County of Ingham. Request for Proposals Packet #5-11. Self-funded Workers Compensation Program Third Party Administrator

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1 County of Ingham Request for Proposals Packet #5-11 Self-funded Workers Compensation Program Third Party Administrator Sealed Proposals Due: September 16, 2011 at 11:00 A.M. Sealed Proposals shall be delivered to the: Ingham County Purchasing Department P.O. Box E. Maple St. Mason, Michigan Phone: (517) Page 1 of 25

2 NOTICE- BE SURE TO READ THIS ENTIRE DOCUMENT AS IT CONTAINS VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT DOING BUSINESS WITH INGHAM COUNTY 1.0 PURPOSE The County of Ingham (County) and Medical Care Facility (MCF) are seeking a contract for its self-funded workers compensation program effective January 1, The County has historically provided self-insured workers compensation for its employees. The County and MCF intend to contract with a Third Party Administrator (TPA) that embodies our philosophy of meeting the reasonable, necessary, and related medical needs of our injured workers for expedient and healthy return to work. We seek a partnership through innovative services, solutions and technology that addresses workers compensation claim management issues and needs. We desire a collaborative effort yielding creative, custom-designed programs, constantly finding ways to strengthen and improve the relationship among claim management, provider network, management and the injured worker. The successful TPA will have demonstrated experience in managing and reducing workers compensation costs, knowledgeable and experienced staff with appropriate Michigan certifications, and a support system for timely and proper claims processing with the control mechanisms in place to ensure proper treatment to the injured worker and proper delivery of service from the provider. Our underlying philosophy continues to center around responsiveness, flexibility and customer service. Claim Management: The County including the MCF issues this Request for Proposal (RFP) for Workers Compensation TPA claims handling and related services. The County intends to contract with a TPA who will either provide all related services or make arrangements for subcontracting (through the proposer efforts or County direction) to provide the necessary related services. Claims Management Services include, but may not be limited to: 1. Compliance with all Michigan Workers Compensation Agency standards in compensation claims handling requirements. 2. Medical exam coordination. 3. Private investigative activities. 4. Accident Prevention/Loss control (safety consultation). 5. Coordinate the procurement of stop loss insurance. This RFP seeks to align the County with a TPA to handle claims and provide related services for its self-insured workers compensation program. The County seeks to enter into a 5-year contract with a 3-year extension option at the County s discretion. The County reserves the right to cancel the services with a 30-day written notice to the contractor. Page 2 of 25

3 2.0 TIMELINE The following is a projected schedule of events for the proposal/contractual process: Distribution of RFP August 9, 2011 Pre-proposal meeting August 26, 2011 Final questions due September 9, 2011 Proposals due September 16, 2011 Board agenda deadline September 22, 2011 Expected Board approval/notification of award October 11, 2011 Contract preparations October 12, 2011 Contract signed November 1, 2011 Commencement of work January 1, PROGRAM OVERVIEW In the last three years the County has not seen a considerable change in its workforce. There has also been a decrease in its workers compensation costs and injuries during these years. No major change in exposure is expected and for that reason the County views the release of fiscal year information to be a valid benchmark for your use. The County is self-insured for $300,000 with an annual aggregate limit of $5,000, Demographics The County s demographics of the employee base are as follows: Average Salary (Biweekly) is $1,639 Total # of Employees is 1,040 The County is comprised of departments and services an estimated 1,500+ employees (includes temporary employees). Of this, 334 are classified Medical Care Facility. 3.2 Claim Information Currently, the County averages approximately: 164 workers compensation claims per year 9 claims involving compensable lost time 44 claims open at any given time 603 Bill Reviews per year 67 prescription submissions per year 0 Peer Reviews per year 5 Independent Medical Evaluations (IME) per year Page 3 of 25

4 3.3 Workers' Compensation Cost All indemnity, medical and other vendor payments are accomplished through the process of having the TPA issue checks from a fiduciary checking account from which the County provides advance money for cash flow purposes. The TPA is responsible for monthly balancing and reconciliation (which includes processing of all unclaimed checks) of the account. The TPA also annually produces IRS Form 1099-Misc for all employees and mails the forms to the appropriate employee. 4.0 SCOPE OF SERVICES OF THE THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR (TPA) The TPA shall: 1. Attend a mandatory Pre-proposal Conference with the County, the information for which is listed below. A mandatory Pre-proposal Conference will be held on Friday, August 26, 2011 at 10:00 A.M., local time prevailing, in Conference Room B of the Hilliard Building, 121 E. Maple St., Mason, Michigan for the purpose of discussing the Self-funded Workers Compensation Program for Ingham County. The purpose of this Conference is to allow proposers an opportunity to present questions and obtain clarification relative to any facet of this solicitation. Any changes resulting from this Conference will be issued in a written addendum. Call (517) or send an to dassaff@ingham.org to register for the Conference. Only those vendors attending the Pre-proposal Conference will be allowed to submit a proposal. 2. The County shall have all right, title, interest, and ownership to all claim data, statistics, electronic media, and claim files, including managed care files, created as a result of the services to be provided by the TPA. Furthermore, at the sole option of the County and upon ten (10) days written notice, the TPA shall return such files to the County. 3. Assist the County Attorney with Workers Compensation related issues. 4. Quarterly meet with County staff to review program progress, operational concerns, and outstanding claims. 5. Cooperate and coordinate activities with the County return to work program administered through the Insurance Department. 6. Be responsible for the generation and mailing of 1099s to vendors/providers as required by Internal Revenue Service Code. Page 4 of 25

