Current Solicitations
Register for AEPA upcoming Bids: https://aepacoop.org/registration-solicitations
Notice to Vendors
WCSD 25-01/AEPA 025
Sealed solicitations will be received by the Association of Educational Purchasing Agencies (AEPA) on behalf of its 30 State Member Agencies until:
1:30 p.m. ET, September 17, 2024
Solicitations: 025-A Athletic Field Lighting, 025-B Hardwood & Synthetic Flooring, 025-C Copiers, Multi-Function Print Devices, Printers, & Managed Print Services, 025-D Roofing & Related Services, 025-E Security Solutions, 025-F Cybersecurity & Training, 025-G Portable & Modular Classrooms, 025-H Playgrounds & Equipment
All responses shall be submitted online via Bonfire by the due date and time listed above. Vendors are requested to visit AEPA’s website at https://aepacoop.org/registration-solicitations/ for instructions on how to register at no cost with Bonfire. AEPA documents will be released on August 1, 2024. Note that Vendors must be able to provide their proposed products and services in up to 30 states.
Solicitations will be publicly opened after 1:30 p.m. ET, September 17, 2024 at Lakes Country Service Cooperative, 1001 E Mt Faith, Fergus Falls, MN 56537. An opening record will be posted to AEPACOOP.org.
Legal Notice to Bidders
WCSD/PAEC/Risk Management #25-02
The Panhandle Area Educational Consortium “PAEC”, is seeking responses from qualified proposers interested in providing the following proposal: RFQ 25-02 Health Insurance Brokerage and Consulting Services. The recommended award will be to the most qualified proposer(s) as determined by recommendation from the Evaluation Committee to the Administrator of Risk Management. To access RFP documents, go to www.floridabuy.org/current-solicitations (Released: August 15, 2024, Last Day for Questions: August 22, 2024 at 2:00 PM Central Time, RFQ Deadline: September 10, 2024 at 2:00 PM Central Time.)
(REVISED pg. 20 to 8.1a and 8.1p and 8.2 Rate Structure) ACCESS DOCUMENTS HERE: RFQ#25-02 Health Insurance Brokerage and Consulting Services Packet Corrected 08_15_2024
Revised: 8/15/2024 at 11:45 AM CST pg. 20 to 8.1a and 8.1p and 8.2 Rate Structure
RFQ 25-02 Q&A
Q: What is the total number of benefit eligible employees insured by PAEC. We understand there are 15 entities participating. Please also provide number of employees by entity.
A: There are 4 districts that participate in the Group Health services. Walton (1626) , Washington (639) , Calhoun (305) and Jackson (974).
Q: Please provide a copy of PAEC’s current benefits guide.
A: It varies by District.
Q: Please provide the names of the carriers for:
A: In red below
-
- Medical – Florida Blue
- Stop loss (if applicable) – Symetra
- Rx – varies by district
- Dental – varies by district
- Vision – varies by district
- Group Life & ADD – varies by district
- Long term disability. – varies by district
Q: Who is PAEC’s current broker/firm providing the requested services. Please provide a copy of the current agreement including the amount of annual compensation.
A: Gallagher – Ackowledge your request for our current agreement and I will forward that request to the person responsible for public records requests.
Q: Will the awarded broker have to work separately with each of the 15 districts to coordinate open enrollment or is that coordinated by PAEC staff?
A: Broker will work with the current 4 Districts in conjunction with PAEC.
Q: How do the member consortiums contribute to the decision-making process related to plan changes, renewal decisions, payroll deductions, etc. Help us understand the dynamic or organizational structure as it relates to decision making.
A: Each District is responsible for making their own decisions with guidance from the Broker and PAEC staff.
Q: Briefly describe the enrollment process for PAEC members.
A: Varies by District
Q: Does PAEC currently utilize an online enrollment solution? If so, which one and who bears the cost of the system Do all entities use such system?
A:Varies by District
Q: Do all member districts have the same benefit plan options and payroll deductions?
A: No
Q: Is there a current consultant/broker working with PAEC?
A: Yes
Q: Will the award of this bid replace the services provided or will the awarded organization work with the consultant/broker?
A: Replace
Q: Please provide a copy of the current contract including detailed scope of services & compensation. If not annual fee, please provide commission level and estimated annual premium by line of coverage.
