Request for Proposals Health Insurance Broker/Consultant Services Deadline: Wednesday, June 2, 2010, at 4:30 p.m. City of Hyattsville Administration Department Elaine Murphy, City Administrator 4310 Gallatin Street Hyattsville, Maryland 20781
The City of Hyattsville is seeking responses to this Request for Proposals (RFP) to enter into a contract for the express purpose of developing an employee benefits program that complies with Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code, also known as a Cafeteria Plan. A. Description of the Government The City of Hyattsville, Maryland is a small municipality with a population of approximately 18,000, covering an area of approximately 3 square miles in Prince George s County, Maryland. It is located less than a mile outside of the District of Columbia and just south of the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. The City is the only jurisdiction in the DC metropolitan region to have two Metro stations within its boundaries. All of these factors, along with the availability of a variety of affordable housing options, have drawn a significant amount of new development to the City in the last several years. The City is very interested in promoting these amenities and attracting additional investment within the City. The City government has approximately 109 full-time employees, of that number approximately 100 are active/eligible for participation in health insurance plans, with approximately 35 additional retirees. The FY10 operating budget is $13,163,150 with a total budget of $21,026,425. The government is organized as follows: Legislative comprised of the Mayor, Council, City Clerk and Election Board Administrative comprised of the Office of the City Administrator, the Office of the City Treasurer encompassing Information Technology, the Office of Communications/Public Relations including Cable Television, the Office of Community Development and the Office of Volunteer Services Public Safety comprised of the Police Department and Office of Code Enforcement. The Police Department is further divided into the Command, Criminal Investigations, Patrol, Community Action Team, Parking Enforcement and Records & Communications divisions Public Works Department comprised of the Streets, Solid Waste, Building & Fleet Maintenance and Parks Maintenance divisions Office of Recreation and the Arts which manages the City s Call-a-bus program along with the City s Recreation and Arts programs B. Insurance Broker/Consulting Services Scope of Service The City of Hyattsville is seeking responses to this Request for Proposals (RFP) in order to enter into a contract for the express purpose of evaluating the City s existing insurance programs and costs along with receiving a recommendation for and design of a Cafeteria Plan, pursuant to Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code. The City of Hyattsville is seeking an insurance broker who will provide the following services: 1. Propose a comprehensive, affordable health care strategy (health insurance) that includes the design and cost analysis for a cafeteria plan that includes a structured wellness component.
2. Represent the City in negotiations with health insurance providers, if needed. 3. Investigate local medical and mental health services identified by the City and propose affiliations, informal relationships, structured wellness options and network relationships as part of the City s approach to providing quality health care options. 4. Provide additional consultation and advice regarding the short and long-term needs of the City pursuant to health care and health insurance costs. 5. Provide analysis of the tax implications of implementing an IRS Code Section 125 compliant cafeteria plan. 6. Provide any cost-benefit analysis as needed by the City that will lead to decision making as it relates to the design and implementation of a cafeteria plan. C. Anticipated Deliverables As a result of the above analysis and findings and the agreement between the consultant and the City of Hyattsville, the consultant shall be expected to present the following: 1. A written report outlining findings related to the work undertaken in Section B. above and recommendations based on these findings that will enable the City to use a combination of strategies to implement a, Section 125 of the IRS Code compliant, cafeteria plan. 2. Outline a proposed schedule and the actions necessary to implement the recommendations. Such plan shall consider and address impediments to implementing the recommendations, measures to address such impediments and alternative recommendations in case such impediments cannot be overcome. 3. Deliverables include two draft reports to the City; 1 draft to allow comments; 2 nd draft to obtain written response; Final report to City Administrator and City Council; at least one in-person presentation to the Council and a separate meeting with employees, if required. 4. The timeline for completion from the date of contract issuance is four (4) months. D. Proposal Requirements Eligible respondents will be those brokers, consultants, companies, and institutions that have the following qualifications: SECTION 1. Introduction
1.1 Name and address of operating firm, names of owners or principals of your firm and duration and extent of experience in providing health insurance brokerage services to at least five municipalities of similar type. 1.2 If a corporation, provide date of incorporation and President s name. If other than corporation or partnership, describe organization and name of principals. If individual or partnership provide date of organization and name and address of all partners (state whether general or limited partnership). 1.3 Provide historical background and capabilities of your company with special emphasis on your ability to provide broker services or consulting services for health care insurance and related support services to an employee population of comparable size and diversity as the City of Hyattsville. Describe your current health care insurance affiliations and certifications and provide at least one example of how your advocacy for a client changed the outcome of a contract negotiation. 1.4 Have any claims been made or lawsuits filed against you for non-performance or inadequate performances as a provider of health insurance brokerage services or consulting services for health care insurance? If yes, describe any such claims or lawsuits. 1.5 Who will have overall responsibility for servicing this account? Include individual s name, title, phone and current area of responsibility. 1.6 Provide the names, addresses and phone numbers of five municipal government accounts for reference purposes who will verify that a highly satisfactory level of health care insurance brokerage services, consulting or analysis of health care insurance options have been provided. 1.7 Provide the names, addresses, and phone number of ALL municipal government accounts for reference purposes that are currently serviced by your firm. 1.8 Provide the names, addresses, and phone numbers of any municipal government account(s) for reference purposes that your firm has lost the account or is no longer providing service to for the past two calendar years. 1.9 How would you ensure that the City is fully aware of all costs associated with the implementation of a cafeteria plan to include: tax implications, administrative function areas of enrollment, premium collection, billings and customer service? SECTION 2: General Services 2.1 Implementation Proposal: Describe the steps involved in the creation and implementation of a cafeteria plan from the ground up.