5 7. For all claims, set reserves to reflect exposure based upon the injury through the life of the claim without reduction for present value and considering the governing law at time of injury. The following criteria shall be evaluated when setting a reserve: the injury, the investigation, medical information, projected income benefits to be paid, projected disability, and the potential use of outside experts (i.e., work assessment, private investigators, rehabilitation services, etc). 8. Coordinate the procurement of stop loss insurance and process any excess claim for reimbursement. 9. Abide by the understanding that the amounts charged for medical or vocational case management, PPO fees, private investigative fees, structured settlement fees shall not be paid under the indemnity or medical portions of the claim but be shown as a separate Allocated Loss Adjustment. 10. Pay claims, investigate and interview claimants as necessary, and assist with return to work management of employees. 11. Be financially responsible for any penalties and related administrative and or defense costs resulting from any administrative violation or alleged administrative violation as a result of the TPA s action or failure to act. 12. Abide by County s requirements which will supersede the TPA requirements should a conflict exist. 5.0 INSTRUCTIONS FOR WORKERS COMPENSATION THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR QUESTIONNAIRE This section contains requirements and queries your proposal should address in your response to this RFP. You must respond to each item/question separately. Please restate the question prior to providing your response. Each response should consider all information provided in the other sections. As the requirements are to address County of Ingham specific needs, standard application descriptions and literature will not be considered to be responsive. 6.0 PRICE SUMMARY The County desires to obtain pricing information in such a way as to be able to readily compare the scope and cost of services between and among the various proposers. This Price Summary section is intended to serve as the vehicle to accomplish this end. The County desires to enter into a 5-year contract with a 3-year extension option at the County s discretion. Proposers shall submit their pricing information in accordance with such terms. No extra charges are to be incurred by the County, which are not stated in the contract or the proposal without prior approval of the County. Page 5 of 25

6 The County desires the price and vendor name for the excess insurance carrier 7.0 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS This list of reports is not all inclusive of the County s requirements but are at a minimum the reports to be received in a timely fashion or by an agreed upon due date, and in a format designated by the County. These requirements are part of the performance standards. 1. Monthly: Claims Paid Report reflecting financial information on all Claims for which any payment was made during the month distinguished by County Department. Payment Register by County Department supporting claims paid and request for reimbursement. 2. Quarterly: Claim reserve analyses on all open Claims 3. Periodic: Workers Compensation Assessment Reports for State reporting CMS Section 111 Reporting As requested, provide year-to-date claim information in an Excel spreadsheet, with amounts spent per person/claim number, County Department, and date of injury. 8.0 WORKERS COMPENSATION THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR QUESTIONNAIRE 8.1 Company Information 1. State full name and address of your organization and identify parent company if you are a subsidiary or a general contractor with subcontractor(s) providing proposal(s). 2. Please describe your claims adjusting philosophy. 3. What is your approach and philosophy to the back to work programs? Please explain. 4. Please explain your company s philosophy regarding case management/rehabilitation, both physical and vocational. 5. Please provide the name, title, address and telephone number of person in your organization who can negotiate and authorize contract terms and conditions. 6. Please identify the senior person in your company ultimately responsible for the account. Provide a brief resume of all persons and managers who will be involved in servicing the account. Where are these individuals located? Page 6 of 25

7 7. Are you licensed to operate in Michigan? 8. Where will you service the account? Do you have an office in Ingham County, Michigan? 9. Are you willing to assume full financial responsibility for administrative violations levied by the Michigan Department of? Please explain. 10. Does your company provide any services other than claims adjusting? If yes, please indicate the type of services. 11. Do you agree to be the custodian of the workers compensation files, County records and abide by requests for information from our legal department? 12. What Company will provide the stop loss insurance? Company Experience 1. The services requested are related to our workers' compensation program. How many entities do you provide the same or similar proposed services? Please state any Michigan municipal accounts. 2. In short summary, what would your ex-clients say about your company? 3. How many licensed workers compensation Adjusters do you employ in Michigan? 4. What is the personnel turnover rate for your management and executive employees who oversee Michigan operations for the prior five (5) years? 5. Have your clients been audited by the State of Michigan on claims administered by your company? If so, on the claims that your company administered, what were the number of violations and amount of penalties paid? What were the number of violations and amount of penalties dismissed? 6. Indicate the average caseload of a Lost Time adjuster, Medical Management, Medical- Only adjuster, supervisor and manager that will be assigned to this account. 8.3 Training 1. What kind of actual claim specific and supervisory/management specific training have you provided to your adjusting and management staff during the prior three (3) years? 2. What kind of actual training have you provided for your clerical/support staff during the prior three (3) years? Page 7 of 25

