St. Lucie Public Schools
SUPERINTENDENT
Purchasing Department
Genelle Zoratti Yost
4204 Okeechobee Road
Fort Pierce, Florida 34947
Voice – (772) 429-3980 Fax – (772) 429-3999
March 21, 2014
TO:
All Prospective Proposers
FROM:
Kim Albritton
Coordinator of Business Services
RE:
RFP 14-21 Employee Benefit Management Services
ADDENDUM 1 TO RFP 14-21 Employee Benefit Management Services
This addendum is issued as a part of the aforementioned RFP. The changes incorporated herein are an
amendment to and supersede those conditions shown in the original solicitation. The Proposer shall
acknowledge receipt of this addendum by signing this form and returning with their submittal. Failure to do so
may subject Proposer to disqualification.
The following questions were submitted and the answers follow each question.
Q1. Is there a broker or consultant involved in this RFP? If so, who is it and are commissions requested?
A1. No
Q2. Can you please provide a census in Excel? What we are looking for is a census that is in Microsoft Excel
format so that we can input it into our rating system. This would have all key demographic information for each
employee: date of birth, gender, salary, class, occupation, voluntary elections.
A2. The District will post two reports for the above data (Titled: Census (in Word & Excel format) & Pay
Types). Note: Deductions with a Stop Date are no longer active
Q3. Can you please provide the RFP, Forms and the Questionnaire in Word Format? I would like to ask for a
copy of the RFP document in Word format.
A3. Yes, the documents will be available on our website and Demandstar (titled: Employee Benefits
Management Services).
Q4. Can you please provide the Plan Designs and Certs?
A4. Flexible Benefits Plan Guide is included as an attachment (titled: 14SLCSBbookfinal2 & Retiree
booklet 2014)
Q5. Would you please confirm if the services for the St. Lucie County School Board must be combined, i.e.,
that a potential bidder to this RFP must be capable of furnishing all of the requested services, as described on
p. 19 of the RFP, namely:
14-21 Employee Benefit Management Services
Page 1 of 5
St. Lucie Public Schools
SUPERINTENDENT
Purchasing Department
Genelle Zoratti Yost
4204 Okeechobee Road
Fort Pierce, Florida 34947
Voice – (772) 429-3980 Fax – (772) 429-3999
A5. Confirmed
Q6. Further, that it would not be possible to bid on only two of the requested services without furnishing the
other (ten) named services.
A6. We are seeking one administrator for all requested services.
Q7. Who is the current Consultant/Broker/Administrator for the district?
A7. Fringe Benefits Management Company
Q8. Based on the enrollment numbers what is the estimated annual premium for the Trustmark and
TransAmerica products. The 2013 numbers are not reflected on the grid on page 40. I assume these are new
products so there should be projections available based on the current enrollment and cost by product and tier.
A8. The file is included as an attachment (titled: TransAmerica premium report 2013 & Trustmark St
Lucie School Board 2013 Premiums)
Q9. Does the district provide group medical insurance?
A9. Yes
Q10. If so, is the group medical program self-funded?
A10. No
Q11. Please provide a copy of the current enrollment communication booklets, forms and related documents.
A11. The enrollment guide files will be included as attachments (titled: Retiree Enrollment Form Final
& Final Active 2014 Enrollment form). Also refer to #A4.
Q12. Why are you going to market & shopping for brokerage services?
A12. The District is seeking a qualified firm to serve as its employee benefits Section 125 and voluntary
Benefits Administrator, Broker and Consultant. The Administrator, in its role, will provide services to
the District to ensure comprehensive and cost effective benefits are provided to SLPS employees and
retirees.
Q13. What do you like and what do you dislike about the current broker services?
14-21 Employee Benefit Management Services
Page 2 of 5
St. Lucie Public Schools
SUPERINTENDENT
Purchasing Department
Genelle Zoratti Yost
4204 Okeechobee Road
Fort Pierce, Florida 34947
Voice – (772) 429-3980 Fax – (772) 429-3999
A13. This question is irrelevant.
