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Questions and Answers to RFP #OA-BEBS-VOLBEN-2012Title: Voluntary BenefitsIs it possible to obtain a census with the following data on the participants in the plan:For life, number of members and amount of life coverage by age band by gender. Same for the spousal life. Want to know number of child units at $5,000 and $10,000. We would also want this information separately for disabled employees continuing coverage.For LTD, minimal census data would consist by age band and gender, the number of employees and covered monthly payroll and also this date split by those with and without the COLA benefit. More generally, we would want to know number of employees and covered payroll by department.Answer: Please see additional census information provided in Appendix O.Is it possible to obtain detailed experience information? This would include earned premium and paid claims for employee life, spouse life and child life. For LTD this would also include a claims listing by claimant including DOB, DOD, net monthly benefit, reserve or at the very least and paid and incurred full experience report. All of this information for LTD should also be split by COLA and non-COLA.Answer: Please see experience information provided in Appendix P.Can we receive a detailed description of the enrollment process for new hires, process, etc., on-Line requirements, paper enrollment etc.Answer: The enrollment process is through electronic enrollment on line or by paper. We are looking for potential Offerors to recommend an enrollment process, through which employees will enroll directly with the Offeror.Who are the current providers of your voluntary benefits?Answer: The current providers are Prudential Life Insurance Company of America (“Prudential”) and Aon Consulting Inc. (“Aon”), with Travelers Indemnity Company (“Travelers”) as its subcontractor. Prudential offers term life, long term disability and long term care. Aon contracted with the Commonwealth to provide optional home and auto insurance through Travelers.Can you provide how many employees enrolled for just auto insurance only? How many for home insurance only? And how many enrolled for both?Answer: The Commonwealth is unable to break out this information. However, please refer to Appendix U for some information regarding number of enrollees in both home and auto insurance. Why is the Commonwealth going out to bid at this time? Is there dissatisfaction with the current program? A statutory requirement to solicit bids every few years? Or, other reason(s)?Answer: The Commonwealth is issuing this RFP because the existing contracts expire June 30, 2013, and there are no more renewals available.In the past auto/home providers were disqualified if they did not offer “group rates”. If an auto/home carrier offers a “group discount” in lieu of a “group rates”, will they be disqualified again?Answer: No, Offerors of home or auto insurance may propose a discount off their standard rates. In such a proposal, the cost of the insurance should be presented in a way where the amount an enrolled employee will pay is easily discernible and comparable to Offerors that propose group rates.Are your voluntary benefits currently offered on a platform? If so, which platform do you use? If not, how is each voluntary benefit communicated to employees? Home mailings, on site enrollment meetings, etc.?Answer: Voluntary benefits are not currently offered on a platform. Voluntary benefits are offered through a combination of electronic messaging and home mailings.Is there a broker or consultant involved in working with the Commonwealth on this RFP? If so, who?Answer: The Commonwealth is not working with a broker on this request for proposals. The Commonwealth is using Hay Group as a consultant to assist with the evaluation of the Cost Submittal.Will carriers be required to work with them and pay commissions to them?Answer: No, carriers will not be required to work with the consultant nor pay commissions to the consultant.What is the Commonwealth looking for providers to do differently or better than what has been offered in the past on the auto/home program?Answer: There are no current issues with the current insurers’ products or performance under the contract. Offerors should make their own judgments about what will make their own product most competitive.Auto/Home enrollment works differently than other benefits in that employees can enroll anytime throughout the year. How does the Commonwealth currently handle auto/home enrollment where each employee could have a different expiration date for their policies?Answer: The vendor tracks expiration dates without involvement from the Commonwealth.Does the current provider of the auto/home take all applicants regardless of their driving record or accident history?Answer: The current vendor sets its own policy about taking applicants. This RFP does not require a home or auto insurer to accept all applicants.Auto and Home coverage is individually underwritten. Each employee will have a different rate based on the limits, coverages, and deductibles they select. How do you want the auto/home rates displayed? Can you provide a sample or template of how rates were displayed for auto and home in the last RFP? We do not need to have the rates, just a format on how to display them. Answer: Please see Appendix Q for a rate card template, which was taken from the cost proposal of the current contract with Aon and Travelers.On page 34, section Q, IV the RFP is requesting a customized website. Does the Commonwealth have a website that was implemented for the current voluntary program? If yes and there was one implemented, can you please provide us with URL, so we can view the website?Answer: Yes, the websites created by the current vendors are: cop and Pennsylvania.Does the Commonwealth maintain the website for the core benefit plan that is available for public access and review?Answer: No; health insurance benefits are maintained by the Pennsylvania Employee Benefits Trust