Mt. San Antonio College N. Grand Avenue Walnut, CA Request for Proposals. for. International Student Health Insurance program RFP #3132

Transcription

1 1100 N. Grand Avenue Walnut, CA Request for Proposals for International Student Health Insurance program RFP #3132 Proposals Due: October 27, :00 pm Page 1 of 10

2 I. INTRODUCTION A. Purpose Mt. San Antonio Community College ( District ) is interested in obtaining competitive proposals related to its International Student Health Insurance program that will meet the State and Federal requirements for F-1 Student enrollment. The District is specifically interested in selecting a solution that can offer quality, affordable health care options for its international students. All proposals will be screened for thoroughness and responsiveness to this Request for Proposal. Following the screening process, the selected finalists may be invited to participate in an oral interview process. This request for proposal is in no way an agreement, obligation, or contract and in no way is the District responsible for the cost of preparation. The District reserves the unqualified right to accept or reject any and all proposals received as a result of the request, or negotiate separately with competing proposals simultaneously, and to waive any informalities, defects, or irregularities in any proposal. B. Period of Agreement The District values long term relationships and it is our intent to join a program for a period of three (3) years with two (2) additional one-year options, at the Districts sole discretion. The District is also requesting a rate guarantee for the initial three (3) year period. The District may terminate any resulting Contract, in its entirety, for any reason or for no reason, upon not less than thirty (30) days advance written notice. C. Minimum Requirements 1. If a broker is providing quotations, the broker must have a current insurance broker license issued by the California Department of Insurance. A copy of the license is to be provided with the response. 2. Experience working with institutions of higher education and more specifically, California community colleges in providing International Student Health Insurance. 3. Insurance carrier must have a rating of A or above by AM Best. D. Questions Questions regarding the services being requested or the contents of this Request for Proposal (RFP) must be submitted in writing on or before October 6, :00 pm, and ed to Teresa Patterson at tpatterson@mtsac.edu. Answers to written questions will be provided to all respondents. Page 2 of 10

3 E. Correspondence All correspondence, including Proposal(s), are to be submitted to: Mt. San Antonio Community College Attention: Teresa Patterson Director, Purchasing 1100 N. Grand Ave. Walnut, CA Phone: Fax: Note: address may be used to submit questions only. Proposals will not be accepted by or fax. F. Admonition to Respondents With the issuance of this RFP, Respondents are specifically directed not to contact anyone within the District, except as identified in this Request for Proposal, for meetings, conferences, or technical discussions related to this RFP, nor initiate discussions with any insurance carrier concerning the District unless authorized in writing to do so. Failure to adhere to this policy may be grounds for rejecting Respondent from consideration. G. Proposal Submission and Deadline Four (4) copies of each Proposal must be received in the offices of the District at the location listed above no later than 2:00 pm, October 27, Faxes or electronically transmitted proposals will not be accepted in lieu of actual receipt. Proposals received after the deadline will be marked LATE and may receive no further consideration. H. Costs The District assumes no obligation for any costs incurred by any firm in preparing the statement of qualifications, attending an interview, or any other activity prior to award of the contract to the chosen firm(s). I. Public Record All responses submitted in response to this RFP will become the property of the District upon submittal and a matter of public record pursuant to applicable law. The District reserves the right to retain all Proposals submitted, and all Proposals and materials submitted are subject to the California Public Records Act. When proposals are opened, prices and other information will not be made public until the proposal is awarded. There shall be no disclosure of any Bidder s information to competing Bidders prior to the award of any contract pursuant to this RFP. At that time, the executed contract and proposals will become public Page 3 of 10

