REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL HCF-05

Transcription

1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL HCF-05 RWHC ITN Consortium Healthcare Connect Fund Network Expansion Project Requested by Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative Information Technology Network 1

2 Table of Contents 1. Background Due Date and Contact Instructions Proposal Evaluation List of Participating HCPs ITN Consortium Healthcare Provider Requests Pricing and Cost Information Implementation Schedule Description Service and Performance Level Agreements Contract Provisions

3 1. Background: A consortium of Wisconsin hospitals, organized by the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative Information Technology Network (ITN), is requesting proposals for broadband and Internet services (including build-out services if applicable), as well as for perimeter equipment and network management hardware and software. RWHC ITN was a FCC Pilot Program participant. In the Pilot Program, ITN focused its efforts on creating a dual-datacenter shared EHR environment for a small number of hospital participants. With the Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) and this RFP (the fifth RFP in a series of RFPs), ITN has expanded its focus to fund a wide range of healthcarerelated broadband use cases for the currently 30 eligible Wisconsin healthcare providers (HCPs) that have signed Letters of Agency to allow ITN to request bids on their behalf. Once the bids are received, these HCPs will determine whether they intend to proceed to the contracting phase of the process. Those HCPs that proceed to contracting will be authorizing ITN to submit forms and process payments on their behalf for any accepted bids issued as a result of this RFP process. It should be noted that the currently 30 participating HCPs are the first phase cohort of what we expect to be a growing number of HCPs that decide over time to participate in our consortium. RWHC ITN s aggressive yet we believe achievable recruitment target over the next 7 years is 100 HCPs. Vendors submitting bids should be aware that the payment process for the HCF may not reflect vendors current practices. Selected vendors will be required to utilize the below payment process to comply with HCF and RWHC ITN payment processing rules: Contracted vendors will bill the ITN consortium directly for all contracted services. Once the bill is received by ITN, ITN will send the vendor a remittance in the amount of 35% of the billed amount, and subsequently ITN will utilize the USAC Portal to submit a USAC invoicing package (automatically sent to USAC and the vendor) that certifies the 35% payment was sent and that the bill accurately reflects the services the HCP is receiving. In order to receive the remaining 65% of the billed amount, the vendor will need to utilize the USAC My Service Provider Portal to certify that the USAC invoicing package is accurate, after which the vendor will receive a disbursement from USAC in accordance with the selection made on the vendor s Form 498 (off-set of contribution or direct reimbursement). ITN will have a separate invoicing arrangement with each participating HCP through which HCPs will contribute their 35% share plus their fair share of network administration, management, and equipment costs. Additional information on this and other contracting issues is available in the contracting section of this RFP. Vendors should also be aware that they will need to obtain a SPIN in order to participate in this program ( as well as meet other contracting requirements that are identified in Section 10 of this RFP. 3

4 It is anticipated that several vendors will be required to provide all of the components requested. Vendors are encouraged to make proposals on those parts of the project where they feel they can effectively provide a solution. Vendor proposals will be evaluated based on what the ITN in collaboration with the affected HCPs determine to be the most cost effective 1 solution. What constitutes cost effective is at the discretion of ITN and participating HCPs, but general bid evaluation criteria is available in Section 3. In some cases, bids are being requested for connections and services that already have circuits in place and are under existing contract. Both new and existing vendors are welcome to bid on these service requests. Whichever proposals are deemed to be the most cost effective will be selected. If existing vendors solutions are determined to be the most cost effective, contract work will be required to meet the new circumstances and HCF rules. If the new vendors solutions are determined to be the most cost effective, the HCP will need to decide whether to terminate the existing contract and pay the associated penalties or to not participate in the HCF program. Vendors must in all cases clearly indicate when solutions either require or are dependent upon additional hardware, systems and/or vendors, so that all costs of the functionality requested/promised are accounted for. If the vendor is unable to provide the costs for a dependent vendor system, this must be indicated in the response. 2. Due Date and Contact Instructions All contact regarding this RFP shall be directed to: Louis Wenzlow, Executive Director RWHC Information Technology Network 880 Independence Lane Sauk City, WI Phone: (608) Fax: (608) lwenzlow@rwhc.com Response to this RFP are required within 28 days of the date the RFP is posted on the FCC website and should be in possession of Louis by no later than 3:00 p.m. CST of the RFP due date. An indicating the vendor s intent to bid on this project should be received no later than 10 days after the RFP was posted for bidding. The should contain the name and address of the vendor; and the name, title, address, phone number, and address of the company s primary contact. Only bidders submitting such a notice will be eligible to ask questions and receive answers concerning this RFP. 1 Cost effective is defined in the HCF Order (54.642(c)) as the method that costs the least after consideration of the features, quality of transmission, reliability, and other factors that the health care provider deems relevant to... choosing a method of providing the required health care services. 4

