, “The Administration Fee is typically 3% of total dispensing fees charged to the customer each month.” • Please clarify is the 3% is payable on all purchases or just on the dispensing fees. - Dec 16 2021 at 9:24 AMBrazos Valley Council of Governments
The 3% Administrative fee is payable only on the dispensing fees. However, Offerors are encouraged to propose alternative methods of assessing and calculating administrative fees to PSA based on industry standards and company policy.