RFQ-Medical Insurance Scheme for CNFA Rwanda’s National Staff and their eligible Dependens: (Deadline 31 March 2021)

RFQ-Medical Insurance Scheme for CNFA Rwanda’s National Staff and their eligible Dependens: (Deadline 31 March 2021)

1.     Introduction:

Feed the Future Rwanda Hinga Weze is a USAID program implemented by CNFA in Rwanda. The goal of the Feed the Future Rwanda Hinga Weze project is to sustainably increase smallholder farmers’ income, improve nutritional status of Rwandan women and children, and increase the resilience of the agriculture and food systems to the changing climate.

The purpose of this RFQ is to solicit quotations from eligible insurance companies, operational in Rwanda, for the provision of medical insurance to its Rwandan-national staff and eligible dependents.  CNFA will select the offeror who best demonstrates the ability to provide the best combination of benefits and premium for comprehensive medical coverage to the staff.  Medical insurance will be provided to approximately 64 staff and their 234 dependents during a period of twelve months. However, CNFA reserves the right to pay a premium for a shorter period (monthly, quarter or half-year period) for some staff/dependents by prorating the proposed annual premium for the concerned staff). The contract for the medical insurance is expected to effective from April 25, 2021 through April 24, 2022. The provided number may also change in accordance with staff mobilization processes for Hinga Weze for its Kigali and/or district offices. The final list and period cover will be provided upon contract signature to the selected offeror.

Therefore, each offeror should provide their quotation in consideration of those possible changes (staff number or period reduction/increases) and possibility of period prorated payments for some individuals at the discretion of CNFA.

Offerors are responsible for ensuring that their offers are received by CNFA in accordance with the instructions, terms, and conditions described in this RFQ.  Failure to adhere with instructions described in this RFQ may lead to disqualification of an offer from consideration.

2.    Offer Deadline and Protocol:  

Signed offers must be received no later than 5:00 PM Kigali time, March 31, 2021. Offers must be submitted by email to hingaweze@cnfarwanda.org.

Please reference the RFQ number in any response to this RFQ.  Offers received after the specified time and date will be considered late and will be considered only at the discretion of CNFA. The cover page of this solicitation summarizes the important dates of the solicitation process. Offerors must strictly follow the provided deadlines to be considered for award.

Questions: Questions regarding the technical or administrative requirements of this RFQ may be submitted on a rolling basis before the deadline for questions concludes on March 22, 2021 by email to hingaweze@cnfarwanda.org.  Questions must be submitted in writing; phone calls will not be accepted. Questions and requests for clarification—and the responses thereto—that CNFA believes may be of interest to other offerors will be circulated to all RFQ recipients who have indicated an interest in bidding.

Only the written answers issued by CNFA will be considered official and carry weight in the RFQ process and subsequent evaluation. Any verbal information received from employees of CNFA or any other entity should not be considered as an official response to any questions regarding this RFQ.

3.    Technical Requirements:  

Offerors are requested to provide quotations containing the information below on official letterhead or official quotation format:

Provision of medical insurance to 64 staff and their dependents

I.    Payable premium per staff member for the following categories of staff:

II.    Types/ extent of benefits proposed to insured clients per category of offered insurance

III.    Statement confirming the possibility for CNFA to applying a prorated premium for staff/her/his dependents for any change on period to be covered.

IV.     List of  the services covered by the agency and list of treatments requiring pre-approval from the agency;

V.    Geographic  areas (health centers/hospitals and pharmacies) covered by the offeror and offeror’s ability to provide coverage countrywide;

VI.  Three references from organizations/individuals for which the offeror has performed for (provide a list of similar services performed within the past five years and a minimum of three references with contact information to verify services rendered);

VII. List of uncovered services and partially covered services/benefits including reimbursement terms for services partially covered;

VIII.    Limit(if applicable) on the number of dependents an individual can claim;

IX.    Allowedceilings for (partially and totally) covered services (including general limit per client member and limit per family, limit on special services such as maternity services, eye treatment and dental services, etc);

X.    List and  contact information of pharmacies in each geographic area/region of insurance coverage;

XI.    Provide a list of approved clinics and laboratories in each geographic area/region of insurance coverage and contact information;

​XII.    Provide a summary of your firm and your agency’s experience in the health insurance industry in Rwanda, including similar services performed within the past five years.

4.    Quotations: 

Quotations in response to this RFQ must be priced on a fixed-price, all-inclusive basis, including delivery and all other costs. Pricing must be presented in Rwandan francs.  Offers must remain valid for not less than sixty (60) calendar days after the offer deadline. Offerors are requested to provide quotations on official letterhead in the format provided in Section 3 – Technical Requirements.