5 All questions regarding this RFP should be submitted to Louis by no later than 14 days after the RFP was posted for bidding. RWHC ITN will strive to reply to all questions within 4 business days following the initial 14 day period. Some questions may be triaged by Louis to the specific HCP involved in the request. This is the sole means by which queries from bidders will be accepted. All communication between RWHC ITN and vendors will be provided to USAC as part of the RWHC ITN funding commitment request package. We estimate that bid selection will occur within 60 days of the close of the bidding period. 3. Proposal Evaluation Proposed vendor responses for broadband projects will be based on the following evaluation criteria: Cost of Solution: RWHC ITN/Consortia members will assess the total cost of the solution (including both one time and ongoing components) over the life of the contract periods. The lowest total cost proposal will received a 20. Proposals that are double the amount of the lowest cost proposal will receive a 10. Proposals that are triple the amount of the lowest cost proposal will receive a 5. Proposals in between will receive a proportionate point total. (For example, if bid A s total cost is $1,000, bid B s is $2,000, and bid C s is $1,200, bid A will receive 20 points, bid B will receive 10 points, and bid C will receive 18 points). 5

6 Bandwidth Provided: RWHC ITN/Consortia members are generally requesting an array of bandwidth options to see what is available and for how much. Vendors are encouraged to submit proposals for any of the bandwidth increments they can provide. However, if a vendor does not submit a proposal for the bandwidth increment the HCP decides upon, the vendor will receive a 0 in this category. Previous Experience with Service Provider: Bidders are encouraged to provide 3 client references from prior projects where equal services have been provided for projects of similar scope. RWHC ITN/Consortia members will review this information and will utilize their own previous experiences with the vendors to assign scores. Reliability of Service (including redundancy): In those cases where redundancy is identified as the goal of the request, proposal that do not provide redundancy will be given a 0. Leverage Existing Resources: Rankings will be made based on the extent to which RWHC ITN/Consortium Members are capable of supporting the technology being proposed, to the extent that such support is required. For example, if the IT staff at a consortia member have been trained and certified in technology A and the vendor is proposing technology B, which will require additional local staff training to effectively support, then points will be deducted for the technology B proposal proportionate with the effort required to train in the proposed technology. Project Management Plan with implementation time to meet project needs: RWHC ITN/Consortia members will review the implementation plan and timelines in the RFP responses. Proposals that cannot meet specific implementation timeline requirements identified for certain projects (such as bandwidth needed to correspond with an EHR go-live) will be given a 0. For projects that do not have specific implementation timeline requirements, this category will be scored based on a reasonable promptness judgment. The ITN consortium and its participants reserve the right to issue any resulting order with the vendors whose proposals, in the judgment of the ITN and the affected HCPs, most nearly conform to the specifications and needs of the HCPs as described in our evaluation criteria. ITN reserves the right to waive all technicalities in rejecting all proposals which in our judgment fail to satisfy the best interests of the ITN consortium. The ITN consortium is not obligated to accept any proposal received. It may accept proposals in whole or in part, or may reject all proposals. 6

7 4. List of Participating Healthcare Providers The following HCPs and datacenters have service and/or equipment requests included in this RFP: 1. St. Croix Regional Medical Center (235 State Street, Saint Croix Falls, WI 54024) 2. Reedsburg Area Medical Center (2000 North Dewey, Reedsburg WI 53959) 3. Grant Regional Health Center (507 South Monroe Street, Lancaster WI 53813) 4. RWHC ITN Madison Datacenter (222 West Washington Avenue, Madison WI 53703) 7