8 8.4 Safety 1. Does your system identify loss trend? Describe methods. 2. Does your system capture source of injury, incident category, hazardous condition and unsafe act data on individual claims? Describe any additional loss information captured. If not, what loss analysis information is captured? 3. Does your system provide safety management reports: By cause? By location? By organizations? By special analysis codes? By body part/injury class? 4. Describe the system for classifying injuries and illness for safety analysis such as Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System. 5. Does the system have the capability to complete an OSHA 300 log, and facilitate completion of the Bureau of Labor Statistics annual survey of occupational injuries and illness? 8.5 Conversion Plan 1. What time frames would be required to set up a workers' compensation unit for the County? Provide details regarding the steps involved. 2. Can the historical claims data be incorporated to the system being proposed? Please state a range of associated costs for this service(s). 8.6 Claim Administration 1. Please explain your claims reserving procedures. 2. Please describe how you assure accurate and timely claims payments. 3. Do you perform in-house claim audits on (a) claims handling procedures and (b) medical bills and related services? If yes, describe how it is done and how often it is done. 4. Would you agree to handle existing files that are currently being handled by the present contractor? Page 8 of 25

9 8.7 System 1. Is your system a true web based system and accessible anywhere by anyone with proper authority? 2. Will you have the capability to scan documents and pictures into your system? 3. Does your system provide on-line captioned report templates to provide: a. Claim status reaching the threshold amount? b. Periodic update memos to the Claim file regarding status on claims where the combined included loss reserves. 4. Explain the type of computer reports that are included in the claims servicing contract. Please provide sample copies of all reports, forms utilized and other such items. 5. Describe capabilities for custom reports and ADHOC Reports and the associated costs. 6. Can your system provide reports that indicate reserve change analysis to monitor reserve practices? The analysis should indicate initial reserve, the reserve at closing and the final amount paid. 7. Can your payment system register payments by types, such as for audit and payments to doctor, hospital, pharmacy, outpatient, etc.? Allocated expense must also have capability to report to type of payment. 8. For safety management reports, can your system provide reports by cause, location, etc., codes and special analysis codes, such as body part/injury class? 9. Describe the financial safeguards used to prevent duplication or excessive indemnity and medical payments. 10. Does your company have a bank transfer capability whereby checks can be issued and the account may be replenished daily/weekly/monthly? If yes, please explain the process. 11. Your check system should provide such information as check number, payee, claim number, entity charged, date, amount, and type of payment. Can you provide this information? Please attach a sample. 12. What is your back-up system for your management information system to safeguard integrity of data? Please provide details. 9.0 SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS Proposals must be prepared in strict compliance with the instructions below. Failure to comply with all provisions of this RFP may result in disqualification of the submitted proposal. Page 9 of 25

10 9.1 Registering as a Vendor with Ingham County Proposers who have not registered their company with the County should do so by visiting or by calling the Purchasing Department at (517) for assistance. Vendors registering to provide goods and services to Ingham County under contract shall certify to their knowledge of the County's Equal Opportunity Employment / Nondiscrimination Policy, and of their agreement to comply, and shall disclose any conclusive findings of violations of Federal, State, or local equal opportunity statutes, ordinances, rules/regulations, or policies within the past three (3) years. 9.2 Pre-opening Inquires and Response Any explanation desired by a proposer regarding the meaning or interpretation of this RFP and attachments must be requested to the Ingham County Purchasing Department, attention James C. Hudgins, Jr. at jhudgins@ingham.org no later than 5:00 P.M. on September 9, Due Date, Time & Location Proposals will be received no later than 11:00 A.M., local time prevailing, on September 16, 2011 at which time they will be opened in public and read aloud in the: Ingham County Purchasing Department Attention: James C. Hudgins, Jr., Director of Purchasing PO Box E. Maple St. Mason, Michigan Proposals received at other locations or delivered after the due date and time will not be accepted and will be returned to the proposer. 9.4 Submission of Proposals Proposers are required to submit an original (clearly marked) along with four (4) copies by the date, time, and place designated above. Proposals must be submitted in a sealed, opaque envelope or package and clearly marked on the outside 5-11 Self-funded Workers Compensation Program. Be sure to include the name of your firm on the outside of the envelope or package. Proposers are also requested to submit an electronic version of their proposal to packetresponse@ingham.org by the due date and time set above. The electronic submittal must contain 5-11 Self-funded Workers Compensation Program in the subject line. Should you have trouble submitting your electronic version please contact the Purchasing Department at (517) Page of 25

