This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice (SBSS). This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small business; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice.

Project Description and Requirements

Background
The mission of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is to enhance the health and well-being of all Americans, by providing for effective health and human services and by fostering sound, sustained advances in the sciences underlying medicine, public health, and social services. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) supports this mission by conducting research and provides evidence to make health care safer, higher quality, more accessible, equitable, and affordable.

Purpose and Description
This requirement supports AHRQs programs by providing statistical analysis, database management services, and other research and program activities.

Key tasks include creating analytic files, generating public-use data files, enhancing the MEPS website, managing databases, providing statistical analysis and programming support, supporting AHRQ’s Data Center activities, offering programming and statistical modeling support, assisting with analysis, preparing the National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report (NHQDR), and providing ad-hoc support for AHRQ’s projects. While various data sources are utilized, most of the work involves the use of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) and the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)—all in alignment with AHRQ’s mission of conducting research and providing essential information on various critical healthcare and quality issues.

Project Requirements
There are nine (9) major requirements for this project:

1. Analytic File Construction –Create analytic files, and other tasks related to data analysis and dissemination. Data processing services for these requirements typically includes the creation of new files and variables designed for a specific analytic purpose, and often involve the use of in-house and secondary data.
2. Public Use Data File Production - Under this task, the Contractor will create four public-use files annually from MEPS data, along with the Documentation File (HTML and PDF) and variable Codebooks (HTML and PDF). The activities will include:
   1. Pre-match editing, linking, and imputation of Pharmacy Component data
   2. Pre-match editing and imputation of Household Component data
   3. Matching and imputation of Pharmacy Component and Household Component data
   4. Editing and imputation of Sources of Payment data for consistency
   5. Developing data for public release, including:
      1. Construction of variables for inclusion on the public-use file
      2. Review by a pharmacist of outliers for the plausibility of the number of fills for a medication, very high and very low prices per fill, and potential confidentiality concerns.
      3. Masking data elements to maintain the confidentiality of sample members who use rare or orphan drugs or are being treated with drugs for a rare condition. AHRQ will provide proprietary data from First Data Bank on diagnoses that map to orphan drug indications.
   6. Performing quality control and benchmarking of the final edited prescribed medicines
   7. Linking Multum data to prescribed medicines.
3. Web Site Maintenance, Enhancement and Dissemination Activities & Support –Provide comprehensive management and maintenance of the MEPS website (meps.ahrq.gov This includes development, testing, staging and production sites , performing quality control activities on individual pages, links and databases on an ongoing basis, make continuous enhancements and updates to existing products, post new publication in PDF, XML and HTML formats, update Tableau dashboards and WordPress-based web pages. Adhere to security protocols and ensure 508 compliances.
4. Production and Web Site Posting of Statistical Publications – Provide statistical, editorial, and graphical services support for the analysis, preparation and production of statistical publications using MEPS or other AHRQ data This will include creating clear and concise public-facing presentations, videos, infographics, technical editing, copyediting, and finalizing figures, as well as supporting adherence to Section 508 compliance and updating the style guide as necessary.
5. Database Management – Update, institute and maintain comprehensive and efficient systems for database management, file development, system security and documentation. Conduct data security, storage, cataloging, and editing. Provide consultation services to staff on security arrangements for confidential data. Provide high-quality data products and detailed documentation for all data files and work performed related to data editing, analysis and other data processing and programming efforts.
6. Data Center - Execute transfers of data to and from the AHRQ network Data Center servers, secure PC-based environment, and other local area network data environment. Provide on-site database and analysis expertise in support of AHRQ Data Center.
7. Programming and Modeling support - Provide programming, and statistical modeling, analysis and consultation in support of health services research activities, microsimulation modeling and specialized statistical analyses, including techniques appropriate for data derived from complex survey designs. Requirements will include providing econometric and behavioral analysis, modeling and microsimulation analysis, and statistical programming and related support for AHRQ research projects to inform program planning, implementation, analysis, and evaluations of program performance. The services may also be based on a variety of survey data, administrative and medical records data.
8. NHQDR Support - Provide data processing and support for National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report (NHQDR) using a variety of public and private databases. AHRQ has a congressional mandate to produce an annual report to the nation on health care quality and disparities. The report uses many of the same databases mentioned in item 7 to produce their analyses but may utilize other databases (e.g., the Commonwealth Fund Health Care Quality Survey) to provide as comprehensive a picture as possible on these issues to policymakers.
9. Protection of Confidential Data – Develop and maintain procedures for ensuring the confidentiality of the data in database management, in programming and modeling, and in the production of public-use files as well as in the AHRQ data center.

Anticipated Period of Performance

The anticipated period of performance is Nov 2024 – Nov 2029 with a base and four (4), one-year option periods.

Capability Information Sought

Interested qualified small business organizations should submit a tailored capability statement for this requirement that clearly details the ability to perform the aspects of the notice described above.

Capabilities necessary to fulfill this requirement include expertise and experience in:

1. Statistical modeling and analysis: Conducting state-of-the-art modeling and analysis, including but not limited to econometric, behavioral modeling and analysis, and microsimulation. Familiarity with large, complex, nationally representative survey data and health care data sources. Expertise in using a variety of survey and health data sources such as health care claims, electronic health records, or equivalent data sources for analytical or research purposes.
2. Data manipulation and programming: Proficiency in statistical programming languages SAS, R, SPSS, and STATA is required. Proficiency in additional statistical programming languages, such as Python are desirable but not mandatory. Expertise in data manipulation must include data cleaning, manipulation, imputation, data linkage, data file construction, and transforming of data into multiple geographic levels.
3. Database management: Expertise in large database management, testing, data products quality control and improvement, as well as documentation, security, data storage, cataloging, and editing. Capable of efficiently managing large database and producing comprehensive, high-quality technical documentation that caters to both internal stakeholders and the public.
4. Website and query tools maintenance: expertise in and ability to manage and maintain the project website and query tools, producing and updating web-based statistical publications.
5. Communication skills: Capable of creating clear and concise public-facing resources, such as presentations, videos, infographics, etc., to effectively communicate data products insights to a broader audience.
6. Section 508 compliance: Expertise in Section 508 compliance.

The capability statement response to this Small Business Sources Sought notice should include the following information:

1. Staff expertise, including their availability, experience, and formal and other training;
2. Current in-house capability and capacity to perform the work;
3. Corporate experience and information on prior projects of similar size and complexity;
4. List any Government wide contracting vehicle for which the respondent has a contract (example, GSA schedule, etc.).

Information Submission Instructions

Interested qualified small business organizations should submit a tailored capability statement for this requirement.

The cover page must include the following:

• UEI number
• Organization name
• Organization address
• Size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, etc.) pursuant to NAICS code 541990.
• Technical point(s) of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone, and e-mail addresses.

All Capability Statements sent in response to this SMALL BUSINESS SOURCES SOUGHT notice must be submitted electronically (via e-mail) to Henderson, Scott, Contract Specialist, Scott.Henderson@ahrq.hhs.gov in MS Word, or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), no later than 12:00 PM on February, 14, 2024. Responses should not exceed 15 single-sided pages (including the cover page, all attachments, resumes, charts, etc.) presented in single-space and using a 12-point font size minimum, that clearly details the ability to perform the aspects of the notice described above.

Disclaimer and Important Notes

This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in SAM.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

Confidentiality

No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).

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