Fund (PEBTF), .Can you please provide us the medical and RX ("health") plan design summary that is currently offered to active Commonwealth employees, including deductibles and copays?Answer: Please find information on employee medical and prescription coverage in Appendices R and S.Do union employees have a different health plan design than non-represented employees? If yes, can you please identify the health plan design including deductibles and copays, identified by each union group?Answer: Union and management employees have the same health benefits except for Pennsylvania State Police Enlisted Members. Appendix R is the summary plan description for PEBTF coverage and Appendix S is the plan handbook for State Police Enlisted Members.On page 36 of RFP under Section VII it is stated The selected “Offeror will provide up to three articles per year, as requested, for use by Office of Administration in employee communications about various aspects of the plan.” Is this currently being provided by the existing voluntary benefit plan providers? If yes, how are these articles being distributed to the employees?Answer: Currently a combination of e-mail and home mailing solicitations are used by the vendors. The term “articles” in this section of the RFP refers to any range of communications, such as flyers, solicitations for quote, letters, post-card mailings, etc. The Commonwealth is expecting the Offeror to provide recommendations on the best use of electronic and home mailing.On page 34, under section Q, V it is stated “Communications will not include telephonic contact with employees without their written consent.” Are the current voluntary benefit plans providers required to obtain employees' written consent? If yes, by what method are they currently obtaining the employees' written consent?Answer: This section is intended to make clear that Offerors may not make telephonic solicitations to employees. Offerors may still make telephonic contact with the employee in response to an inquiry posed by the employee. An Offeror is required to obtain employee written consent before making telephonic contact for any reason other than in response to the employee’s inquiry, just as current vendors are so required. On page 35, under section B, I it is stated that “Offeror will design, produce and distribute enrollment materials, employee booklets, summary plan descriptions and any necessary forms.”How is it being done by the current voluntary benefits plan providers?Is the current method satisfactory?Will you provide vendors home addresses to mail this summary plan description information?Answer: a. These documents are sent by mail. b. Yes, the current method is satisfactory. c. Yes, home addresses are included on the interface file layout. Please refer to Appendix H.Can you provide us demographic information on the 776 employees that purchased long term care insurance, to include age, sex, and salary?Answer: No, because this information is maintained by Prudential. Long Term Care is a benefit where a new vendor would not be required to accept Prudential’s insureds; therefore, there is no reason for an Offeror to receive demographic information pertaining to those insured individuals.Will the Commonwealth accept electronic benefit communication materials from vendors and distribute them to eligible employees via work email on a periodic, weekly prior to and during open enrollment, and monthly, quarterly and/or semi annually basis thereafter?Answer: The Commonwealth will allow an Offeror to distribute electronic communications not more frequently than once per quarter and, additionally, as part of an open enrollment.Is online enrollment currently offered in the existing program? If yes, which benefits?Answer: Yes, online enrollment is available for life, long term disability and long term care insurance. Online quotes are available for Home and Auto insurance.Can you provide a brief description of the Commonwealth employees paid time off (PTO) including the number of sick days that are accumulated each year, calculation formula and the average amount of sick days that are currently carried by each Commonwealth employee and the maximum amount, if applicable? Answer: Most employees receive annual (vacation), personal, and sick leave benefits. The benefits can vary by union and years of service, but most employees receive 15 days of annual leave, 11 days of sick leave, and four days of personal leave. There is no waiting period to use sick leave benefits. For most employees, sick leave is earned at 4.24% of regular hours paid, which is equivalent to 11 days per year. The hours are accumulated each biweekly pay period, and after one year of service, employees can use leave they expect to earn later in the year before it is actually earned. The average is about 259 hours, which is about 33.8 days. The maximum carryover is 300 days.Can you provide us with the number of spouses and child dependents that are covered under supplemental life insurance plan?Answer: Please find further information on spouse and child term life in Appendix T.Can you provide us with an estimated number of employees at each of the geographic locations listed on page 36, under section IV-Tasks, B, iii?Will employees at these sites be permitted to attend group meetings?Will there be rooms reserved to conduct these meetings?Will there be an opportunity to return to these work sites to meet individuals that requested additional information, and/or desired to enroll during their lunch or break time, especially the individuals that may not have access to computers/Internet?Answer: Refer to the “geography” section of the Governor’s Annual Workforce Report: (new)/20613/workforce_statistics_new/1054504. a.Group meetings will be conducted during an initial roll out of a new program. These will not include individual meetings. Logistics will be coordinated with the selected Offerors.b.Logistics will be coordinated with the selected Offerors.c.No, individual, one-on-one meetings will not take place during the group