A: See previous question and answer
Q: How many employees and retirees are in each of the 15 existing member Districts? What is the average employee/retiree count for Districts participating in PAEC?
A: See previously submitted question and answer regarding participating districts (4) and employee count.
Q: Page 3, 1.2 – reference is made to many other non-member districts who purchase services on a contract basis, please provide additional detail of what these services would be and if they are under the prevue of the services being solicited in this RFP.
A: Only the services reflected in this RFQ document are being solicited.
Q: What size districts are considered for participation in the consortium? (employee/retiree eligible numbers)
A: Florida Statute 1001.451 1001.451: Regional consortium service organizations.—In order to provide a full range of programs to larger numbers of students, minimize duplication of services, and encourage the development of new programs and services: (1) School districts with 20,000 or fewer unweighted full-time equivalent students, developmental research (laboratory) schools established pursuant to s. 1002.32, and the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind may enter into cooperative agreements to form a regional consortium service organization. Each regional consortium service organization shall provide, at a minimum, three of the following services: exceptional student education; teacher education centers; environmental education; federal grant procurement and coordination; data processing; health insurance; risk management insurance; staff development; purchasing; or planning and accountability.
Q: What is the process for reviewing, proposing benefits/pricing and approving applicants to the PAEC?
A: Very little additions and deletions from the Group Health Program occur.
Q: Please advise current carrier, TPA, Vendor’s being used by line of coverage or service (ie. medical, dental, fsa, cobra).
A: Medical TPA is Florida Blue and Excess carrier is Symetra
Q: Will awarded consultant/broker have direct access to these companies and their eligibility/customer service and reporting representatives?
A: Yes
Q: Are each member districts able to select their own benefit and carrier/tpa services?
A: Each district will utilize the same carrier and TPA services.
Q: Do all benefit programs offered by PAEC renew at the same time each year (ie contract term)? if not, please advise what renewal date applies to each line of coverage/service provided.
A: Medical and Ancillary – renews October 1 in Walton, Calhoun, and Washington and January 1 in Jackson.
Q: Do each of the districts selected benefits renew at the same time as PAEC each year? if not, please confirm if each entity in the consortium has their own renewal date.
A: Medical and Ancillary – renews October 1 in Walton, Calhoun, and Washington and January 1 in Jackson.
Q: What is the average number of districts that join and how many leave the consortium each year?
A: There is very little change in membership.
Q: For benefits that are self-insured, is the member district contract self funded or sold to each district as fully insured/guarantee premium?
A: Each of the 4 districts are financially a stand-alone, self-funded program.
Q: Does the consortium utilize a TPA for billing and eligibility and/or an enrollment and administration system currently?
A: Yes
Q: Please provide the name of the system.
A: Florida Blue
Q: Estimated annual cost
A: $44.06 PEPM
Q: Details of capabilities currently being supported
A: TPA for Medical services
Q: Who pays for the cost of the system
A: Each District
Q: Does each member district have access to manage their eligibility directly into the system or do they submit paper enrollment/changes for entry by PAEC?
A: Directly
Q: Will awarded company have access to this system?
A: Undetermined
Q: Is the consortium looking for support onsite to conduct enrollment meetings at each member district for open enrollment and/or new hires?
A: Possibly
Q: Are services for a member call center or member advocacy currently being utilized?
A: No
Q: How is communication being handled now for retiree benefits?
A: Each district handles it themselves and thus varies.
Q: Do retiree benefit offerings differ from member district to member district?
A: Yes
Q: Page 8 3.2.3 (a) – will consideration be given for prior experience with other Trusts/Consortiums?
A: Yes
Q: Page 11 – 3.6.32 – Please provide details of the process PAEC consortium uses for rfp’s, securing coverage and making final benefit decisions. (ie – board presentation, committee review, procurement division involved)
A: Proposals will be reviewed by an Evaluation Committee as set forth in the RFQ documents and next steps will be decided by that committee which could include presentations to the committee and/or presentations to the PAEC Board of Directors.
Q: Does the consortium currently receive wellness funds or services or is there a budget for wellness? If so, please provide an outline of how much and who is providing that amount.
A: Wellness dollars vary by district and are currently provided by Florida Blue
Q: Which actuarial firm does PAEC currently work with?
