Section 27-4614. SPECIAL METHODS OF CONTRACTING

 

4614.1Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a Contracting Officer may award contracts with other organizations, public or private, for goods and services that are in the Hospital’s best interest.  As part of the procurement planning process, the Contracting Officer will determine the most appropriate method of contracting based on, among other considerations, the scope of work, delivery schedules, existing market conditions, and other relevant considerations.  The selection of any Special Method of Contracting shall be considered a competitive procurement for the purposes of this chapter.
 

(a) Cooperative Purchasing Agreements.  The Hospital shall be authorized and encouraged to participate in, sponsor, conduct, or administer Cooperative Purchasing Agreements and contracts with any other organization, public or private, including group purchasing organizations, hospitals and hospital consortiums, state, county, or municipal jurisdictions, for the purpose of procuring supplies and services, which shall include construction services or architectural and engineering services related to construction repairs, upgrades, restoration, alteration, and reconstruction of existing buildings and facilities.
 

(b) Cooperative Purchasing Agreements entered into by the Hospital shall be in accordance with, to the extent practicable, all laws, statutes, and regulations applicable to the Hospital with respect to contracting, and shall not be inconsistent with laws, statutes, and regulations of the United States government that apply specifically to the District.

 

(c) Human Care Agreements –

 

(1)The Contracting Officer may award a human care agreement if:

 

(A) The procurement is for education or special education, health, human care, or social services to be provided directly to persons with disabilities, the disadvantaged, displaced, elderly, indigent, mentally ill, physically ill, unemployed, or minors in the custody of the Hospital;
 

(B)  The services being procured are negotiated on a fee for service or unit-rate basis using benchmarks and quantifiable measurements that shall be uniformly applied to providers of the same service, or purchased at rates adopted by regulation; and
 

(C)  The procurement is for one or more services that the Hospital typically purchases as needs arise, but for which the quantity, rate of utilization, delivery areas, or specific beneficiaries of the services cannot be accurately estimated at the outset of the procurement process.
 

(2)  The Contracting Officer shall publish, when a human care agreement is to be awarded, and at least annually after the initial awarding of the agreement, a request for qualifications that:

(A)  States the general requirements for the human care or

  service; and

(B)  Requests interested service providers to respond in writing

  with a statement of their qualifications to perform the

  required services on a form prescribed by the CCO.

 

(3)  The Contracting Officer shall retain statements of qualifications submitted by providers for a period of three (3) years.

 

(4)  The Contracting Officer may conduct negotiations with any responsible service provider who has submitted a statement of qualifications, without any additional public notice or solicitation required, to satisfy all or part of the District's anticipated requirements for a particular human care service.

 

(5)  The Contracting Officer shall make a written determination that the service provider is a responsible provider, based on the criteria set forth in section 4606, prior to conducting negotiations with a service provider for a human care agreement.

 

(6)  The Contracting Officer may award a human care agreement if he or she finds that the agreement is in the best interest of the District, based on an analysis of the District's statement of requirements, the service provider's qualifications, and a judgment that the fee or unit-cost for services is reasonable.

 

(7)  The Contracting Officer may authorize the use of vouchers to authorize the delivery of service provided by providers who enter into human care agreements.

 

(8)  The Contracting Officer shall provide public notice of the award of a human care agreement pursuant to this section on the Internet site maintained by the Hospital.

 

(9) The human care agreement shall identify the services to be rendered during the term of the agreement and shall set forth the terms and conditions of any purchases issued pursuant to the agreement. The Contracting Officer shall include in each human care agreement the following information:
 

(A) A statement that the human care agreement is not a commitment to purchase any quantity of a particular good or service covered under the agreement; and

 

(B) A statement that the District is obligated only to the extent that authorized purchases are made pursuant to the human care agreement.
 

(d) Contracts with Federal Agencies - The CCO or designee, may authorize Contracting Officers to place orders, if the CCO determines it to be in the best interest of the Hospital, with any federal department, establishment, bureau, or office for materials, supplies, equipment, work, or services of any kind that such federal agency may be in a position to supply or be equipped to render, by contract, supply schedule, or otherwise, and shall pay promptly by check to such federal agency, upon its written request, either in advance or upon furnishing or performance thereof, all or part of the estimated or actual costs thereof as determined by such department, establishment, bureau, or office as may be requisitioned; but proper adjustments on the basis of the actual costs of the materials, supplies or equipment furnished or work or services performed, paid for in advance, shall be made as may be agreed upon by the departments, establishments, bureaus, or offices concerned. Orders placed as provided in this subsection shall be considered as obligations upon appropriations in the same manner as orders or contracts placed with private contractors. 

 

(e) Contracts with District Agencies - The CCO or designee may authorize Contracting Officers to place orders with any department, office, or agency of the District for materials, supplies, equipment, work, or services of any kind that the requisitioned department, office, or agency may be in a position to supply or equipped to render.  The Hospital placing any such orders shall either advance, subject to proper adjustment on the basis of actual cost, or reimburse, such department, office or agency the actual cost of materials, supplies, or equipment furnished or work or services performed as determined by such department, office, or agency as may be requisitioned. Orders placed as provided in this subsection shall be considered as obligations upon appropriations in the same manner as orders or contracts placed with private contractors.

 

(f) Letter Contracts - A letter contract may be used only after the Contracting Officer determines, in writing, that no other type of contract is suitable.  A letter contract shall not commit the Hospital to a definitive contract in excess of the funds available at the time the letter contract is executed.  The Contracting Officer may use a letter contract when the Hospital’s interests demand that the contractor be given a binding commitment so that work can start immediately and executing a definitive contract is not possible in sufficient time to meet the requirement. Each letter contract shall be as complete and definite as possible under the circumstances and shall include clauses approved and required by the CCO.  When a letter contract is executed, the Contracting Officer shall include a price ceiling for the anticipated definitive contract. The price ceiling shall not be exceeded.  Each letter contract shall also include a clause indicating the maximum liability of the Hospital under the letter contract.  The maximum liability to the Hospital shall be the estimated amount necessary to cover the contractor's requirement for funds before execution of the definitive contract.  The Contracting Officer may execute a definitive contract after the date of execution of the letter contract.  Prior to execution of a letter contract, the Contracting Officer shall ensure that funds are encumbered for obligation in the amount of the maximum Hospital liability for the term of the letter contract.  For purposes of review and approval of letter contracts, and for purposes of contracting authority, the Contracting Officer shall use the estimated cost of the definitive contract for determining the type and level of review and approval required.

 

authority

The Board of Directors of the Not-for-Profit Hospital Corporation (Board), pursuant to authority granted by sections 105(a), 106(6), and 111 of the Not-for-Profit Hospital Corporation Establishment Emergency Amendment Act of 2010 (Act), effective July 7, 2010 (D.C. Act 18-476; 57 DCR 6937 (August 6, 2010), and applicable sections of any subsequent substantially identical emergency, temporary, or permanent legislation.

source

Notice of Emergency and Proposed Rulemaking published at 57 DCR 8507 (October 8, 2010)[EXPIRED]; as amended by Notice of Emergency and Proposed Rulemaking published at 58 DCR 3086 (April 18, 2011)[EXPIRED]; as amended by Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 58 DCR 4565, 4578 (May 27, 2011).