11 Proposers shall complete and include with their submittals the following enclosed items: Local Purchasing Preference Form; Copy of your license and insurance; and the Signature Form. The Statistical Questionnaire is strictly optional. 9.5 Timely Submittals Time is of the essence and any proposal or addenda pertaining thereto received after the announced time and date for submittal, whether by mail or otherwise, will be rejected. It is the sole responsibility of the proposers for ensuring that their proposals are time stamped by the Purchasing Department. Proposals and/or any addenda pertaining thereto received after the announced time and date of receipt, by mail or otherwise, will be returned to the proposer. However, nothing in this RFP precludes the County from requesting additional information at any time during the procurement process. 9.6 Deliveries Should you decide to utilize an express delivery service, please note that we are located at the intersection of Maple Street and Jefferson Street. 9.7 Preparation of Proposal All proposals must be made on the required forms prepared and executed fully and properly. Proposed prices shall be based on the selected proposer furnishing all labor, supervision, administration, design, incidentals, bonds, insurance, and any other services required to complete the work in strict accordance with this RFP. All fees and costs must be disclosed in the proposal. Proposals which do not completely address all the solicitation requirements will be considered non-responsive and may be excluded from consideration. Any exceptions shall be duly noted in the submittal. 9.8 Exceptions to Format It is intended that this RFP describe the requirements and proposal format in sufficient detail to secure comparable proposals, recognizing that various proponent approaches may vary widely. Proposals, which differ from the described format, may be rejected. All information requested must be submitted, or alternatively, a statement giving the rationale of the proposer for not submitting requested information must be provided. The County may, if it deems it to be in its best interest, consider such statements in determining the responsiveness of the proposal. 9.9 Implied Requirements Products and services which are not specifically requested in this RFP, but which are necessary to provide the functional capabilities proposed by the proposer, must be included in the proposal. Page of 25

12 The proposer must include detailed information, including products, services, costs, and how it will affect the implementation in time, quality of service etc Authority to Bind Firm in Contract Proposer shall provide the full legal firm name and address. Any proposal that has not been manually signed will be deemed non-responsive and excluded from consideration. Firm name and authorized signature must appear in the space provided on the enclosed Signature Sheet No Submittal If you desire not to respond to this RFP, please forward your acknowledgment of NO PROPOSAL SUBMITTED via an to Please also state the reason for not submitting a proposal. Failure to comply will be cause for removal of your company's name from the vendor list for subject commodity Special Accommodations If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation, please notify the Purchasing Department at (517) , three (3) working days prior to need GENERAL INFORMATION 10.1 Local Purchasing Preference Policy The Ingham County Board of Commissioners (BOC) believes that its purchasing policies should encourage local vendors to provide goods and/or services to Ingham County government, resulting in increased economic activity through more local jobs, tax revenues, and expenditures, and to entice business relocations to the County. As such, in 2010, the BOC amending its purchasing policies to include a ten percent (10%) purchasing preference to qualified and registered local vendors who respond to solicitations for the purchase of goods and/or services. In Ingham County, a local vendor is defined as a vendor that operates a business within the legally defined boundaries of Ingham County. To be considered a local vendor, the vendor must provide a verifiable business address (not a PO Box) on the enclosed Local Purchasing Preference Sheet at which business is being conducted. The vendor must also agree to comply with all other policies and requirements of the County. More information about the Local Purchasing Preference Policy can be found at Advice of Omission or Misstatement In the event it is evident to a proposer responding to this RFP that the County has omitted or misstated a material requirement to this RFP and/or the services required by this RFP, the responding vendor shall advise Mr. James C. Hudgins, Jr., Director of Purchasing, at jhudgins@ingham.org of such omission or misstatement. Page of 25

13 10.3 Notification of Withdrawal of Proposal Proposals may be withdrawn prior to the date and time specified for proposal submission with a formal written notice by an authorized representative of the proposer. No proposer may withdraw a proposal after the opening for a minimum period of 90 days Rights to Pertinent Materials All responses, inquires, and correspondence relating to this RFP and all reports, charts, displays, schedules, exhibits and other documentation produced by the proposers that are submitted as part of the proposal shall become the property of the County after the proposal submission deadline Firm Pricing for County Acceptance The proposal price must be firm for County acceptance for 90 days from the proposal opening date, unless the proposer specifically notes otherwise Cost of Preparation The County will not pay any costs incurred in the proposal preparation, printing or demonstration process. All costs shall be borne by the proposers Standard Forms Any preprinted contract forms the vendor proposes to include as part of the contract resulting from this solicitation must be submitted as part of the proposal. Any standard contract provisions not submitted as part of the proposal and subsequently presented for inclusion may be rejected. The County reserves the right to accept or reject in whole or in part any form contract submitted by a proposer and/or to require that amendments be made thereto, or that an agreement drafted by the County be utilized Addendum(s) If it becomes necessary to revise any part of this RFP or if additional data is necessary to enable an exact interpretation of provisions of this RFP, an addendum will be issued to all vendors known to have received a proposal. It is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that he/she has received and signed all addendums prior to submitting a proposal. No oral explanation or instruction of any kind or nature whatsoever given before the award of a contract to a proposer shall be binding Workplace Diversity Ingham County encourages, but in no way requires, its vendors to develop and maintain a diverse workforce that is reflective of the population of Ingham County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the statistics of Ingham County's population in 2005 was comprised of the following: Page of 25