meetings, or as part of any ongoing solicitation efforts. Is there a broker or consultant assisting the Commonwealth with the evaluation of this RFP? If yes, what is the name of the broker or consultant? Will carriers be required to work with them and pay commissions to them?Answer: Please refer to the answer to Question 9 regarding the Commonwealth’s use of a consultant. Offerors will have no reason to work with, or pay any commission to, the Commonwealth’s consultantWhat is the Commonwealth looking for providers to do differently or better than what has been offered in the past? Answer: Offerors should make own judgments about what will make a product most competitive.Out of the 80,000 eligible employees how many of these employees belong to a union?Answer: Refer to “Overall Compliment” in the Governor’s Annual Workforce Report: (new)/20613/workforce_statistics_new/1054504Can you identify each union and estimated number of employees in each union?Answer: Please refer to the answer to Question 30.Can you provide us with the number of non-represented employees?Answer: Please refer to the answer to Question 30.We noted on Appendix H, voluntary benefits deductions, Aflac Supplemental Life, and Trustmark Disability Insurance products were listed.Are these benefits offered by the Commonwealth or are they made available by a particular union group?Are there any other voluntary benefits offered through the unions to union employees. If yes, pleased identify which union, product by carrier and number of participants by each product type.Answer: These plans are not Commonwealth programs. They are union programs and there is no contract in place between those insurers and the Commonwealth. Individual unions in some cases have negotiated for access to payroll slots within the Commonwealth’s payroll system. As such, those insurers are on the layout, but there is no further interaction between those companies and the Commonwealth.On page 36, Section IV-Tasks, B, V the RFP mentions that 21,000 employees do not have access to computers or emails during work hours.Are these 21,000 employees members of a particular union group? If yes, please identify the union.How does the Commonwealth communicate core benefits to the 21,000 employees?How are the current voluntary benefits communicated to these 21,000 employees?Will the Commonwealth provide vendors the home mailing addresses for these 21,000 employees?Answer: Employees without computer access do not have access because the use of a computer terminal is not relevant to the type of work. Some examples include equipment operator for the Department of Transportation, or Corrections Officers in a Correctional Institution. Optional insurances are currently transmitted to those employees by home mailing, which is a field on the interface file.Prudential announced earlier this year it will no longer sell group long term care (LTC) insurance.How will this announcement impact the Commonwealth's LTC program?Will the LTC program cease by a certain date and/or be subject to a rate increase?Answer: The group long term care contract with Prudential will expire on June 30, 2012. Potential Offerors looking to submit a long term care product need only know that Offerors are not required to accept into a proposed plan insureds covered by Prudential’s long term care product.Will vendors have the ability to conduct site visits at the colleges and/or universities to communicate benefit programs to the 11,000 PA State System of Higher Education employees and coordinate payroll deduction through their separate system?Answer: If an Offeror is proposing a long term care product that is accepted by the Commonwealth, then the Offeror will work directly with the State System of Higher Education on group meetings, and for scheduling at the discretion of the State System of Higher Education.Can you please provide us the gross 2011 annual premium, and year to date (January 1, 2012 - September 30, 2012) premium by carrier being deducted for each existing voluntary benefit programs listed on Appendix H, Ref ID, D3 thru D9?Answer: Please refer to Appendix P for experience related to current optional insurance. This information is not available for the union-sponsored plans because there is no contract between the insurer and the Commonwealth.Can you please provide a policy summary description for each line of coverage listed under Ref ID, D7 (AFLAC), D8 (Trustmark), and D9 (PSSU) on Appendix H, Inbound Voluntary Benefit Deduction File Format document?Answer: Please refer to the answers to Questions 33 and 37.Are there any Brokers, Consultants and/or MWBE firms participating on the current Voluntary Benefits offerings? If yes, please identify the name(s) of the Broker, Consultant and/or MWBE firms and which carrier/product they are providing services to?Answer: Please refer to the existing contracts between the Commonwealth and the current vendors for access to Disadvantaged Business Submittals:4400002318 Prudential Insurance Company of America, Optional Term Life Insurance: Prudential Insurance Company of America, Optional Long Term Disability Insurance Prudential Insurance Company of America, Optional Long Term Care Insurance Aon Consulting Inc, Optional Group Auto and Home Insurance Appendix E (Rate Chart) under Group Life Insurance Rate Information, there is reference to Voluntary Accidental Death and Dismemberment. Can you confirm this coverage is currently offered the Commonwealth employees and if so, send the certificate associated with the Voluntary Accidental Death and Dismemberment?Answer: Accidental Death and Dismemberment is not currently offered to Commonwealth employees. The Accidental Death and Dismemberment information provided in Appendix E is an example should an Offeror decide to include a product with additional coverage options.Also included in Appendix E, there is reference to a Living Benefit Rider. Can provide information on the Living Benefit Rider or is this the Accelerated Benefit Option available to terminally ill employees. Is