To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Patrick L. Hernandez, Director, Human Resources
Prepared By:
prepared
Rachel Beck, Senior Benefits Analyst; Dusty Sash, Total Compensation Division Manager, Human Resources
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presenter
Presenter: Rachel Beck, Senior Benefits Analyst, Human Resources
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Subject:
title
1:00 PM *2024 Vision Waiver
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
The Board is requested to consider approval of a wavier per the purchasing policy for 2024 for a vision insurance vendor.
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Background and Discussion: The RFP process was completed in 2024, however, due to multiple errors and omissions on the part of multiple carriers, the decision was made by the evaluation team to not award this year and to request a waiver for 2024.
When we went to bid this year for vision, the responses came back from Ameritas, Surency, The Standard, UHC, Anthem, EyeMed and Metlife. Anthem, EyeMed and Metlife didn’t meet the requirements requested in the RFP and therefore were not evaluated.
• Ameritas didn’t follow the directions in the Excel spreadsheet sent by Lockton. They also had errors in their Geo Access reporting. And, noted that rates could change based on final contracting. They also had errors around the dates for the contract period.
• Surency had errors in their Geo Access reporting, they listed different plan design and rates between the spreadsheet and the PDF and only gave our plan a credibility score of 80-90%.
• The Standard was unclear in the network being utilized for their services, one area said Ameritas and one area said VSP. There were premium discrepancies and variations from requested information on page 1 of the RFP. Even with a $10k reduction in Life Insurance Premiums, these errors show lack of administrative capability.
• UHC didn’t provide Geo Access reporting and had no mention of performance guarantees (they didn’t complete the Performance Measures section of the RFP). They held the right to re-rate if enrollment changed by +/- 10%. They would also only attend benefit fairs with a certain percentage enrolled.
Therefore, we are asking for a waiver for 2024 for our vision insurance and will issue a new RFP in early 2025 for a 1/1/26 implementation.
The team will re-process a full RFP in 2025 for a 1/1/26 implementation of either the incumbent or a new carrier.
Fiscal Impact: The County does not contribute to the Vision Insurance Plan so there is no financial impact to the County. If the alternative is required, and a new provider were selected, there would be an implementation cost to the County.
Alternatives: The BoCC could require a full RFP be completed yet this year, with a mid-year effective date in 2025 with a new enrollment window for vision alone.
Alignment with Strategic Plan:
☒Be fiscally sustainable
☒Provide essential and mandated service
☐Be community focused
Staff Recommendation: Reissue in 2025 for 2026.
Concurrence: Lockton and Purchasing fully support this request for waiver.