14 a) White persons % b) Black or African American persons - 11% c) American Indian and Alaska Native persons - 0.6% d) Asian persons 4.3% e) Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander - 0.1% f) Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin - 5.9% Ingham County tracks vendor diversity information for statistical purposes with companies with which it does business. Reporting of this information to the County is optional and not all companies participate. Statistical information regarding workplace diversity is submitted to the County in a separate sealed envelope containing the notation STATISTICAL INFORMATION- NOT TO BE OPENED UNTIL AFTER THE AWARD OF THE CONTRACT. Upon receipt of these separate sealed envelopes, the Purchasing Department segregates the envelopes from the other proposal documentation. The envelopes containing the statistical information are not opened until the award of the contract, and are not considered, in any way, in the award of any contract Prime Contractor Responsibilities The Contractor will be required to assume responsibility for all services offered in the proposal whether or not they possess them within their organization. Furthermore, Ingham County will consider the selected Contractor to be the sole point of contact with regard to contractual matters, including payment of any and all charges resulting from the contract Independent Price Determination (Non-Collusion) By submission of a proposal, the proposer certifies, and in the case of a joint proposal each party thereto certifies as to its own organization, that in connection with this proposal: The prices of the proposal have been arrived at independently without consultation, communication, or agreement, for the purpose of restricting competition, as to any matter relating to such prices with any other offer or with any competitor; Unless otherwise required by law, the prices which have been quoted in the proposal have not been knowingly disclosed by the offeror and will not be knowingly disclosed by the offeror to any competitor; No attempt has been made or will be made by the offeror to induce any other person or firm to submit or not to submit a proposal for the purpose of restricting competition; and, The price quoted is not higher than that given to the general public for the same service Exceptions Proposers must submit a listing of any and all exceptions to this RFP. Suggested substitutions, printed forms, sample contracts etc. may be provided with the listed exceptions. Page of 25

15 11.0 CONTRACTUAL TERMS AND CONDITONS 11.1 Nondiscrimination Clause The Proposer who is selected as the Contractor, as required by law, and/or the Equal Opportunity Employment and Non-Discrimination Policy of Ingham County, shall not discriminate against an employee or applicant for employment with respect to hire, tenure, terms, conditions or privilege of employment, or a matter directly or indirectly related to employment because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, height, weight, marital status, age or political affiliation (except where age, sex or lack of disability constitutes a bona fide occupational qualification.) The Contractor shall adhere to all applicable Federal, State and local laws, ordinances, rules and regulations prohibiting discrimination, including, but not limited to, the following: a) The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, 1976 PA 453, as amended. b) The Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act, 1976 PA 220, as amended. c) Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, P.L , 87 Stat. 394, as amended, and regulations promulgated there under. d) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, P.L , 104 Stat 328 (42 USCA et seq), as amended, and regulations promulgated there under. Breach of this section shall be regarded as a material breach of the agreement. Proposers shall disclose with their proposals any conclusive findings of violations of federal, state, or local equal opportunity statues, ordinances, rules, regulations, or policies within the past three (3) years Indemnification and Hold Harmless The Proposer who is selected as the Contractor shall, at its own expense, protect, defend, indemnify, save and hold harmless the County of Ingham and its elected and appointed officers, employees, servants and agents from all claims, damages, lawsuits, costs and expenses including, but not limited to, all costs from administrative proceedings, court costs and attorney fees that the County of Ingham and its elected and appointed officers, employees, servants and agents may incur as a result of the acts, omissions or negligence of the Contractor or its employees, servants, agents or Subcontractors that may arise out of the agreement. The Contractor s indemnification responsibility under this section shall include the sum of damages, costs and expenses which are in excess of the sum of damages, costs and expenses which are paid out in behalf of or reimbursed to the County, its officers, employees, servants and agents by the insurance coverage obtained and/or maintained by the Contractor Insurance Requirements The Contractor, and any and all of their subcontractors, shall not commence work under this Page of 25