4 information. Accordingly, each proposal should be submitted on the Bidder s most favorable terms from a price and technical standpoint. J. Proposal Timeline The District expects, but does not guarantee, that a decision on selection of firm(s) will be made by December 14, II. ABOUT MT. SAN ANTONIO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT: A. Background is among the largest of California s 112 community colleges with 421 acres and serving over 60,000 individuals from diverse backgrounds and generations. The District boundaries encompass the communities of Baldwin Park, Bassett, Charter Oak, Covina, Diamond Bar, the southern portion of Glendora, Hacienda Heights, City of Industry, Irwindale, La Puente, La Verne, Pomona, Rowland Heights, San Dimas, Valinda, Walnut, and West Covina. The District offers more than 200 degree and certificate programs and has earned statewide and national distinction in a number of disciplines. For additional information about Mt San Antonio College, visit our website at the following address: B. General Information As part of the international student admission and enrollment, the District requires students to provide proof of current medical insurance from an approved company. The District has a student health center that provides acute, short-term medical and mental health care solely for the benefit of the students. The District does not provide any other healthcare services to employees outside of the District benefit plans. C. Current Insurance Program As a condition of their acceptance to, International F-1 Visa students must provide proof of financial ability, which includes the ability to pay for tuition, fees, living expenses, expenses of dependents (if any), and any other designated or unforeseen expenses to cover an academic year of 12 months. Students must also show proof of medical insurance. Mt. SAC currently contracts with Student Insurance to provide health insurance coverage for the District s international students. All F-1 international students are required to purchase their health insurance through Student Insurance. Since 2013, has entered into a contract with Student Insurance Company to provide insurance coverage for International F-1 visa students. Mt. SAC s AP 5012 requires that international students provide proof of current medical insurance from an approved company. After conducting extensive research, it has been determined that most community colleges in California Page 4 of 10

5 require students to purchase insurance from a college-approved vendor in order to ensure adequate coverage as well as compliance. III. THE SELECTION PROCESS A. Basis of Award The District will select the program that it feels can provide the most comprehensive coverage(s) and service, which will help provide the best options to its International F-1 visa students. The District may make one award or may make no award as a result of this solicitation. The decision to make no award or to make one award is final. This request for proposal is in no way an agreement, obligation, or contact. B. Evaluation Process The District reserves the right to request additional information or clarifications from Respondents, or to allow corrections of errors or omissions. At the discretion of the District, firms submitting proposals may be requested to make oral presentations as part of the evaluation process. C. Evaluation Criteria The District will evaluate proposals based on the needs of the District and its international students. The following criteria will be used, in no particular order, in evaluating the Agent/Broker responses: 1. Compliance with specifications. 2. Ability to provide strong administrative support and member services to the District. 3. Compliance with applicable State and Federal laws and regulations. 4. Financial position of the agency. 5. Cost. 6. Experience and Qualifications. D. Proposal Review A selection committee will evaluate the proposals based upon the factors listed above and will make a recommendation to the District s Board of Trustees. The District will choose the proposal(s) that best fits its needs. The District is not obligated to award the contract based on cost alone nor is the District obligated to award only one agent/broker of record. E. Rejection of Proposals The District may reject proposals if conditional or incomplete. Page 5 of 10

6 F. Negotiation The District reserves the right to negotiate any aspect of any proposal deemed responsive to this RFP and may request a best and final offer. G. Confidential Material Bidder must notify the District of any specific portions of proposals considered confidential. District will take reasonable efforts to protect the confidentiality of such material but makes no guarantees that such material may be protected. Entire proposals designated as confidential may be rejected. IV. SCOPE OF WORK The insurance consultant will provide the following services: A. Service Overview The Scope of Work, as may be modified through negotiation and/or by written addendum, will be made a part of the Agreement. While the exact nature and extent of the services are subject to negotiations, the minimum professional services are as follows: 1. Assist students in understanding the U.S. healthcare system including but not limited healthcare plans, premiums, co-pays, and deductibles. 2. Meet student needs in finding care and in the administration and filing of claims. 3. Assure that insurance plans are placed in a timely manner, without lapses in coverage periods, with reputable and financially responsible insurers. 4. Provide early warning of rate and coverage changes or renewal problems. 5. Upon request of the District, provide a comprehensive report that reviews the total claims summary per policy year or per semester, including total amount of incurred claims, total amount of paid claims, total number of claims submitted, total amount of discounts issued for each of those claims, reason for denied claims, total number of insured students per year or per semester, etc. 6. Provide customer support before and after orientations and workshops. 7. Be the primary point of contact for all insurance questions from International Students or Mt. SAC staff. In addition, students must have the ability to: Access medical cards online; review claim information online; access to online chat; and have access to a mobile application. 8. Attend additional on-campus visits as needed. 9. Provide web-based administrative capabilities, including online applications. 10. Provide multilingual customer service. 11. Meet with District staff and designated representatives as reasonably requested. 12. Provide a dedicated account manager to provide assistance to the District in managing its plan, including training and educational support offered to its international students. 13. Provide a point of contact for students who will respond within 24 hours. Page 6 of 10

