Regional Services RFP Billable Unit Rates and Definitions

Billable Unit Rates and Definitions

Is travel time and mileage the same?

No - see Attachment F Page 4 for definitions.

As the contract period covers a rather long period of time (2.5 years) and expenses will most certainly not remain constant (insurance, salaries, cost of gasoline, etc.) does DCS expect to make any adjustments to the rates that we are proposing during the contract period to reflect increases in expenses or should providers build in these expected increases in their proposed budgets when calculating proposed unit rates?

What will be the method for providers to use to request a rate change after the contracts are signed?

Unit rates should be proposed taking into account the length of the contract period (2 ½ years).

Rates: What do you mean when you say we want the providers that receive contracts to continue to collect information on the previous payment points so that this information can be used in the future?

What previous payment points are you referring to?

For evaluation, do you want travel time tracked as “travel time” or “mileage”?

Information that needs to be tracked separately can be found in Attachment F (page 5) of the RFP (i.e. Court time, Child and Family Team Meetings, Travel Time, Collateral Contacts, and No Shows are to be tracked hourly on a monthly basis for evaluation purposes). 

There appears to be a universal statement about report writing not being a billable service.  That can perhaps be understood when the service is therapy or casework.  When, however, the service is a report - like a psychological evaluation, family functioning assessment or a homestudy, could there be a way to make report writing a billable activity?

Our current rate structure bills for face-to-face, travel time, collateral contacts, court time and no shows. The given rate in this RFP would cover expenses if we could continue to bill for these items. However, if this is not permitted, the rate proposed would be significantly higher but with the same total cost for the service. We would like to propose billing “as is”. Would this be presented within the narrative o f the proposal or would a budget sheet be required?

No. Only units listed in the “Billable Units” section of the applicable Service Standards will be approved. Please be sure your rates include time/costs spent on report writing. If your rate is above the one listed, yes you must submit a budget.

To be absolutely clear, in the RFP when a “face to face maximum rate” is identified this refers to one hour of clock time?

Yes.

All of the service standards note that direct contact includes “crisis interventions and other goal directed interventions via telephone with the identified client family.”  What are the specific criteria for determining when phone calls are billable?

FACE TO FACE PHONE CONTACT: Phone calls can be billable when they are providing a service that is consistent with the “Service Description” from the relevant Service Standard. 

Other goal directed interventions via telephone with the identified client/family” is stated as a billable service. Since talking with the family about any aspect of service completion would be directed toward that goal, is all phone contact with the family billable?

One billable activity is "crisis intervention and other goal-directed interventions via telephone with the identified family." Could you provide some definition of crisis intervention which often varies considerably dependent on work setting?

No, not all phone contact is billable. See FACE TO FACE PHONE CONTACT (above) for more information.

The Service Standards require that the providers “work closely with the DCS FCM” for each family, yet this time is not listed as billable. This would seem to be just as crucial as working directly with the family. Will this be billable?

Child and Family Team Meetings are considered face-to-face billable units if the family/client is present; other DCS meeting times should be built into the face-to-face rate.

How will DCS assign rates to each agency?  Will each agency awarded a contract bill at the maximum rate listed on the service standards?

Rates are proposed by an agency, and if a proposed rate is above the maximum rate then the agency must provide a budget and written justification. Regional Service Councils will review all information included in the proposal.

Is attending appointments with clients considered face to face if approved by the DCS?  Examples would be Dr.’s appointments, psychological evaluation appointments etc.

Yes.

If collateral contacts are approved by DCS for the purpose of…” goal directed communication re: the services”….  Is this a payment point if this is done without the client present?  Examples would be school, probation, FCM’s, boys club, girls club, etc.

No. The cost/expense of the collateral contacts should be factored/built into the face to face rate.

What occasions of face-to-face time would be considered non-billable?

Not included is routine report writing and scheduling of appointments, collateral contacts, court time, travel time and no shows. These activities are to be included in the face to face rate and shall not be billed separately.

Since "no shows" will no longer be billable, how many no shows are providers required to allow prior to closing cases?

Upon the 3^rd consecutive no-show, the provider must contact the referring FCM to determine if the continuation of services is appropriate.