8 5. ITN Consortium Healthcare Provider Requests Unless otherwise noted, bids for broadband and Internet service requests should be for three or five year terms. HCPs will determine what term length is best for their situation once all bids are received. Additionally, it should be noted that there are special rules in the HCF Order for installation charges and upfront payments (below). Any requirements for upfront charges should be clearly stated in all proposals. Additionally, in most cases we are requesting quotes for variable levels of bandwidth. We re doing this so that HCPs can weigh the pros and cons of higher bandwidth levels against the additional cost incurred, and also because we wish to position ITN consortium HCPs to turn-up their bandwidth as circumstances change without needing to go through a new competitive bidding process. However, we recognize that for a variety of reasons different service providers will have different increments of bandwidth that they can provision. Vendors should feel free to quote the increments of bandwidth (even if not identical to what is in our request) they are in a position to deploy. o Reasonable and Customary Installation Charges up to $5, Background. In the NPRM, the Commission proposed to allow support for reasonable and customary installation charges for broadband services. Installation charges were defined as charges that are normally charged by service providers to commence service. Importantly, the term installation charges as used in the NPRM excludes charges that are based on amortization or pass through of construction or infrastructure costs. 404 Installation charges are currently supported in both the Telecommunications Program and Internet Access Program Discussion. We will provide support for reasonable and customary installation charges for broadband services, up to an undiscounted cost of $5,000 (i.e., up to $3,250 in support) per HCP o Upfront payments (a) Upfront payments include all non-recurring costs for services, equipment, or facilities, other than reasonable and customary installation charges of up to $5,000. (b) The following limitations apply to all upfront payments: (1) Upfront payments associated with services providing a bandwidth of less than 1.5 Mbps (symmetrical) are not eligible for support. (2) Only consortium applicants are eligible for support for upfront payments. (c) The following limitations apply if a consortium makes a request for support for upfront payments that exceeds, on average, $50,000 per eligible site in the consortium: (1) The support for the upfront payments must be prorated over at least three years. (2) The upfront payments must be part of a multi-year contract 8

9 1. St. Croix Regional Medical Center (235 State Street, Saint Croix Falls, WI 54024) Request 1A: Broadband Connection Location End-Points: St. Croix Regional Medical Center (235 State Street, Saint Croix Falls, WI 54024) to Frederic Clinic new location (205 Oak Street, Frederic WI 54837) General Purpose: EHR access Service Options Requested: Provide quotes for 10/20/100 Mps Contract Period: 3/5 Years Comments: The target go-live date for this connection is April Please indicate your capability of meeting this target date. If unable to meet the target date, please provide an estimated target date for go-live. Request 1B: (Patient) Internet Access for St. Croix Regional Medical Center Location: St. Croix Regional Medical Center (235 State Street, Saint Croix Falls, WI 54024) General Purpose: Internet connection to provide dedicated Internet access to patients and guests. Service Options Requested: Provide quotes for 5/10/20 Mps Contract Period: 3/5 Years. 9

10 2. Reedsburg Area Medical Center (2000 North Dewey, Reedsburg WI 53959) Request 2A: Broadband Connection Location End-Points: Reedsburg Area Medical Center (2000 North Dewey, Reedsburg WI 53959) to Outreach Clinic in Mauston (610 McEvoy Street Mauston, WI 53948) General Purpose: EHR access Service Options Requested: Provide quotes for 20/50/100 Mps Contract Period: 3/5 Years Comments: Please provide estimated go-live date. 10

11 3. Grant Regional Health Center (507 South Monroe Street, Lancaster WI 53813) Request 3A: (Redundant) Internet Access for Grant Regional Health Center Location: Grant Regional Health Center (507 South Monroe Street, Lancaster WI 53813) General Purpose: Redundant Internet connection for various healthcare-related purposes. Service Options Requested: Provide quotes for 50/100/200/500 Mps Contract Period: 3/5 Years. Comments: This service must be redundant of the current primary Internet connection. Proposals should include information that discusses how the proposed Internet connection is redundant of the network path used by TDS. 11

12 4. RWHC ITN Madison Datacenter (222 West Washington Avenue, Madison WI 53703) Request 4A: Network/Bandwidth Management Hardware and Software Location: RWHC ITN Madison Datacenter (222 West Washington Avenue, Madison WI 53703) General Purpose: Maintain/expand Citrix environment used to reduce bandwidth consumption specifications for eligible HCP ITN members Service Options Requested: One time cost for the software (including all setup and installation charges) for the following software or equivalent. a. 25 count Microsoft 2012 R2 operating system (2 processor) Server licenses for Citrix Xen App Servers relating to upgrade from Citrix Xen App 6.5 to 7.5. b. 300 User and RDP User CALs (formerly called Microsoft Terminal Services) relating to upgrade from Citrix Xen App 6.5 to