the Living Benefit Rider an optional election or automatically provided under the Optional Life plan. Answer: Please refer to Appendix I.The deduction file includes multiple carriers’ deductions. Please confirm the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania can receive multiple deduction files based on the number of carriers as long as they all use the same file layout? Answer: Confirmed; provided the layout in Appendix H is utilized.When did the current Life and LTD programs go into effect? The rate card and booklets both have effective dates of September 1, 2008. Is that when the programs went into effect? What is the rate guarantee period?Answer: Optional plans were announced in the summer of 2008 with an enrollment period. September 1, 2008, was the effective date of the policies for people who enrolled. Rates were maintained by Prudential for the entire length of the contract.Can the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provide experience for the Life, VAD&D and LTD? For the Life we would need 5 years of experience including:Premium EarnedLivesVolumeClaims paidClaim countsConversion/Port ChargesChange in Pending ReservesChange in Disability Waiver Reserves if ApplicablePlan and Rate Change History over the experience periodAny Open Enrollment HistoryCurrent billAnswer: Please refer to Appendix P.For LTD we would need a paid and incurred analysis with 3 or more years and a listing of Open and Closed claims including:Date of BirthGenderDate of DisabilityGross BenefitNet BenefitOffsetsWhether approved for SSReservePlan and Rate Change History over the experience periodAny Open Enrollment HistoryPlan Design Change History over the experience periodCurrent billAnswer: Please refer to Appendix P.Census data needed:GenderDate of BirthDate of HireSalaryOptional Life Coverage AmountLTD Coverage indicatorJob descriptionState5-Digit Zip CodeDisabled IndicatedAnswer: Please refer to Appendix O.Please confirm the ability to increase Optional and Dependent Life during annual enrollment. It appears employees may increase 1 multiple of pay during annual enrollment without evidence of insurability during annual enrollment. Does this include employees who are not already enrolled in the Optional Life plan (e.g. employee can enroll for 1 multiple of pay for the first time during annual enrollment)? Please confirm spouses and domestic partners cannot increase coverage during annual enrollment without evidence of insurability.Answer: Please refer to further plan information provided in Appendix T.Please confirm there is a no Waiver of Premium provision under the Optional Life plan and disabled employees can continue coverage under the active plan on a premium paying basis based on active rates. If so, is there a time or age limit for how long the disabled employees can continue to be covered under the active plan at which point they are offered conversion or portability?Answer: Confirmed; there is a no Waiver of Premium provision under the Optional Life plan. “Disabled” can have more than one meaning. An active employee in a leave without pay status can continue to pay for coverage by remitting payment directly to the carrier instead of through payroll deduction. If a person separates from employment, the Offeror should explain in its proposal the portability and/or conversion options available for the offered product. Please confirm Guaranteed Issue limit on the Optional Life is the lesser of 1 times pay to $100,000.Answer: Please refer to Appendix T.Please confirm there is no ability to enroll in the Long Term Disability during annual enrollment without evidence of insurability.Answer: Please refer to Appendix T.In Item F. on page 32 of 38, there is reference to a guaranteed enrollment. Can you describe the desired guaranteed enrollment options by coverage and who would be eligible?Answer: Guaranteed enrollment means that applicants should be accepted, but evidence of insurability is permitted as part of determining eligibility during this period.Please describe how the voluntary programs are currently presented during annual enrollment.Answer: A combination of e-mail and home mailing is used.Is there a link provided for employees to enroll directly on the carrier website(s)?Answer: Please refer to the answer to Question 15.Are any of the products currently being offered enrolled via paper?Answer: Yes, enrollments can occur by paper for any of the Prudential products. Must all coverages be enrolled online?Answer: No, but online is a preferred method of enrollment. Products that can accept electronic enrollment should do so, and include a paper or telephonic process by which employees without computers can enroll. For products that do not allow for electronic enrollment, there should still be a customized website as required in Part IV, and may offer an online quote in lieu of an online enrollment feature.What will be the enrollment period for the 7/1 effective date?Answer: We project that the open enrollment will occur in May. Exact dates will have to be coordinated with selected Offerors.What types of employee communication will the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania allow (i.e. newsletter, emails etc.)