Notice End Date: April 15, 2023

Vendor Name: Keystone Peer Review Organization, Inc.

Contract Amount: 4,000,000.00

Agency Procurement Manager: Rebecca OBrien

Agency Procurement Manager Email: rebecca.obrien@scdhhs.gov

Agency Procurement Manager Telephone#: 18038981535

The Agency hereby provides notice that it intends to enter into a sole source contract per S.C. Code Ann. §11-35-1560 with Vendor for the following supplies, services, information technology, or construction:

SCDHHS is required to contract with a Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) to ensure medical and utilization reviews are conducted to safeguard against unnecessary or inappropriate use of medical services and excess payments. The Services are required for SCDHHS to meet the requirements set forth by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to receive federal funding. KEPRO is currently the QIO vendor performing medical and utilization reviews to safeguard against the inappropriate use of medical services and excess payments. KEPRO was initially awarded the contract as the QIO to perform these reviews pursuant to a competitive procurement, and the contract expired on February 28, 2017. Due to the Department’s ongoing efforts to replace the State’s aging Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS), determined it was not in the best interest of the state (financially or in the use of its human resources) to issue a separate new procurement for these services once the initial contract with KEPRO expired. The serious and critical need for the continuation of the provision of the medical and utilization reviews performed by KEPRO is necessary to meet federal requirements for services provided under the State Medicaid program. The lack of these reviews could result in the inappropriate use of medical services and excess payments, which are prohibited by federal regulations. Without this contract, SCDHHS would be out of compliance with federal law which could jeopardize federal Medicaid funding. It is essential and of paramount importance that the continuity of these operations are maintained without interruption to comply with federal law. KEPRO is currently the only vendor that can provide these services without interruption until a determination for the best solution for procuring these services is made and a new contract is awarded and implemented.

Agency's justification for a sole source procurement may be viewed or immediately obtained at: Agency Procurement Manager (Listed Above)

PROTESTS:
Any actual or prospective bidder, offeror, contractor, or subcontractor aggrieved in connection with the intended award or award of this sole source contract, shall notify the appropriate chief Procurement officer in writing of its intent to protest within five (5) business days of the date this notice is posted. Any actual or prospective bidder, offeror, contractor, or subcontractor who is aggrieved in connection with the intended award or award of this sole source contract and has timely notified the appropriate chief procurement officer of its intent to protest, may protest to the appropriate chief procurement officer in the manner set forth below within fifteen days of the date this notice is posted; except that a matter that could have been raised as a protest of the solicitation may not be raised as a protest of the award or intended award of a contract.
A protest must be in writing, filed with the appropriate chief procurement officer, and set forth the grounds of the protest and the relief requested with enough particularity to give notice of the issues to be decided. The protest must be received by the appropriate chief procurement officer within the time provided above. Days are calculated as provided in S.C. Code Ann. § 11-35-310(13).

Any Notice Of Intent To Protest And Protest Must Be Addressed To: Materials Management Officer