13 7. Pricing and Cost Information Vendors submitting proposals should identify all costs associated with the solution or subset solution that they are quoting. Not all of the costs associated with the solutions will necessarily qualify for HCF funds, and it is critical that RWHC ITN and participants understand the complete cost of ownership. Quotes must include the following: For telecommunications solutions: 1. Implementation Fees, including any cost of required hardware, for end to end connectivity 2. Ongoing transmission fees for end to end connectivity 3. Tax/surcharge rate that will apply 4. Any other costs associated with the solution and/or description of requirements that are prerequisites for the solution that may add additional cost to RWHC ITN and its participants For hardware and/or software solutions: 1. Purchase price 2. Installation costs 3. Shipping charges 4. Ongoing support costs and support hour limits that may add costs 5. Tax/surcharge rate that will apply 6. Any other costs associated with the solution and/or description of requirements that are prerequisites for the solution that may add additional cost to RWHC ITN and its participants RWHC ITN expects that the costs submitted in the RFP response will match the costs identified in any selected-vendor contract, and that the costs in any selectedvendor contract will match the costs in the vendor invoice. 8. Implementation Schedule Description Vendors should include a plan with timeline that provides a clear understanding of the vendor s capacity to implement the solution by a given time. Unless otherwise noted, the optimal date for turn-up of many of these service requests is as soon as possible after the vendor selection. The vendor s implementation timeline should allow time for testing the implemented circuits/services. Additionally, please identify any circumstances that may create potential delays. Meeting healthcare provider mission critical timing requirements will be one of the proposal evaluation criteria. 9. Service and Performance Level Agreements 13

14 The RWHC ITN consortium expects that any contracts resulting from this RFP will contain guarantees to the performance of the proposed solution to the specified speeds, transaction volumes, uptime rates, etc. Please include information regarding service levels and any service level guarantees associated with the solution, including uptime and response time guarantees. 10. Contracting Provisions As discussed in Section 1 of this RFP, the Healthcare Connect Fund provides an opportunity for HCPs to receive a significant subsidy relating to a wide range of telecommunications products and services. However the rules of the program demand that consortia, HCPs, and vendors adapt their standard processes and contracts to effectively take advantage of this opportunity. Based on RWHC ITN s review of the Healthcare Connect Fund Order and associated FAQs, we intend to require that vendors comply with the following contracting provisions: 1. Vendors submitting bids should be aware that the payment process for the HCF may not reflect vendors current practices. Contracted vendors will bill the ITN consortium directly for all contracted services. Once the bill is received by ITN, ITN will send the vendor a remittance in the amount of 35% of the billed amount, and subsequently ITN will utilize the USAC Portal to submit a USAC invoicing package (automatically sent to USAC and the vendor) that certifies the 35% payment was sent and that the bill accurately reflects the services the HCP is receiving. In order to receive the remaining 65% of the billed amount, the vendor will need to utilize the USAC My Service Provider Portal to certify that the USAC invoicing package is accurate, after which the vendor will receive a disbursement from USAC in accordance with the selection made on the vendor s Form 498 (off-set of contribution or direct reimbursement). ITN will have a separate invoicing arrangement with each participating HCP through which HCPs will contribute their 35% share plus their fair share of network administration, management, and equipment costs. Vendors will be required to incorporate payment term contract language that is consistent with the above process and guarantees the vendor will comply with the requirements of the Healthcare Connect Fund. VENDOR will bill RWHC ITN directly for all contracted services in the attached Subagreements. RWHC ITN will send VENDOR a remittance in the amount of 35% of the billed amount within 30 days after the invoice date. After RWHC ITN remits the 35% payment, VENDOR will receive a USAC invoicing package that certifies the 35% payment was sent and that the bill accurately reflects the services the Sub-Agreement holders are receiving. VENDOR will then need to perform the steps below in order to receive the remaining 65% of the invoice amount. RWHC ITN/VENDOR will have access to My Service Provider Portal which is the online tool that allows service providers/vendors to manage the invoice submission process to USAC. Once the RWHC ITN signs, certifies and submits the form to USAC 14