?Answer: Please refer to the answer to Question 19.Is the 5% Small Diverse Business spend threshold based on the expense component of the premium rate or the premium rate in total, which includes the projected claim costs paid to participants? For example, if the expense component of the rate is 10% and 90% is for the projected claim payments, is the 5% on the 100% premium rate or on the 10% expense component? Answer: Proposed premiums will be converted into a three-year cost. The disadvantaged business score will be based on the commitment’s percent of that three-year total cost.Will the Commonwealth offer more than one Auto and Home Carrier be offered via payroll deduction?Answer: This will be decided by the evaluation committee as part of the evaluation process.Please provide available Loss Ratio history on the current Auto and Home program?Answer: Please see loss information in Appendix U.If a bidder only has a solution to 2 of the products requested, would a proposal for 2 of the 4 products be acceptable?Answer: Any combination of plans may be proposed.What is your current enrollment process for the voluntary plans? Do you currently have an enrollment system in place? If so, what system are you using?Answer: Please refer to the answers to Questions 3, 8, 21 and 23.With regard to the Life product requested, please provide the following:5 years of premium/claim broken out by periods of no more than 12 monthsDetailed claim list including claimant date of death and benefit amountListing of all open waiver-of premium claims (including date of birth, date of disability, face amount of claim)Rate History for 5 yearsDescription of any plan changes during the experience periodAnswer: Please refer to Appendix P.With regard to the LTD product requested, please provide the following: Minimum of 3.5 years of experience (Paid Premium/Paid Claims by period)Open and Closed claim listing (date of birth, date of disability, benefit amount, offsets)Rate HistoryDescription of any plan changes during the experience periodAnswer: Please refer to Appendix P.Please provide a census that includes date of birth. If a summary census is provided, please include volume by date of birth and gender.Answer: Please refer to Appendix O.How many employees have email access at work? Answer: Please refer to Part IV-4, the “Geography” section of the Governor’s Annual Workforce Report and the answer to Question 34.How many employees work remotely/from home?Answer: The Commonwealth was unable to query this information from its records; however, the numbers are minimal.How many office locations exist? How many employees work in each location?Answer: Please refer to the “geography” section of the Governor’s Annual Workforce Report: (new)/20613/workforce_statistics_new/1054504.What are the employee communication channels currently being utilized (intranet, newsletter, onsite meetings, email, direct mail, etc.)? What communication channels have they previously utilized for benefit communications? Answer: Please refer to the answers to Questions 19 and 52.Were those channels deemed successful/unsuccessful?Answer: successful.Do they plan to host onsite benefit fairs/presentations? If so, are employees required to attend? If not how many attend on average?Answer: Onsite benefit group meetings will be planned. Employees are not required to attend. Attendance numbers were not retained from 2008.How many new hires do you average annually?Answer: On average, taken from three years of data, approximately 2,011 new hire actions are processed annually.What do the new hires currently receive (benefit packets, what is included, etc)Answer: New hires receive a welcome letter and an enrollment kit.Will the voluntary benefits be payroll deducted or direct billed? Answer: Proposals should be for payroll deduction, with a plan for billing employees with deduction that are placed on an unpaid leave.Please provide a census of employees participating in the voluntary life plan that includes date of birth (or age as of January 1 if that is easier), gender, and amount of coverage elected for voluntary employee life, spouse life and child life.Answer: Additional census information has been added to Appendices O and P.Page 31 states “Former and retired employees will not be eligible for the program unless they were enrolled at the time of their separation.” Are there retirees covered under this plan? If so, what coverages can they continue into retirement, and at what level? Are there age reductions associated with retiree coverage and/or does it terminate due to age? Please also provide a census that includes date of birth (or age as of January 1 if that is easier), gender, and amount of coverage elected for voluntary employee life, spouse life and child life.Answer: Retirees and separated employees are not the groups to which optional benefits should be offered. The only requirement of Offerors is to explain whether conversion/portability is part of a product and, if so, the conditions under which conversion/portability options are provided.Please provide a premium history for at least the last three years for voluntary employee and dependent life separately. Please provide paid claims for at least the last three years for voluntary employee and dependent life separately. Please provide claims detail for at least the last three years that includes date of death, amount of payment, and date paid for all lines of coverage separately. Please provide a volume history for at least the last three years for all lines of coverage separately.Answer: Please refer to Appendix P.Please provide a recent billing statement. If possible, please provide one billing statement for one month of each of the previous 3 years (example: July 2010, July 2011 and July 2012).Answer: The Commonwealth cannot provide billing statements because all optional insurances are employee paid.Does the Commonwealth provide the Offeror with a file reporting the deduction taken in order to support a carrier-managed premium reconciliation process? Answer: Please refer to Part IV-3, paragraphs L through O, and Appendices G and H.Page 36, statement viii states that the deduction file must be sent using XML or MQSI format, however the current layout included in the exhibits appears to be a text based flat file. Is a text based file an option for sending premium deduction information?Answer: Please follow the descriptions in Part IV-3, paragraphs L through O and Appendices G and H.Beyond the Basic and Voluntary Life plans, are there any other forms of life insurance offered to employees through the Commonwealth?Answer: No, only group basic life and the optional term life is currently available to employees.Is the Commonwealth interested in plan design enhancement opportunities?Answer: Please refer to the answers to Questions 11 and 29.Please provide a census of disabled employees that