16 contract until they have obtained the insurance required under this paragraph. All coverages shall be with insurance companies licensed and admitted to do business in the State of Michigan. All coverages shall be with insurance carriers acceptable to the County of Ingham. a) Worker's Compensation Insurance: The Contractor shall procure and maintain during the life of this contract, Workers Compensation Insurance, including Employers Liability Coverage, in accordance with all applicable Statutes of the State of Michigan. b) Commercial General Liability Insurance: The Contractor shall procure and maintain during the life of this contract, Commercial General Liability Insurance on an Occurrence Basis with limits of liability not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence and with a $2,000,000 General Aggregate Limit. Coverage shall include the following: (A) Contractual Liability; (B) Products and Completed Operations; (C) Independent Contractors Coverage; (D) Broad Form General Liability Extensions or equivalent, if not already included. c) Motor Vehicle Liability: The Contractor shall procure and maintain during the life of this contract Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance, including Michigan No-Fault Coverages, with limits of liability of not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence combined single limit for Bodily Injury and Property Damage. Coverage shall include all owned vehicles, all non-owned vehicles and all hired vehicles. d) Professional Liability: The Contractor shall procure and maintain during the life of this contract, Professional Liability Insurance in an amount not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence and aggregate. If this policy is claims made form, then the contractor shall be required to keep the policy in force, or purchase tail coverage, for a minimum of 3 years after termination of this contract. e) Additional Insured: Commercial General Liability, as described above, shall include an endorsement stating the following shall be Additional Insureds : The County of Ingham, all elected and appointed officials, all employees and volunteers, all boards, commissions and/or authorities and board members, including employees and volunteers thereof. It is understood and agreed by naming the County as additional insured, coverage afforded is considered to be primary and any other insurance the County may have in effect shall be considered secondary and/or excess. f) Cancellation Notice: All insurances described above shall include an endorsement stating the following: It is understood and agreed that thirty (30) days advanced written notice of cancellation, non-renewal, reduction and/or material change shall be sent to: Ingham County Purchasing Department, P.O. Box 319, Mason, Michigan g) Proof of Insurance: The Contractor shall provide the County of Ingham at the time the contracts are returned by him/her for execution, certificates and policies as listed below: Two (2) copies of Certificate of Insurance for Workers Compensation Insurance; Page of 25

17 Two (2) copies of Certificate of Insurance for Commercial General Liability Insurance; Two (2) copies of Certificate of Insurance for Vehicle Liability Insurance; and Two (2) copies of Certificate of Insurance for Professional Liability Insurance. If so requested, certified copies of all policies will be furnished. If any of the above coverages expire during the term of this contract, the Contractor shall deliver renewal certificates and/or policies to the County of Ingham at least ten (10) days prior to the expiration date Applicable Law and Venue Any agreement resulting from this RFP shall be construed according to the laws of the State of Michigan. The County and Contractor agree that the venue for any legal action under this agreement shall be the County of Ingham, State of Michigan. In the event that any action is brought under any agreement resulting from the RFP in Federal Court, the venue for such action shall be the Federal Judicial District of Michigan, Western District - Southern Division Compliance with the Law Contractor shall render the services to be provided pursuant to this agreement in compliance with all applicable Federal, State, and local laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations Independent Contractor The Proposer who is selected as the Contractor shall be an independent Contractor. The employees, servants and agents of the Contractor shall not be deemed to be and shall not hold themselves out as employees, servants, or agents of the County and shall not be entitled to any fringe benefits received by the County s personnel, such as, but not limited to, health and accident insurance, life insurance, longevity or paid sick or vacation leave. The Contractor shall be responsible for paying all compensation to its personnel for services they have performed under this Contract and for withholding and payment of all applicable taxes to the proper Federal, State and local governments Living Wage Requirement Ingham County policy requires vendors contracting with the County primarily to perform services to pay their employees a living wage if the following two (2) conditions apply: a) The total expenditure of the contract or the total value of all contracts the vendor has with the County exceeds $50,000 in a twelve-month calendar; and, b) The vendor employs five (5) or more employees. In Ingham County, living wage is defined as an hourly wage rate which is equivalent to 125% of the federal poverty level for a family of four. For 2011, the living wage is $13.98 per hour. Page of 25

18 Twenty percent (20%) of the living wage costs paid by the employer can be for an employee's health care benefits. This wage rate applies to part and full-time employees who work on County contracts. See for more information EVALUATION, AWARD & TIMELINE 12.1 Proposal Evaluation Overview Proposals will be examined by an Evaluation Committee to eliminate those, which are clearly non-responsive to stated requirements. Proposers should exercise particular care in reviewing Section Proposal Format portion of this RFP. The detailed evaluation may result in one or more finalists. At this point, presentations may be requested of the proposers and negotiation will be carried out to finalize the award of the project. Finalists shall be afforded fair and equal treatment with respect to any opportunity for discussion and revision of proposals and such revisions may be permitted after submissions and prior to award for the purpose of obtaining best and final offers. Any response that takes exception to any mandatory items in this proposal process may be rejected and not considered Evaluation Methodology Proposals will be evaluated using the factors detailed below (not necessarily in any order of importance or limited to): 1. Experience with projects similar in size, scope, and complexity to Ingham County. 2. References 3. Responses to the TPA Questionnaire 4. Project Approach 5. Cost 6. Compliance with RFP terms and conditions Presentations Upon receipt and evaluation of the responses, selected proposers may be required to make inperson presentations to the County Award of Contract Award shall be made to the most responsible and responsive proposer whose proposal is determined to be the most advantageous to the County provided that the proposal has been submitted in accordance with the terms and conditions of the RFP and does not exceed the budgeted funds available. Page of 25