15 through their My Portal, the 498 contact for the VENDOR will receive an automatic notification form USAC that the applicant has submitted an invoice for which the VENDOR is the SPIN. At this time, it is up to the VENDOR to respond timely, review the Form as submitted by the RWHC ITN and to sign, certify and submit the form through their My Service Provider Portal. Once this is done, the VENDOR and the RWHC ITN will receive an automatic notification that the form has been dually signed and submitted USAC and that USAC will begin review to process for payment. USAC pays invoices based on when the invoice is received. Invoices received from the 1 st through the 15 th of the month are processed for payment on approximately the 21 st of the month. Invoices received from the 16 th through the 31 st are processed for payment on approximately the 6 th of the month. The dates change slightly due to weekends and holidays some months. For example, because of the 4 th of July holiday, payments that would be been processed for the 6 th of the month (holiday week and the 6 th is on a Saturday) are processed for payment on the 8 th this month. It is also important to note that the VENDOR will need to update their 498 form (or submit one if they are new) to reflect how they want to receive disbursement. If they choose to off-set their USF contribution, the vendor won t receive a payment from USAC. Instead, what they owe USAC for their FUSF collection is off-set against what USAC owes the vendor for RHC disbursement. If the service provider/vendor wants to receive direct reimbursement it will need to update the 498 form to choose that option. 2. Vendors should also be aware that they will need to obtain a SPIN in order to participate in this program ( 3. In some cases, bids are being requested for connections/services that already have circuits in place and are under existing contract. Vendors holding these contracts should view this RFP as an opportunity to extend or expand what is already in place. If existing vendors bids are deemed to be the most cost effective, the existing vendors solutions may be selected with whatever contract modifications are required to meet the new circumstances and HCF rules. Alternatively, existing contracts that were bid through the traditional program may be Evergreen. 4. The RWHC ITN consortium philosophy is to contract with multiple vendors to the extent that different vendors can provide beneficial pricing in areas where they have already engaged in build-out. This being said, we are open to including MSA language with any selected vendors that allows us to add new network participants at specified pricing. Without such an MSA, RWHC ITN will need to undergo a new competitive bidding process every time a new participant wishes to join the consortium. To the extent that vendors are willing and able to include MSA language for a specific service area that meets the HCF requirements, proposals for such contract language are encouraged and will be considered. HCF FAQ language relating to MSAs 2 and implications for adding new facilities 3 are footnoted. 2 An MSA is a contract (typically multi-year) between HCPs in a consortium and a vendor that contractually obligates the vendor to offer certain services to existing and/or future members of the 15

16 5. As indicated in Section 1, it should be noted that the currently 30 participating HCPs are the first phase cohort of what we expect to be a growing number of HCPs that decide over time to participate in our consortium. RWHC ITN s aggressive yet we believe achievable recruitment target over the next 7 years is 100 HCPs. We will be requesting that language referencing this target # be included in the contract in order to maximize our ability to grow without in every case needed to issue a new RFP. 6. RWHC ITN wishes to maximize the opportunity to Evergreen contracts that result from this RFP. According to HCF FAQ language, A new contract entered into by an HCP or consortium as a result of competitive bidding will be designated as evergreen if it meets all of the following requirements: (1) signed by the individual HCP or consortium lead entity; (2) specifies the service type, bandwidth and quantity; (3) specifies the term of the contract; (4) specifies the cost of services to be provided; and (5) includes the physical addresses or other identifying information of the HCPs purchasing from the contract. 7. Pursuant to #5, in those circumstances in which variable levels of bandwidth are being requested and quoted, vendors will be asked to incorporate the variable bandwidth levels and associated costs into the contract in order to allow HCPs to turn up their bandwidth without the need to engage in a new competitive bidding process. 8. Pursuant to #5, we desire to allow site and service substitutions in accordance with Appendix D, 47 C.F.R Applicants should make such site and service adjustments in accordance with the Site and Service Substitution rules found in the HCF Order (47 C.F.R : 746 Appendix D, 47 C.F.R ). 9. Pursuant to #5, vendors will be asked to incorporate contract language that allows HCPs to voluntary extend their contracts (for example, by 2 consecutive 2 Year terms after the end of the initial contract), since HCF rules allow for such extensions to be executed without the need for a new competitive bidding process. Here is sample contract language that would meet this contracting requirement: Prior to the expiration date, the customer shall have the option to renew the Service Order for an additional 2 Year Service Period. If the customer exercises this option to renew, then the customer shall have a second option to renew the consortium at specified pricing. An MSA under the Healthcare Connect Fund also may be a contract that has been negotiated by a federal, state, Tribal, or local government from which HCPs may be entitled to purchase services. Such MSAs must have been negotiated pursuant to competitive bidding. See HCF Order* at paras for more details regarding the circumstances under which HCPs may rely on MSAs. 3 Can consortia add new HCPs to their networks without going through the competitive bidding process?yes, as long as adding new HCPs was contemplated in the original request for competitive bids. If adding additional HCP sites was not a part of the original bid solicitation, the applicant must conduct a new competitive bidding process. However, if adding new sites was contemplated in the original bid solicitation, applicants do not need to complete the competitive bidding process again to add new HCPs to the network. See HCF Order* at paras and for additional information. This is true even if a consortium requests more than $100,000 in funding in a year to add new sites to its network using its original bid solicitation. 16

