Explanation
1. BACKGROUND: In June 2016, the City of Columbus, Ohio won the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) Smart City Challenge. With a portion of this funding, Columbus intends to address the most pressing community-centric transportation problems by integrating an ecosystem of advanced and innovative technologies, applications, and services to bridge the sociotechnical gap and meet the needs of residents of all ages and abilities. Columbus is acting as a laboratory for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and disseminating lessons learned and best practices to cities across the United States in an effort known as Smart Columbus. The goal of the Smart Columbus program is to connect people by creating opportunity for city residents to better access jobs and services while improving the overall safety and efficiency of the transportation network.
The Prenatal Trip Assistance (PTA) project recognizes transportation as a need in today’s society to ensure a healthy population, especially when it comes to more vulnerable populations. Transportation is a piece of a complete puzzle that can influence the rates of infant mortality, a recognized problem prevalent in the Franklin County region. From October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017, the infant mortality rate in Franklin County was 8.6 deaths per 1,000 live births. This project seeks to partner with Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) to engage a vendor to take the existing, mainly call center based Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) services delivered by MCOs today and update the processes and delivery to be more accessible and easy to use through web and smartphone applications, as well as a call center.
Ordinance Number 1901-2017 authorized the Public Service Director to transfer signature authority to the Chief Innovation Officer or the Chief Innovation Officer's designee for all past, present and future Smart Columbus, Smart City Challenge, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation contracts, documents, and projects.
This ordinance is needed to authorize the City’s Chief Innovation Officer to contract with CareSource and Molina (MCOs) to require said MCOs to contract with a vendor to develop a technologically enhanced NEMT service. These NEMT service enhancements will be more accessible and easier to use through the newly provided NEMT trip request portals offered via web and smartphone applications, as well as a call center. The term of each contract is from date of execution, through May 31, 2021.
The purpose of the PTA project is to provide transportation services to pregnant women (travelers), and it will accomplish this by leveraging a blend of resources including a smartphone application, web interface, application programming interface (API) to the Smart Columbus Operating System (OS) and data from external providers such as MCOs and transportation brokers (TBs). PTA will take in requests to schedule NEMT trips through a smartphone application, web portal or call center. The TB and NEMT mobility provider will process reservation information to render services.
To that end, the Smart Columbus Program Management Office (PMO) solicited Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for the Smart Columbus - Prenatal Trip Assistance project, which was advertised on <https://columbus.bonfirehub.com/projects> and the City of Columbus’ vendor services website from October 10, 2018 to November 7, 2018, according to bidding requirements of the City Code. The PMO received six (6) responses. Of those, all were deemed responsive and fully evaluated when the Evaluation Committee met on November 16, 2018.
The responsive firms were:
|
Company Name |
City/State |
Status |
|
HB Software Solutions |
Lowell, MA |
UNK |
|
Kaizen Health, Inc. |
Chicago, IL |
UNK |
|
Kyros Intelligent Solutions |
Pickerington, OH |
MAJ |
|
Pillar Technology |
Columbus, Oh |
EBO |
|
Site to Sight |
Gahanna, OH |
UNK |
|
UZURV Holdings, Inc. |
Richmond, VA |
UNK |
Kaizen Health, Inc. received the highest score given by the Selection Committee and will be awarded the Smart Columbus - Prenatal Trip Assistance contract.
Due to the nature of the USDOT and Vulcan grant reimbursements, professional support for the Smart City Challenge Program will be awarded in annual funding phases. Additional contract modifications may occur throughout the four-year Smart City Challenge grant period. There are no current planned modifications to this contract.
2. CONTRACT COMPLIANCE
Presently, neither CareSource nor Molina Healthcare have a valid contract compliance number. Both will be required to become contract compliant before entering into contract with the City.
3. FISCAL IMPACT: Smart Columbus PMO is requesting one ACPO in the amount of $1,000,000.00 to encumber funds using available grant appropriations for the above contracts. Smart Columbus PMO intends to issue each contractor an initial purchase order for a portion of the total contract based on past performance. Smart Columbus PMO will issue subsequent purchase orders based on the vendor’s performance through the grant period not to exceed the contract maximum indicated above.
4. EMERGENCY DESIGNATION
Emergency action is requested in that it is immediately necessary to authorize the Chief Innovation Officer to execute a contract with partnering MCOs authorizing the encumbrance and expenditure of requisite engineering and design funding so as to prevent unnecessary delays in the Smart City Challenge deployment schedule.
Title
To authorize the City’s Chief Innovation Officer to enter into contracts with various MCOs to make available vendors for the Prenatal Trip Assistance program to provide transportation services to pregnant women (travelers); to authorize the expenditure of $1,000,000.00 from the Smart City USDOT Grant Fund to pay the costs thereof; and to declare an emergency ($1,000,000.00)
Body
WHEREAS, $1,000,000.00 in funds are needed for the provision of a vendor for the Prenatal Trip Assistance program to provide transportation services to pregnant women (travelers) for a sum total of contracts not to exceed $1,000,000.00; and
WHEREAS, CareSource and Molina Healthcare will provide various transportation-related services to pregnant women to meet grant deliverables required by the USDOT Smart City Challenge Grant Program; and
WHEREAS, it is necessary to enter into these contracts for these services; and
WHEREAS, the contract period for these contracts is from the date of execution, through May 31, 2021; and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operation of the Department of Public Service, Smart City Program, in that it is immediately necessary to authorize the Chief Innovation Officer to enter into contracts to make available vendors for the Prenatal Trip Assistance program to provide transportation services to pregnant women in order to prevent unnecessary delays in the Smart City Challenge deployment schedule; now, therefore,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
SECTION 1. That the City’s Chief Innovation Officer, on behalf of the Department of Public Service, is hereby authorized to enter into contracts for total amount not to exceed $1,000,000.00 for transportation-related services to pregnant women, from the date of execution, through May 31, 2021 with the following MCOs: CareSource and Molina Healthcare.
SECTION 2. That to pay the cost of said contracts, the expenditure of $1,000,000.00, or so much thereof as may be needed, is hereby authorized from the Smart City USDOT Grants Fund No. 7768, object class 03, per the attached accounting document.
SECTION 3. That the funds necessary to carry out the purpose of this ordinance are hereby deemed appropriated, and the City Auditor shall establish such accounting codes as necessary.
.
SECTION 4. That for reasons stated in the preamble hereto, which is hereby made a part hereof, this ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure and shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and approval by the Mayor, or ten days after passage if the Mayor neither approves nor vetoes the same.