Offerors will need to assume including gender, date of birth, and coverage amount(s). Please also explain when these amounts reduce or terminate.Answer: There are no disabled employees that Offerors would have to assume because the optional insurances will be offered only to active employees. Please refer to answer to Question 48 regarding the term “disabled.”Please confirm whether the chosen carrier will be required to mail SPDs to participant’s homes or whether the Commonwealth will distribute the information to each employee.Answer: Please refer to Part IV-4 B (i) of the RFP.Page 23 states that there are employees and dependents who are on direct bill. Who are these individuals, and will the new insurance carrier be required to assume these amounts? If a new carrier will be required to assume these amounts, please send a census that includes date of birth, gender, and amounts of insurance to be assumed.Answer: “Direct bill” refers to anyone on leave without pay that pays the premium directly because payroll deduction ceases due to the without pay status. There is a small chance that an employee in term life or long term disability insurance on a direct bill basis would apply for coverage under a new vendor; however, employees currently on direct bill will not still be on direct bill during the enrollment period in May. Offerors will know from the eligibility file (Appendix G) if an applicant is on leave without pay at the time the person is applying.Page 3 of the RFP states that we should provide 10 copies of the Technical proposal, 1 copy of the Cost submittal and two copies of the Small Diverse submittal and then 2 exact copies of the technical submittal on CD. Should any of these be original copies? If so, which ones and how many?Answer: There should be at least one original. The remainder may be photocopies.What activities do current small business subcontractors currently provide? Who are the current small business subcontractors used?Answer: Please refer to the answer to Question 39.Can the Commonwealth provide claims experience for the Voluntary Supplemental Group Term Life and Long Term Disability programs? If so, please include paid premium, paid claims, incurred claims and reserved claims over the last 3 years.Answer: Please refer to Appendix P.Are there any other forms of Life insurance made available to the eligible population other than Basic and Supplemental Group Term Life Insurance?Answer: Please refer to the answer to Question 81.Does the Commonwealth have a recognized and active Work/Life Balance program? If so, please describe it in overview.Answer: This is a small component of the employee assistance program.What percent of the eligible population uses electronic (Intranet) methods to enroll in the Commonwealth’s Core Benefits programs (e.g. Medical coverage)? If not 100%, what alternative communications and enrollment methods are used?Answer: Enrolment processes for the medical insurance are not applicable to this request for proposals. Requirements for optional insurance enrollment are stated in Part IV-3 Q paragraphs (i) through (v) and Part IV-4 B (iii).The RFP identified 11,000 Higher Education employees that could be offered Long Term Care. Could these employees also be eligible for other Voluntary Employee-Paid Benefits (e.g. Auto/Home)? Answer: No, because the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is only interested in offering optional long term care insurance to its employees; therefore any resulting contract for long term care insurance must also be opened to the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education employees.Are there any additional Commonwealth employee groups in other agencies that might be eligible?Answer: No, the only Commonwealth employee groups eligible are already addressed in the RFP.Does the Commonwealth offer a High-Deductible/Consumer-Directed Medical plan option? If so, what percent of eligible employees participate in it?Answer: Please refer to Appendix R.Are the voluntary benefits requested in the RFP currently centrally managed? If so, who is providing this service?Answer: No. Employees interact directly with the benefit provider and the Office of Administration, Bureau of Employee Benefits and Services conducts oversight of the benefit provider to ensure compliance with the terms of the Contract.Please describe in detail the access that the insurance carrier will be given to educate and inform the employees on the long term care insurance offering.Answer: Communication will principally be through a combination of electronic and home mailing. Group meetings will also be available during an initial roll out period.Questions referring to page 13, section II-2, A, iv, 1 - 8) for the purpose of the proposal itself: By “marketing strategy” please provide clarification as to whether you expect to receive –An overview of all communication capabilities (all deliverables and advised channels) along with best practice recommendations for an effective enrollment campaign (including both new benefit and existing benefit change announcements)?ORA final formal communication strategy developed upon answers to the questions outlined below and including future enrollment conditions?Can you provide an employee ages (this will help us determine the best combination of print vs. digital communications based upon marketing research speaking to digital vs. tactile preferences )How many employees have email access at work? How many employees work remotely/from home?How many office locations exist?How many employees work in each location?What are the employee communication channels currently being utilized (intranet, newsletter, onsite meetings, email, direct mail, etc.)