17 Service Order prior to the expiration of the first renewal for a second additional two year period. If either the first or the second renewal option is not exercised, this Service Order shall automatically renew for successive one-month terms unless either party terminates this Service Order by giving thirty (30) days prior written notice to the other party before the expiration of the current term. 10. Another contracting consideration relates to the maximum 3 year length of an HCF funding commitment. 4 Even though it is anticipated that the HCF will fund connections/services for contracts resulting from this RFP for beyond the 3 year guaranteed commitment, it s important for RWHC ITN and participant HCPs that cannot risk losing the subsidy after 3 years to structure contracts in a way that does not commit them beyond the 3 Year period. This can be achieved either by settling on a 3 year term with 2 2year extensions (as indicated in #7), or by the vendor including term language that allows ITN participants to execute early termination of longer term contracts in the circumstance that HCF funding were to no longer be available after the 3 year funding commitment. 11. Master Agreements will be between RWHC ITN and the vendor with HCPs signing sub-contracts. RWHC ITN will serve as the contracting and payment processing agent. Each HCP participating in consortium contracting will be signing a service agreement with RWHC ITN that includes their vendor subcontract as an addendum. Relating to this, it needs to be understood that RWHC ITN does not intend to take on the consortium participant risk associated with early terminations or any breach of sub-contract. To this end, we require that vendors include language that protects RWHC ITN in the Master Agreement: Remedy in Case of Sub-agreement Customer Default/Breach. Notwithstanding any Master or Sub Agreement language to the contrary, RWHC ITN will not be responsible for any breaches or for any charges associated with a given Subagreement Customer s Sub-agreement breach or failure to meet Master 4 Are applicants guaranteed a certain amount of funding through the Healthcare Connect Fund? No. Funding requests for all applicants are processed on a first-come, first-served basis, unless USAC has established a filing window, in which case all applications received within the window will be deemed to have been filed at the same time. The Commission has stated that it does not anticipate that it will reach the $400 million funding cap for all rural health care programs in the foreseeable future. However, because funding is not guaranteed, an applicant may choose to include in any contract it makes with a vendor a provision governing the effectiveness of the agreement if the applicant does not receive a funding commitment from USAC. See HCF Order* at paras for more information. Can an applicant receive support for a 36-month contract for eligible services if it covers a time period that spans more than three funding years? No. Applicants in the Healthcare Connect Fund can only receive a multi-year funding commitment that covers a period of up to three funding years. Accordingly, any months outside of the three funding years would not be covered by the commitment. For example, if an applicant requested a 36-month funding commitment for services starting on July 1, 2014, USAC could issue a 36-month funding commitment that would expire on June 30, 2017, and the applicant would receive a commitment for the full 36 month period. However, if an applicant requested a 36-month funding commitment for services that started on January 1, 2014, USAC could issue only a commitment for services for the remaining six months of funding year 2013, and all of funding years 2014 and Although the applicant s contract would also cover six months of funding year 2016, it would not be covered by the multi-year funding commitment. Accordingly, the commitment would end on June 30, See HCF Order* at paras for more information on multi-year funding commitments. 17

18 Agreement and Sub-agreement payment and other terms. RWHC ITN will notify vendor immediately if it becomes aware that a Sub-agreement Customer is in material breach, at which time vendor may pursue action with the breaching Subagreement Customer as identified in the Sub-agreement. Vendors not willing to work with us to structure Master and Sub-Agreements that meet the principle of allowing RWHC ITN to serve as grant processor and payment processing agent while at the same time passing on risk of default and breach to the participating healthcare providers will not be considered for selection. 12. Additional contract terms, including any required by participating HCPs, will be discussed and negotiated with selected vendors. 18