19 12.5 Basis for Award Information and/or factors gathered during interviews, negotiations and any reference checks, in addition to the evaluation methodology stated in the RFP and any other information or factors deemed relevant by the County shall be utilized in the final award Right of Rejection The County reserves the right to reject any or all Proposals, to waive any informalities or irregularities in Proposals, and/or to negotiate separately the terms and conditions of all or any part of the Proposals as determined to be in the County s best interests at its sole discretion even though not the lowest cost Contract Period January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2016, with an option to renew for 3 additional years Contract Approval The Ingham County Board of Commissioners and other boards and committees must approve the contract resulting from this solicitation. This process typically takes 2-4 weeks from the date the successful proposer is identified Contract Development & Preparations Ingham County reserves the right to negotiate further with one or more responsible and responsive proposers. The content of the RFP and the successful proposer s proposal will become an integral part of the contract, but may be modified by the provisions of the contract. By submission of proposals pursuant to this RFP, proposers acknowledge that they are amenable to the inclusion in a contract of any information provided either in response to this RFP or subsequently during the selection process. A proposal in response to an RFP is an offer to contract with the County based upon the terms, conditions, scope of work and specifications contained in this RFP. The County retains the right not to make any subsequent award. Furthermore, all proposers, by submitting proposals, agree that they have read, are familiar with all the terms and conditions of the different documents and will abide by the terms and conditions thereof. The County has the right to use, as it determines to be appropriate and necessary, any information, documents, and anything else developed pursuant to the RFP and the proposal. The County will prepare a formal contract, if one is awarded, specific to this solicitation for execution by the successful proposer. This process typically takes 2-3 weeks from the date the Board has approved the contract. Page of 25

20 The County reserves the right to accept or reject in whole or in part any form contract submitted by a proposer and/or to require that amendments be made thereto, or that an agreement drafted by the County be utilized. The successful proposal shall be incorporated into a resulting contract and shall be a matter of public record subject to the provisions of Michigan law Notification of Award Upon acceptance by the County, and approval by the Board of Commissioners, the successful proposer will be notified of award in writing by . Recommendations for awards will be posted on the County's website at All proposers will be notified by of the County s decision Contract Execution The successful proposer shall commence work only after the transmittal of a fully executed contract and after receiving written notification to proceed from the County. A valid and enforceable contract exists when an agreement is fully executed between the parties. The successful proposer will perform all the services indicated in the RFP and in the negotiated contract. The successful proposer shall within ten (10) days of commencement of work under contract furnish the required insurance, and bonds Escalation Clause (if applicable) The Ingham County Board of Commissioners (Board) recognizes the current difficult economic conditions and the subsequent minimal cost of living increases for County employees. As such, Contractors should fully understand that proposed contracts with cost increases greater than 1% will receive extra scrutiny from the Board and may be rejected and rebid. Price adjustments may be requested pursuant to the terms of the contract; however, the Contractor must notify the County within ninety (90) days prior to the current term s expiration date. Prior to commencement of subsequent renewal terms, the County may entertain a request for escalation in accordance with the current Consumer Price Index (CPI) at the time of the request or up to a maximum 1% increase on the current pricing, whichever is lower. For purposes of this section, Consumer Price Index shall mean the Consumer Price Index-All Urban Consumers-United Stated Average-All Items (CPI-U), as published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. The County reserves the right to accept or reject the request for a price increase. If the price increase is approved, the price will remain firm for one (1) year from the date of the Page of 25