?What communication channels have they previously utilized for benefit communications? Were those channels deemed successful/unsuccessful?Do they plan to host onsite benefit fairs/presentations? If so are employees required to attend? If not how many attend on average?How many new hires do they average annually?What do the new hires currently receive (benefit packets, what is included, etc)Will the voluntary benefits be payroll deducted or direct billed? Answer: The formal communication strategy. Please refer to Appendix O for census information, including age.Please refer to Part IV-4 B (v) for information regarding number of employees with e-mail access at work.The number of employees working from home is minimal and we are unable to provide exact numbers. Please refer to the “Geography” section of the Governor’s Annual Workforce Report for work location information.Please refer to the “Geography” section of the Governor’s Annual Workforce Report for work location information.Currently a combination of e-mail communication and home mailing is used for solicitation to employees.These communication channels are deemed successful.Group meetings will be conducted to announce new benefits. Attendance will not be mandatory and we did not retain attendance information from 2008.On average, taken from three years of data, approximately 2,011 new hire actions were processed.New hires receive a letter along with an enrollment kit.Payroll deduction is required of Offerors. Regarding samples of typical communication materials that can be provided; will you accept a PPT presentation displaying a collection of these samples digitally? Answer: Yes, the Commonwealth will accept a PowerPoint presentation displaying samples of typical communication materials; however, they must be included in the paper response as well, since the complete responses will be provided to the evaluation committee in paper format only.Are any of 77,875 full-time and eligible part-time employees indicated in the RFP eligible for other voluntary benefits programs from other employment-related organizations such as Commonwealth sub-units (e.g., State System of Higher Education for Long Term Care), education institutions, unions, benefit trust funds, etc.? If so, what are the other employment-related organizations and the other voluntary benefits programs?Answer: Please refer to the answer to Question 81.Please confirm that all 78k employees listed in Appendix F are eligible for the supplemental life program and the long-term disability program. Please confirm that the 78k are not eligible for any other supplemental life or long-term disability programs offered by other Commonwealth divisions/ units/ agencies.Answer: Confirmed; except as explained in the answers to Questions 33 and 37. The RFP does not outline any available compensation to an Offeror proposing to broker insurance services for the voluntary benefits programs. What amount of compensation will be allowed by the Commonwealth? Are there guidelines or restrictions on the compensation structure provided to an Offeror proposing either broker or consulting services? Answer: There are no restrictions or guidelines on the use of a broker. The Commonwealth requires that Offerors include any broker fee in the premium being proposed for the benefit. Are commissions included in any of the voluntary benefits programs outlined in the RFP? If so, what commissions are included in each voluntary benefits program? If commissions are included in any of the voluntary benefits programs, are the commissions transferable to the selected Offeror?Answer: The Commonwealth is not aware of whether the current vendors pay a fee or commission to a broker. The current vendors submitted a single premium for each product, as is expected from Offerors in this request for proposals.If the selected Offeror can provide other voluntary, employee-paid, group benefits as part of the proposal and such benefits are determined by the Commonwealth to be advantageous to its overall compensation strategy, what amount of commissions can be included in such new voluntary benefits programs?Answer: Please refer to the answer to Question 101.What is the reason for the Commonwealth to issue the RFP at this time?Answer: Please refer to the answer to Question 6.Are there current vendors for the voluntary benefits programs that perform the following services? Please identify the vendor, the services performed and the compensation provided for such services.Answer: “The following services” were not enumerated in the question posed to the Commonwealth. Please see answer to Question 4 for the services provided by the current vendors.In addition to any proposed voluntary benefits programs, an Offeror may propose using third party vendors for services such as payroll consolidation, customer service, portal provider, discount product purchase, etc. Are there any requirements or restrictions on the use of third party vendors who are not owned or part of the proposed carriers’ organizations?Answer: Please refer to the answer to Question 101.In order to provide specific and binding proposals for the listed voluntary benefits programs, please provide the most recent loss experience for the past three plan years showing earned premiums, paid claims, claim reserves, any premium reserves, loss adjustment reserves and any incurred but not reported reserves. Answer: Please refer to Appendix P.In order to provide specific and binding proposals for the listed voluntary benefits programs, please provide a census of eligible employees showing the following data elements for each eligible employee:Age or date of birthAnnual compensationFull-time or part-time statusActively at work statusDate of hire/most recent date of eligibility to purchase voluntary benefits programGenderJob title/job descriptionAddress showing street, city, state and zip codeIndication of whether the employee has purchased the term life program and the long term disability program.Answer: Please refer to Appendices F and O.We would appreciate the addition of a minor clarification on the “Hold Harmless” provision (Section 14 of its Standard Contract) .It is the mere addition of the words “negligence, willful misconduct or material breach of express contractual obligations.” If we do not hear otherwise, we will assume this is within the spirit of the clause at least