Q14. How has the district measured the success or failure of the current broker to meet the requirements of the
scope of services listed in the previous RFP they were awarded? Please share the information regarding this
analysis and or measurement tool or process?
A14. Client service satisfaction/Customer service satisfaction.
Q15. What is most important to the district in selecting your brokerage and consulting partner?
A15. Ability to provide all services requested in this RFP.
Q16. What wellness program do you currently have in place now?
A16. We have an internal Wellness Program.
Q17. What type of premium increases have you seen over the past 3 years?
A17. None
Q18. What exactly are you looking to get out of this solicitation?
A18. Refer to #A12
Q19. Are you satisfied with your current carriers and on what scale 1 – 10?
A19. This question is irrelevant.
Q20. How does the district or Administrator measure the quality of services provided by the carriers? Please
share the analysis or survey results.
A20. The Administrator currently handles the measurement. The District does not have the
information requested.
Q21. Are you unionized and what type of benefits do you offer your union employees? Do Union and nonUnion benefits differ?
A21. Yes we are unionized. The benefits are included in this RFP, as well as, Group Medical and Group
Dental. No the benefits do not differ.
Q22. Are you using an electronic enrollment system to enroll employees during the open enrollment process
and throughout the year? If so, what system is being used currently? What is the cost for this system?
A22. Yes, during open enrollment only. https://bmc.myfbmc.com
Q23. What is the districts greatest challenge specific to the health and welfare plan?
14-21 Employee Benefit Management Services
Page 3 of 5
St. Lucie Public Schools
SUPERINTENDENT
Purchasing Department
Genelle Zoratti Yost
4204 Okeechobee Road
Fort Pierce, Florida 34947
Voice – (772) 429-3980 Fax – (772) 429-3999
A23. SLPS does not understand this question and is unable to provide an answer.
Q24. Please provide a copy or summary of the comprehensive retiree services the current Administrator
provided to the district.
A24. The services are listed in the Scope of Service of this RFP.
Q25. In the reference section on page 26, please confirm that the District is looking for client references that
are no longer working with the proposing agent/agency?
A25. The references can be past or current clients.
Q26. Regarding question 8 which states, how many government entities in the State of Florida does your firm
service? How many are serviced through the servicing branch of office? Will a qualified firm with over 150
public entity clients outside of Florida including school districts be disqualified because they do not a have
public entity client in the state of Florida? How much value or weight will be placed on this question? Is a firm
considered unqualified because they do not have a school district or public entity in Florida?
A26. A firm will not be disqualified because they do not have a public entity client in the state of Florida.
The evaluation criteria for the RFP are within section 2.7 of the RFP. Please refer to 2.7 for scoring
information.
Q27. Please provide a copy of the proposal that was awarded to the current broker/administrator?
A27. No current proposal, this was directly negotiated
Q28. Regarding question 4 on page 36, please explain how the current broker manages this process?
A28. Administrator monitors as they broker the product. We are notified of the provider’s financial
rating annually.
Q29. Please provide information regarding the current Retiree Administration capabilities provided by the
current broker/administrator/consultant.
A29. Refer to #A24.
Q30. Will preference be given to a firm that can provide COBRA and FSA services internally thereby reducing
the number of vendors working with the district?
A30. Yes
Q31. How does the district or Administrator measure the level of employee satisfaction with the carriers?
Please share the analysis or survey results.
A31. The Administrator currently handles the measurement. The District does not have the information
requested.
14-21 Employee Benefit Management Services
Page 4 of 5
St. Lucie Public Schools
SUPERINTENDENT
Purchasing Department
Genelle Zoratti Yost
4204 Okeechobee Road
Fort Pierce, Florida 34947
Voice – (772) 429-3980 Fax – (772) 429-3999
**** RFP due date and time: April 9, 2014 - 3:00 p.m. ****.
________________________________________
Name (Please Print)
___________________________________________
Signature (Authorized Representative of Company)
14-21 Employee Benefit Management Services
_________________________________________
Company Name
________________________
Date
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