5.    Evaluation: 

The award will be made to a responsible offeror whose offer follows the RFQ instructions and meets the eligibility requirements. Trade off method will apply. Both technical criteria and cost components will be weighted accordingly to their relative importance as provided for below. The evaluation committee will, among others, assess offerors’ acceptability in accordance with the technical requirements in Section 3: Therefore, below marking guideline will apply:

 Best-offer proposals are requested. It is anticipated that award will be made solely on the basis of these original proposals. However, CNFA reserves the right to conduct any of the following:

• CNFA may conduct negotiations with and/or request clarifications from any offeror prior to award;
• While preference will be given to offerors who can address the full technical requirements of this RFQ, CNFA may issue a partial award or split the award among two firms, if in the best interest of the Feed the Future Rwanda Hinga Weze Project;
• CNFA may cancel this RFQ at any time.

Please note that if there are deficiencies regarding responsiveness to the requirements of this RFQ, an offer may be deemed “non-responsive” and thereby disqualified from consideration. CNFA reserves the right to waive immaterial deficiencies at its discretion.

6.    Payment and Award

The award will be awarded to the offeror whose quotation represents the best value to the project. Any award and payment resulting from this RFQ is anticipated to be in the form of a service agreement. This award is subject to the Feed the Future Rwanda Hinga Weze Project’s terms and conditions as stipulated in Annex 03.

7.    Offer Format Instructions: All proposals must be formatted in accordance with the below requirements:

A full offer will include the following documents:

• English language only
• An offer checklist (Annex 01).
• A cover letter on company letterhead, signed by an authorized representative of the offeror (Annex 02).
• A complete Technical Offer in response to the evaluation criteria in Section 5 and in the format provided in Section 3.
• A copy of the offeror’s business license, or, if an individual, a copy of his/her identification card.
• Number of references, contacts for references from organizations/individuals for which the offeror has successfully performed similar work (minimum of three references with contact information to verify services rendered within five years).

Annex 01 – Offeror Checklist

To assist offerors in preparation of proposals, the following checklist summarizes the documentation to include an offer in response to this RFQ:

•  Offeror Checklist (Annex 01)
•  Cover letter, signed by an authorized representative of the offeror (Annex 02)
• Official quotation, including specifications of offered items (see Section 3)
• Copy of offeror’s registration or business license
• Number of references, contacts for references from organizations/individuals for which the offeror has successfully performed similar work (minimum of 3 references with contact information to verify services rendered within 5 years).

Annex 02 – Offeror Cover Letter

The following cover letter must be placed on letterhead and completed/signed/stamped by a representative authorized to sign on behalf of the offeror:

To:  Feed the Future Rwanda Hinga Weze

Reference:       RFQ No. HW 2021-03-55

To Whom It May Concern:

We, the undersigned, hereby provide the attached offer to perform all work required to complete the activities and requirements as described in the above-referenced RFQ. Please find our offer attached.

We hereby acknowledge and agree to all terms, conditions, special provisions, and instructions included in the above-referenced RFQ. We further certify that the below-named firm—as well as the firm’s principal officers and all commodities and services offered in response to this RFQ—are eligible to participate in this procurement under the terms of this solicitation and under USAID regulations.

Furthermore, we hereby certify that, to the best of our knowledge and belief:

• We have no close, familial, or financial relationships with any CNFA or Feed the Future Rwanda Hinga Weze project staff members;
• We have no close, familial, or financial relationships with any other offerors submitting proposals in response to the above-referenced RFQ; and
• The prices in our offer have been arrived at independently, without any consultation, communication, or agreement with any other offeror or competitor for the purpose of restricting competition.
• All information in our proposal and all supporting documentation is authentic and accurate.
• We understand and agree to CNFA’s prohibitions against fraud, bribery, and kickbacks.
• We understand and agree to CNFA’s prohibitions against funding or associating with individuals or organizations engaged in terrorism or trafficking in people’s activities.

We hereby certify that the enclosed representations, certifications, and other statements are accurate, current, and complete.

Annex 03 – CNFA Terms and Conditions

1.  Ethical and Business Conduct Requirements. CNFA is committed to integrity in procurement, and only selects suppliers based on objective business criteria such as price and technical merit.

CNFA does not tolerate fraud, collusion among offerors, falsified proposals/bids, bribery, or kickbacks. Any firm or individual violating these standards will be disqualified from this procurement, barred from future procurement opportunities, and may be reported to both USAID and the Office of the Inspector General.

Employees and agents of CNFA are strictly prohibited from asking for or accepting any money, fee, commission, credit, gift, gratuity, object of value, or compensation from current or potential vendors or suppliers in exchange for or as a reward for business. Employees and agents engaging in this conduct are subject to termination and will be reported to USAID and the Office of the Inspector General. In addition, CNFA will inform USAID and the Office of the Inspector General of any supplier offers of money, fee, commission, credit, gift, and gratuity, object of value, or compensation to obtain business.

Offerors responding to this RFQ must include the following as part of the proposal submission:

• Disclose any close, familial, or financial relationships with CNFA or project staff. For example, if an offeror’s cousin is employed by the project, the offeror must state this.
• Disclose any family or financial relationship with other offerors submitting proposals. For example, if the offeror’s father owns a company that is submitting another proposal, the offeror must state this.
• Certify that the prices in the offer have been arrived at independently, without any consultation, communication, or agreement with any other offeror or competitor for the purpose of restricting competition.
• Certify that all information in the proposal and all supporting documentation are authentic and accurate.
• Certify understanding and agreement to CNFA’s prohibitions against fraud, bribery, and kickbacks.