for discussion purposes.Answer: All objections to the standard terms and conditions should be included within the proposal as required by Section II-8.We would appreciate discussion of a mutual and reasonable limitation of direct damages and the exclusion of consequential damages, but with appropriate exceptions that meet your specifications. If we do not hear otherwise, we will assume this is within the spirit of the guidelines at least for discussion purposes.Answer: Please refer to the answer to Question 109.Do Exhibits A-1 through A-8 apply to this contract?Answer: Please refer to the answer to Question 109.Able to submit bids both directly to the Commonwealth and through brokers and consultants? And, if we are able to submit bids through brokers and consultants, are we able to include commissions and/or fees in those proposals?Answer: Please refer to the answer to Question 101.In light of the Commonwealth’s desire to provide benefits at affordable rates and its encouragement of creative proposals by Offerors, would individually written cost competitive supplemental health policies be considered responsive to this RFP, and if not, would their attributes be considered technical or immaterial nonconformities subject to a waiver by the Issuing Officer?Answer: Do not submit any proposals for medical or prescription coverage as those are already covered by other Commonwealth agreements. Other benefits, including individually written cost competitive supplemental health policies, will be considered, scored by the evaluation committee as part of the evaluation process, and reviewed to determine the proposals that best complement the Commonwealth’s existing benefit structure.Similarly, in light of the Commonwealth’s desire to provide a greater variety of benefits that are complementary to the existing benefit structure, would guaranteed renewable, completely portable supplemental health products, which have no open enrollment period and allow enrollment at any time, subject to underwriting qualifications be considered response to this RFP, and if not, would the characteristics of such products be considered technical or immaterial nonconformities subject to waiver by the issuing officer?Answer: Please refer to the answer to Question 113.We would be pleased and honored to request the following amendatory paragraph for the RFP, if indeed the Commonwealth so desires to consider our proposal: The Commonwealth will give consideration to individually issued and underwritten life and supplemental health products that the Commonwealth believes would be valuable complements to the existing voluntary benefit offerings. In the event that such products do not meet all technical requirements enumerated in the RFP (for example, as pertains to underwriting and open enrollment periods), the Commonwealth may waive these or similar requirements on a case-by-case basis.Answer: The Commonwealth respectfully declines adding the suggested paragraph to the RFP, as it deemed unnecessary. Please refer to the answer to Question 113.Due to the lack of true group LTCI providers offering plans in the marketplace today, would the Commonwealth of PA consider a replacement of their current group LTCI plan with a multi-life (individually owned, discounted program), LTCI program offered through payroll deduction.Answer: Offers for long term care insurance will be accepted as responsive to the RFP and scored by the selection committee.Would the Commonwealth of PA approve a program that offers some underwriting concessions but does not offer guaranteed issue underwriting provisions.Answer: The only limitations on evidence of insurability pertain to lives currently covered by term life insurance and disability insurance, as explained in Part II-2 A (iii) and Part IV-3 B. With regard to guarantee issue and underwriting, a program would be considered responsive to the RFP and would be scored as long as it does not conflict with the guaranteed enrollment required for term life and long term disability insurance participants.In addition to the call center enrollment approach, is there an opportunity to offer on-site group and face to face education and enrollment to employees in a structured process?Answer: Please refer to the answers to Questions 27 and 71.If there is an opportunity to offer face to face enrollment, would the commonwealth have the authority to implement such an enrollment strategy?Answer: Please refer to the answers to Questions 27 and 71.Would the Commonwealth of PA allow an LTCI enrollment firm access to a full census file that would provide employees ages, occupations, incomes, gender and locations?Answer: Selected Offerors will have to work with the data provided in the interface files, as explained in the layouts in Appendices G and H.Given the size and scope of the Commonwealth of PA, would the enrollment firm be allowed to segment the enrollment period and break down the enrollment into several enrollment periods to provide the level of planning and education so that all interested employees can meet with an enrollment specialist and make an informed decision?Answer: Please refer to the answers to Questions 27 and 71.Would the Commonwealth of PA be agreeable to offering a comprehensive LTCI solution? Meaning we would offer both a traditional LTCI policy solution as well as a hybrid (life insurance with a living benefit that covers LTC0 policy solutions?Answer: Please refer to the answer to Question 116.Would the Commonwealth of PA considering offering a LTCI solution for its employees during an off-cycle enrollment campaign?Answer: Please refer to the answer to Question 116.Is it important to the commonwealth to include a State Partnership LTCI program solution as well?Answer: Please refer to the answer to Question 116.Is it allowed to have a single carrier submit multiple proposals through multiple brokers?Answer: Yes. The proposals should be clear about which broker is associated with which benefit product. ................
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