Q -- Proposed TRICARE Active Duty Dental Program (RFI)

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS OR A REQUEST FOR QUOTATIONS; IT IS STRICTLY A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION TO GAIN INTEREST IN A POSSIBLE FUTURE TRICARE CONTRACT FROM OFFERORS WHO ALREADY HAVE A FULLY DEVELOPED NATIONAL DENTAL PROVIDER NETWORK. The Department of Defense is interested in contracting for the processing and payment of dental claims for Active Duty Service Members (ADSMs) residing within the United States and its territories. A potential offeror must tender its current nation-wide dental network of credentialed providers to the Program and its proposed network fee schedule. However, in remote locations, claims from non-network providers will be submitted for payment. All claims will be preauthorized by Government personnel prior to payment. The dental benefit structure will include a full-spectrum of possible dental procedures; however, the contractor will pay claims based solely on the specified procedures in the authorizations and will make no benefit determinations. The contractor must be able to pay for a wide range of benefits, both routine and specialty care. Authorizations may be received by fax or by other preferable electronic means to be determined. The contractor must have the ability to accept claim forms via paper and electronic formats to include the dental ANSI X12N 837. Extensive DoD IT security requirements (DITSCAP) may have to be met by the contractor. Benefit payments will be drawn from an account established specifically for this program and the contractor will be given authority to draw funds from that bank account. The volume of dental claims paid for authorized civilian dental care in CY2004 was 158,866. If you are interested and wish to receive any further notices regarding the contracting of Active Duty Dental claims, submit the name of your company, address and a point of contact to include telephone number and e-mail address. In addition, for further notifications you must submit a description of your current network to include the total number of providers by State, average number of claims processed annually, and access standards followed. Narrative limit is one page. All submissions should be submitted on or before 25 February 2005. NO PHONE CALLS WILL BE ACCEPTED. ALL QUESTIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY E-MAIL.