A: Davies/Merlinos
Q: What services do they provide for the consortium and member districts other?
A: Section 112 filing as well as annual financial reporting.
Q: Please confirm the RFQ is only for PAEC’s Group Insurance Program, which only covers the self-insured medical plans, currently utilized by 4 PAEC districts.
A: Correct
Q: Please confirm that fully insured medical plans and ancillary products (dental, vision, life, accident, cancer, etc.) are currently selected and approved by each individual district and are not under PAEC’s Group Insurance Program.
A: Correct
Q: If PAEC does not manage the fully funded medical plans or the ancillary plans for the non-self-funded districts, does PAEC assist any of the districts with designing and analyzing the plans provided by Capital Health Plans (CHP), Florida Blue, or ancillary carriers for these districts?
A: Not currently
Q: What is the plan year of the self-insured medical plans?
A: Medical and Ancillary – renews October 1 in Walton, Calhoun, and Washington and January 1 in Jackson.
Q: What is the anticipated effective date of the PAEC contract?
A: December 1, 2024
Q: Does the current broker fulfill all the SOW items listed in the SOW?
A: No
Q: Is there a written and measurable reporting system in place to document that the broker is meeting all items of the SOW and a measurable rating of each item listed?
A: No
Q: What is the current broker rate?
A: A combination of Commission and PEPM
Q: Is the broker rate based on a per employee per month (PEPM) of all current self-insured districts or is it based on a per participate per month (PPPM) across the 4 self-insured districts?
A: A combination of Commission and PEPM
Q: According to the SOW, item 8.2, the broker will return to PAEC, any compensation above the agreed upon amount. In the past two years, has the current broker been able to return any funds to PAEC? If yes, what was the amount returned and from what areas of the broker’s service were the excess funds generated?
A: This agreement does not currently exist.
Q: Section 8.3.2 (b), requests “assistance in the development, implementation, and ongoing management of an effective and measurable wellness program that will reduce health and welfare cost over the long term”. Can a description of the current wellness programs for each district be provided as well as how the effectiveness has been measured and the resulting outcomes of the measurements for each district over the past two years?
A: Most of the 4 districts have a minimal wellness program and we are looking for guidance in implementing and managing where it does not already exist.
Q: Section 8.3.3, Compliance, mentions preparing and coordinating compliance related documents for Section 125, COBRA, Medicare D, etc., while section 8.3.7, Vendor Management mentions conducting solicitation for stop loss and other insurance plans as identified by PAEC. Does PAEC expect the broker to also handle FSA, HSA, ACA reporting, monthly COBRA reporting (including both initial notices and termination notices), or any additional items required or needed in the operating of a full-service benefit department?
A: Each district handles FSA, HSA, ACA reporting, COBRA reporting outside of this agreement currently, but we would like the option for them to utilize this process to procure those services if they so wish.
Q: Can a general census be obtained with the following information: district name, employee ID #, gender, age (or DOB), DOH, home zip code, plan chosen, tier level (EE, ES, EC, EE&FAM), FT or PT, employment description (i.e. active, COBRA, retiree) be provided? If yes, who should be contacted to request?
A: This information will not be provided as part of this initial RFQ process.
Q: What are the board contributions by each of the 4 districts participating in the self-funded medical plans?
A: This information will not be provided as part of this initial RFQ process.
Q: What are the actual rates EEs pay for plans for each tier level in each district?
A: This information will not be provided as part of this initial RFQ process.
Q: Are the self-insured rates the same across all self-insured plans or do the rates vary by district?
A: This information will not be provided as part of this initial RFQ process.
Q: What are the 2024-2025 self-insured rates by plan and for each district (if rates vary).
A: This information will not be provided as part of this initial RFQ process.
Q: Copy of the ASO agreement currently in place.
A: This information will not be provided as part of this initial RFQ process.
Q: Copy of PBM contract currently in place.
A: This information will not be provided as part of this initial RFQ process.
Q: Claims data for 2 years.
A: This information will not be provided as part of this initial RFQ process.
Q: The financial information being requested will contain proprietary information. Will PAEC sign an NDA to prevent the data being provided to remain private and sealed should a public records request be submitted?
A: We are not by law allowed to accept these documents from public records requests.