2.2 Data Management: Please describe current technological systems, any interfaces, and experiences in linking with provider networks that may be helpful for this project. (If applicable) 2.3 Reports: Please provide a sample of each report you can provide for us for purposes of management and utilization data. 2.4 Services Expected of the City: Identify and quantify in terms of time, the nature and scope of the services and data to be provided by the City. SECTION 3: Sealed Dollar Cost Proposal 3.1 Sealed Dollar Cost Proposal: General Requirements. The sealed dollar cost proposal section should contain all pricing information relative to performing the work as described in this request for proposals. The City will not be responsible for expenses incurred in preparing and submitting the proposal or the sealed dollar cost bid. Such costs should not be included in the proposal. The first page of the sealed dollar cost proposal should include the following information: 1. Name of company 2. Total All-Inclusive Maximum Price for the project. The total all-inclusive maximum price is to contain all direct and indirect costs including anticipated outof-pocket expenses. All estimated out-of-pocket expenses to be reimbursed should be presented in the separate dollar cost bid. All expense reimbursements will be charged against the total all-inclusive maximum price submitted by the respondent. 3. Please indicate the hourly rate for your services, if applicable, and the number of hours you expect it to take to complete this project successfully. 3.2 Additional Data This section should contain any additional data that the respondent determines is appropriate for the City to consider when embarking on such a project. SECTION 4: Questions 4.1 All questions in regard to this Request for Proposals (RFP) should be submitted electronically to the City of Hyattsville by Thursday, May 27, 2010, at 5 p.m. Please send all questions to vjones@hyattsville.org. The City will answer questions as they are received, but will compile all questions and provide them electronically to all interested parties by Friday, May 28, 2010, by 5 p.m.
4.2 If you are interested in receiving a copy of the electronic responses, please provide the City with your contact information by Thursday, May 27, 2010, at 5 p.m. Please send your contact information to vjones@hyattsville.org and specify that you would like to receive the RFP vendor questions and responses. SECTION 5: Submission of Proposal All Proposals must be submitted to: Health Insurance Broker/Consulting Services Attn: Elaine Murphy, City Administrator City of Hyattsville 4310 Gallatin Street Hyattsville, Maryland 20781 Each proposal should include one clearly identified original and three (3) paper copies. All proposals must be received by 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 2, 2010, at which time they will be publicly opened and submittals recorded. It is anticipated that interviews will be held on Thursday, June 3, 2010 and Friday, June 4, 2010. Please include your availability to attend interviews for a one hour block of time between 12 p.m. 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 3, 2010 and 10 a.m. 5 p.m. on Friday, June 4, 2010. Please direct inquiries to vjones@hyattsville.org. SECTION 6: Evaluation of Proposals and Award of Contract The Proposal Requirements section of all proposals will be reviewed and scored first. After an initial review and scoring, a down select will be performed to identify the best qualified proposals. Up to five (5) of the top proposals may receive a request to clarify portions of their proposal via either a written response or an in-person interview with the City of Hyattsville. It is anticipated that interviews will be held on Thursday, June 3, 2010 and Friday, June 4, 2010. Please include your availability to attend interviews for a one hour block of time between 12 p.m. 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 3, 2010 and 10 a.m. 5 p.m. on Friday, June 4, 2010. In addition to price and cost, the following factors, will be considered by the selection team during the evaluation of the Proposals and interviews: Understanding of the project and the needs of the City Specialized experience and technical competence of firm Past performance with respect to cost control, work quality, and ability to meet schedules. The specific experience of individuals who constitute the consultant team. Current workload and capacity of firm to perform work within the time limitations
Some of the criteria the City may use to evaluate proposals include: 1. The proposed statement of work. 2. Experience of the submitting respondent 3. Timeline proposed 4. Cost Proposals The best combination of cost and approach for the City will be selected for award. The City reserves the right to reject any and all proposals.