Purpose of Request For Proposal (RFP)
The purpose of this request for proposal is to enter into a contract with a qualified professional employee benefit consultant, to assist Box Elder County in the management of its employee health insurance program. The qualified consultant will review and evaluate current plan designs and identify competitive options available to the County. Further, the selected consultant will provide strategic recommendations on an on-going basis for appropriate county-wide group health benefit plans.
It is anticipated that this RFP may result in a contract award to a single contractor.
This RFP is designed to provide interested offerors with sufficient basic information to submit proposals meeting minimum requirements, but is not intended to limit a proposal's content or exclude any relevant or essential data. Offerors are at liberty and are encouraged to expand upon the specifications to evidence service capability under any agreement.
Box Elder County will not be liable for any costs offerors may incur in the preparation or presentation of this proposal.
Background
Box Elder County currently offers fully-insured group health and welfare benefit programs to employees of the County on an employee contribution basis.
Box Elder County is a larger County in the State of Utah, and currently employs approximately 160 employees who are eligible for benefits.
Issuing Office and RFP Reference Number
Box Elder County’s Human Resources office is the issuing office for this document and all subsequent addenda relating to it.
Submitting Your Proposal
Proposals must be sealed and labeled with the Box Elder Broker RFP and received by the Human Resources Department Box Elder County by the posted due date and time: July 28, 2014. By 2:00 p.m. MST. Proposals received after the deadline will be late and ineligible for consideration.
The preferred method of submitting your proposal is hard copies, one original and five identical copies of your proposal must be received at Box Elder County’s Human Resources Office, c/o Box Elder County at 01 South Main Street, Brigham City, Utah 84302.
Length of Contract
The Contract resulting from this RFP will be for a period of four years.
The contract may be extended beyond the original contract period year-to-year at Box Elder County’s discretion and by mutual agreement for four additional years.
The contract may be cancelled at any time within 30 days written notice from either Box Elder County or the consultant.
Price Guarantee Period
All pricing must be guaranteed for 1 year. Following the guarantee period, any request for price adjustment must be for an equal guarantee period, and must be made at least 30 days prior to the effective date. Requests for price adjustment must include sufficient documentation supporting the request. Any adjustment or amendment to the contract will not be effective unless approved by Box Elder County. Box Elder County will be given the immediate benefit of any decrease in the market, or allowable discount.
Reserved Rights
This RFP does not constitute an offer to buy on the part of Box Elder County. Acceptance of any obligations on the part of Box Elder County may only be done by a formal written agreement. Any information contained herein does not commit Box Elder County to a contract or to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a response. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as guaranteeing any term, condition or other item, including any specified purchase volume.
All responses to this RFP will become the property of Box Elder County. Consulting firm’s response to this RFP may be included in whole, in part or by reference in the final contracts which may result from this RFP.
Box Elder County reserves the right not to award a contract to any proposing party even if the criteria described in the RFP are met; and to close the process prior to stated deadline. No obligations on the part of Box Elder County will be incurred until the consultant has signed a contract satisfactory to and accepted by Box Elder County.
Box Elder County expressly reserves the right to withdraw this RFP, reject, in whole or in part, any and all proposals received, to waive any and all formalities in the proposing process, to make whole award, multiple awards, a partial award, or no award at Box Elder County’s sole discretion, to negotiate separately with any firm it desires, or to pursue whatever alternative it chooses to fulfill this requirement in its sole judgment. There is no guarantee, either expressed or implied, that Box Elder County will award a contract to a consultant. Box Elder County shall not incur any liability whatsoever by reason of such withdrawal, rejection, or acceptance.
Standard Contract Terms and Conditions
Any contract resulting from this RFP will include, but not be limited to, Box Elder County standard terms and conditions.
Questions
Questions must be submitted to the Box Elder County’s Human Resources Department. Any bidder who attempts to contact any employee or representative of Box Elder County, other than those designated by the Box Elder County’s Administration office, during the RFP process will be disqualified.
Discussions With Offerors (Oral Presentation)
An oral presentation by an offeror to clarify a proposal may be required at the sole discretion of Box Elder County. However, Box Elder County may award a contract based on the initial proposals received without discussion with the offeror. If oral presentations are required, they will be scheduled after the submission of proposals. Oral presentations will be made at the offerors expense. If oral presentations are required, it is expected that they will be conducted during the week of August 4, 2014.
Protected Information
The Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) provides that trade secrets, commercial information or non-individual financial information may be protected by submitting a Claim of Business Confidentiality. However, in the event of an appropriate request for the informationunder the provisions of the GRAMA, there is no guarantee that the information will remain protected.
To best protect information under a Claim of Business Confidentiality, the offeror must:
A Claim of Business Confidentiality may be appropriate for information such as client lists and non-public financial statements. Pricing and service elements may not be protected. An entire proposal may not be protected under a Claim of Business Confidentiality. The claim of business confidentiality must be submitted with your proposal on the provided form.
To ensure have the best chance of protecting the information is protectedfrom an appropriate GRAMA request, Box Elder County asks the offeror to clearly identify in the Executive Summary and in the body of the proposal any specific information for which an offeror claims business confidentiality protection as "PROTECTED".
All materials submitted become the property of Box Elder County. Materials may be evaluated by anyone designated by the County as part of the proposal evaluation committee. Materials submitted may be returned only at Box Elder County’s option.
Detailed Scope Of Work – (please designate that you are able to comply with the scope of work)
Tasks To Be Completed: All proposals must contain written responses to the following questions or requests for information:
Proposal Requirements And Company Qualifications
In order to respond to this RFP, the contractor offeror must meet the following qualifications:
Proposal Response Format
All proposals must include:The proposal must be set forth in such a way that it will allow the merits of the proposal to be evaluated in conjunction with applicable cost. Include all costs (itemized) set forth in the scope of services which needs to include full service COBRA administration and single source (non-carrier) online enrollment, wellness services and underwriting.
Proposal Evaluation Criteria
Box Elder County will evaluate proposals against the following weighted criteria. Each area of the evaluation criteria must be addressed in detail in proposal. Special consideration shall be given for proposers offerors who have a record of proven strategic consulting services in similar public environments.
Box Elder County reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, including token proposals, and to waive any informality of the proposals. Box Elder County reserves the right to not accept the lowest proposal, when in the opinion of Box Elder County, a different proposal may be in the best interest of the County.
Evaluation Criteria
Understandability and comprehensiveness of information supplied in this RFP will affect the evaluation of the above criteria.