21 increase or whatever term was previously authorized by the Board RESPONSE FORMAT The items listed below shall be submitted with each proposal and shall be submitted in the order shown. Each section should be clearly labeled, with pages numbered and separated by tabs. Failure by a proposer to include all listed items may result in the rejection of its proposal. Tab I Transmittal Letter Provide a transmittal letter indicating your firm's understanding of the requirements of this specific job proposal. The letter must be a brief formal letter that provides information regarding the firm's interest in and ability to perform the requirements of this RFP. A person who is authorized to commit the proposer's organization to perform the work included in the proposal must sign the letter. Tab II Workers Compensation TPA Questionnaire Include in this section your responses to the Workers Compensation Questionnaire found in Section 8.0 of this RFP. Be sure to restate the question before providing your answer. Provide specific answers that address the County s requirements, not generic responses. Tab III References Provide a minimum of three references comparable in size and scope of work to this contract, complete with contact names/titles and telephone numbers, contract dates and description of services provided. Provide a list of all municipalities and counties where you have completed similar projects. References must be complete with name, address, and telephone number of the contact person; indicate dates of services. The County reserves the right to contact any and all references and to obtain, without limitation, regardless of proposer's performance on the listed jobs the same information provided for in the original RFP. Tab IV Project Approach Describe, in narrative form, the plan for addressing this project. Indicate various tasks, decision points, required meetings and other pertinent information. Provide an approximate timeline. Indicate your understanding of and agreement to comply with Section 4.0 Scope of Services of the Third Party Administrator of this RFP. Page of 25

22 Indicate the type of reports that can be generated by your firm and the method(s) by which the County will receive the reports as indicated in Section 7.0 of this RFP. Tab V Price Proposal The County desires to enter into a 5-year contract with a 3-year extension option at the County s discretion. Submit pricing information in accordance with these terms. Include the price and vendor name for the excess insurance carrier Tab VI Acceptance of Conditions Provide a definitive statement of your firm s intent to comply with the Contractual Terms and Conditions as delineated in this RFP. If proposed terms and conditions are not acceptable as described, note and explain any exceptions; however, failure to agree to the terms required by law or County purchasing and contractual requirements may be grounds for disqualification of the proposal. Tab VII Forms Use this section to include a copy of all addenda, if any, issued to the RFP. Also, include the Local Purchasing Preference Sheet and the Signature Sheet. The Workplace Diversity Questionnaire is strictly optional. Proposers shall also submit a current copy of their license and insurance. Tab VIII Appendices The content of this tab is left to the Proposer's discretion. However, the Proposer should limit materials included here to those that will be helpful to the Evaluation Committee in understanding the services to be provided for this contract only. Page of 25

23 LOCAL PURCHASING PREFERENCE SHEET (Please type or print clearly in ink only) 5-11 Self-funded Workers Compensation Program 1. Do you desire to have your company considered a local vendor and therefore have your proposal evaluated with the 10% local purchasing preference? Yes No 2. If yes, please provide below the verifiable business address (not a PO Box) at which your business is being conducted? 3. Complete Legal Firm Name: 4. Company Address: 5. Company Phone: ( ) Fax: ( ) 6. Name and title of person authorized to sign on behalf of your company: 7. Signature/date: Note: Local vendors who utilize non-local vendors as subcontractors for more than 50% of the work in a specific proposal or proposal are not entitled to the preference for that specific proposal or proposal. Page of 25

24 SIGNATURE SHEET (Please type or print clearly in ink only) 5-11 Self-funded Workers Compensation Program My signature certifies that the proposal as submitted complies with all terms and conditions as set forth in this solicitation, except as noted herein. My signature also certifies that the accompanying proposal is not the result of, or affected by, any unlawful act of collusion with another person or company engaged in the same line of business or commerce. I hereby certify that I am authorized to sign as a representative for the firm: Complete Legal Name of Firm: Order from Address: Remit to Address: Fed ID No.: Signature: Name (type/print): Title: Telephone: ( ) Fax No.: ( ) Date: Notification of Award sent to: of Person Receiving Award Notification: Page of 25

25 STATISTICAL QUESTIONNAIRE -OPTIONAL (Please type or print clearly in ink only) 5-11 Self-funded Workers Compensation Program The Ingham County Board of Commissioners monitors workplace demographics of proposers and vendors for statistical purposes and to indicate the need for inclusive outreach efforts to ensure that members of underutilized groups have equal opportunity to contract with the affected departments. To that end, the County requests vendors to submit as part of their response to any formal solicitations, the following workplace diversity information. Vendors are encouraged to complete as much information as possible. This information will be used for statistical purposes only. Statistical information shall be submitted to the County in a separate sealed envelope containing the notation STATISTICAL INFORMATION-NOT TO BE OPENED UNTIL AFTER THE AWARD OF THE CONTRACT. Upon receipt of these separate sealed envelopes, the Purchasing Department segregates the envelopes from the other proposal documentation. The envelopes containing the statistical information are not opened until the award of the contract, and are not considered, in any way, in the award of any contract. 1. What percentage of your firm s workforce is? Female Physically-disabled Veteran % % % African-American % Caucasian % Asian-Indian American % Hispanic-American % Asian-Pacific American % Native-American % 2. If your business is at least 51% owned by one of the following individuals, please check all that apply: Female African-American Caucasian Disabled Asian-Indian American Hispanic-American Veteran Asian-Pacific American Native-American 3. Complete Legal Firm Name: 4. Company Address: 5. Company Phone: ( ) Fax: ( ) 6. Name and title of person authorized to sign on behalf of your company: 7. Signature/date: Page of 25