7 B. Legal Compliance Comply with all State and Federal laws and regulations pertaining to International Student Health Insurance in the State of California. V. PROCEDURE FOR SUBMITTING PROPOSALS A. Format for Proposal Proposals must be submitted not later than 2:00 p.m. on October 27, No late submittals will be allowed. All submissions must be signed by officials authorized to bind the Firm to its stated provision. Consultant shall submit one original and two (2) copies of the Proposal. All proposals shall be complete and final with no additional information required after the close of the submittal date, unless specifically requested by the District. All proposals shall remain firm for at least ninety (90) days from the date set for proposal opening. B. Information to be submitted with Proposals The content and sequence of the information contained in each copy of the Proposal shall be as follows: 1. Letter of Transmittal. 2. Table of Contents. Include a clear identification of the material by section and by page number. 3. Community College Experience. a. Examples of leadership, creativity and innovation for community colleges. b. Provide the number of community colleges being served within the program and the types of services provided. c. Discuss any insurance or coverage plans available that are specific to the needs of California community colleges and what makes them unique. 4. Personnel. Provide the name, title, and resume of all personnel who will be assigned to this program, including the primary management contact and all person(s) responsible for day-to-day work on the account. 5. Program Overview. Provide an overview of the structure of proposed program, including, but not limited to all coverages, deductibles, co-pays, prescription costs, and hospital visits. Include the process for handling individual incidents and claims. Describe the activities and services that would be provided to the District as part of the agreement. If available, include descriptions of support that would be provided such as student orientations, workshops, list of multilingual speaking providers or any other services. Page 7 of 10

8 6. Bidder s Questionnaire. All RFP respondents are required to complete the Bidder s Questionnaire. If Respondent offers more than one plan, a separate Questionnaire must be completed for each plan. All respondents are encouraged to recommend the limits and coverage that they feel would best meet the needs of the District s International F-1 visa students. 7. Scope of Work. Describe how services in Section IV will be provided. It is not necessary to address every item, however, Respondent must identify items that will not be provided and include any proposed enhancements. 8. References. a. Proposals must include a list of clients for whom an International Student Health Insurance program has previously been provided for institutions of higher education, preferably California community college districts. Each reference should include the name of the entity, name and title of person responsible for the entity's property and liability program, entity's address, telephone number, and the date services were provided. References indicating a date of service within the past two (2) years will be given priority rating upon evaluation of the proposal. Provide the names of all accounts which your company has lost in the past five years; state reason why the account was lost and provide contact information for the individual who was the signatory and/or prime contact for each account. b. Provide at least three (3) client references for the service representative that would be assigned to with focus on California community college references. 9. Insurance. During the term of the services contemplated, service provider shall maintain the following insurance coverage: Comprehensive General Liability, with a combined single and Professional Liability (Errors & Omissions), each with a combined single limit of $1,000,000 minimum per occurrence. The Comprehensive General Liability policy must name the District as additional insured and contain a primary insurance endorsement naming the District as such. Service provider must also maintain insurance meeting statutory limits under the Workers Compensation Law. Service provider shall provide District with satisfactory proof of such insurance prior to commencing the work and shall give District at least thirty (30) day notice prior to the cancellation of such policies. Failure to maintain the above-referenced insurance coverage shall be cause for termination. Page 8 of 10

9 ADDENDUM A BIDDER S QUESTIONNAIRE 1. Name of Firm: Address: Telephone: Offices: 2. Date Established: 3. Branch Office address and phone number, which would provide service to the district: 4. Please tell us about your organization, its history, and how long you have been providing services to institutions of higher education, including California community colleges. 5. Do you provide multilingual Customer Service? Yes No Page 9 of 10

10 ADDENDUM B PREMIUM QUOTATION FORM Annual Premium for Student: Semi-annual Premium for Student Maximum Benefit, Per Injury Maximum Benefit, Per Sickness Deductible Co-Pay, Physician Office Visit Co-Pay, Physician Office Consultation Co-Insurance In-Service PPO Out-of-Service PPO ER Visits Preventive Care Services Women s Health/Maternity X-Ray and Laboratory Services Prescriptions Ambulance Services $ $ $ $ $ $ % % In addition to the above benefits, does your plan offer the following: Mental/Substance Abuse Services? Yes No Maximum Amount of coverage: Co-Pay Physical Therapy Yes No (including Chiropractic and Acupuncture) Maximum Amount of coverage: Co-Pay Medical Evacuation? Yes No Maximum Amount of coverage: Co-Pay Repatriation? Yes No Maximum Amount of coverage: Co-Pay Page 10 of 10

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