Please contact Mr. Daniel Gies at dgies@cnfa.org  with any questions or concerns regarding the above information or to report any potential violations. Potential violations may also be reported directly to CNFA at to FraudHotline@cnfa.org or by phone at 202-296-3920.

2. Terms and Conditions This solicitation is subject to CNFA’s standard terms and conditions. Any resultant award will be governed by these terms and conditions; a copy of the full terms and conditions is available upon request. Please note the following terms and conditions will apply:

• CNFA’s standard payment terms are net 30 days after receipt and acceptance of any commodities or deliverables. Payment will only be issued to the entity submitting the offer in response to this RFQ and identified in the resulting award; payment will not be issued to a third party.
• No commodities or services may be supplied that are manufactured or assembled in, shipped from, transported through, or otherwise involving any of the following countries: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria.
• Any international air or ocean transportation or shipping carried out under any award resulting from this RFQ must take place on U.S.-flag carriers/vessels.
• United States law prohibits transactions with, and the provision of resources and support to, individuals and organizations associated with terrorism. The supplier under any award resulting from this RFQ must ensure compliance with these laws.
• The title to any goods supplied under any award resulting from this RFQ shall pass to CNFA following delivery and acceptance of the goods by CNFA. Risk of loss, injury, or destruction of the goods shall be borne by the offeror until title passes to CNFA.
• United States law prohibits engaging in any activities related to Trafficking in Persons. The supplier under any award resulting from this RFQ must ensure compliance with these laws.
• The offeror is prohibited from providing certain telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as a critical technology as part of any system, produced by the following covered companies, and their subsidiaries and affiliates, in the performance of any resulting award: Huawei Technologies Company; ZTE Corporation; Hytera Communications Corporation; Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company; Dahua Technology Company; and any other company as determined by the United States Government. The offeror certifies it will not provide covered telecommunications equipment or services to CNFA in performance of the resulting award. This Prohibition does not include internet and/or telephone services, which are currently exempted by USAID through a waiver valid until September 30, 2022. After September 30, 2022, this Prohibition extends to internet and/or telephone services as well.

3. Disclaimers:  This is a RFQ only. Issuance of this RFQ does not in any way obligate CNFA, the Feed the Future Rwanda Hinga Weze Project, or USAID to make an award or pay for costs incurred by potential offerors in the preparation and submission of an offer. In addition:

• CNFA may cancel RFQ and not award;
• CNFA may reject any or all responses received;
• Issuance of RFQ does not constitute award commitment by CNFA;
• CNFA reserves the right to disqualify any offer based on offeror failure to follow RFQ instructions;
• CNFA will not compensate offerors for response to RFQ;
• CNFA reserves the right to issue award based on initial evaluation of offers without further discussion;
• CNFA may negotiate with short-listed offerors for their best and final offer;
• CNFA reserves the right to order additional quantities or units with the selected offeror;
• CNFA may reissue the solicitation or issue formal amendments revising the original RFQ specifications and evaluation criteria before or after receipt of proposals;
• CNFA may modify the specifications without issuing a formal notice to all offerors when the revisions are immaterial to the scope of the RFQ;
• CNFA may choose to award only part of the activities in the RFQ, or issue multiple awards based on multiple RFQ activities;
• CNFA reserves the right to waive minor proposal deficiencies that can be corrected prior to award determination to promote competition;
• CNFA may contact all offerors to confirm contact person, address, and that the bid was submitted for this RFQ;
• CNFA may contact all offerors to inform them whether or not they were selected for award;
• In submitting a response to this RFQ, offerors understand that USAID is not a party to this solicitation and the offeror agrees that any protest hereunder must be presented – in writing with full explanations – to the Feed the Future Rwanda Hinga Weze Project for consideration. USAID will not consider protests regarding procurements carried out by implementing partners. CNFA, at its sole discretion, will make a final decision on any protest for this procurement.

4. Source/Nationality/Manufacture: All goods and services offered in response to this RFQ or supplied under any resulting award must meet USAID Geographic Code 935 in accordance with the United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 22 CFR §228. The cooperating country for this RFQ is Rwanda.

Offerors may not offer or supply any commodities or services that are manufactured or assembled in, shipped from, transported through, or otherwise involving any of the following countries: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, or Syria.

5. Taxes and VAT:   As an organization that is implementing a project on behalf of USAID, CNFA is exempt from being charged VAT, customs duty or fee, excise tax, road tax, or any other form of tax or tariff for goods and services purchased for USAID funded activities. As such, offerors agree to specify if VAT or any similar taxes or fees are included (and their portion) in their cost proposal.

6. Eligibility: By submitting an offer in response to this RFQ, the offeror certifies that it and its principal officers are not debarred, suspended, or otherwise considered ineligible for an award by the U.S. Government. CNFA will not award a contract to any firm that is debarred, suspended, or considered to be ineligible by the U.S. Government.