NIGP 91840: Employee Benefits Consulting

NIGP 91840 Employee Benefits Consulting, an Item code, covers independent advisory and brokerage services that state and local governments use to design, procure, administer, and optimize employee health and welfare benefit programs. State and local buyers are soliciting this code to secure guidance on plan design and cost management, carrier and vendor negotiation, regulatory compliance (ERISA, COBRA, HIPAA, ACA), claims analysis, wellness program evaluation, open enrollment support, and day-to-day benefits administration across medical, pharmacy, dental, vision, life, disability, flexible spending accounts, and ancillary coverages for their employees and retirees.

Issuing bodies span counties, cities, school districts, special-purpose authorities, and state agencies across a broad geographic footprint. Recent activity appears concentrated in Florida (City of DeBary, City of Holly Hill, City of Sarasota, Pinellas County, City of Daytona Beach), Georgia (Whitfield County, Paulding County, White County, Henry County, Effingham County), and Texas (Houston, San Antonio, Austin ISD, Richardson, Paulding County, Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area), with additional procurement from states including South Dakota, New Jersey, and Arizona, and scattered municipal and county procurement in New Mexico, Connecticut, and elsewhere. Henry County, Georgia appears as a repeat buyer with three overlapping RFPs for employee benefit consulting and broker services (RFP 27-01 and RFP 27-05, both due in August 2026). City of Tampa issued two separate RFPs (26P00112 and 26P00543) within weeks, reflecting turnover in incumbent brokers. The mix of issuing bodies includes municipal HR departments (Tampa, San Antonio, Houston, Orlando, Phoenix, Daytona Beach, Sarasota, Richardson), county boards of commissioners, school districts (Rockwood School District in Missouri; Austin ISD in Texas), regional workforce development boards (Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area), state employee benefits programs (South Dakota Bureau of Human Resources), and special-purpose entities (Pinellas County, Atlanta Regional Commission, Los Angeles County Development Authority). Representative recent opportunities include the City of Holly Hill, Florida RFP 26-HR-01 (due April 8, 2026) seeking broker services for medical, dental, vision, firefighter cancer, and life insurance for 109 active employees and 53 retirees; Paulding County, Georgia quality-based proposals for employee benefits brokerage and consulting services (due November 13, 2026); White County, Georgia RFQ for broker services covering 272 benefit-eligible employees (due December 11, 2026); City of Tampa RFP 26P00543 for employee benefits consulting services (due October 22, 2026) replacing expiring agreement with Gallagher Benefit Services; and Pinellas County, Florida RFP 26-0251 for employee benefits concierge and health navigation services for 3,250 County employees (due March 5, 2026, with five named vendors invited to submit: Alight Health, Included Health, Quantum Health, Transcarent/Accolade, and Healthjoy). Many procurements are structured as RFPs or RFQs with multi-year initial terms (typically three to five years) and optional renewal periods, requiring professional liability insurance of $1 million to $5 million per occurrence, HIPAA Business Associate Agreements, and demonstrated experience with public sector benefits management. Cost proposals are evaluated on competitive scoring in many jurisdictions, with points allocated proportionally from lowest-cost conforming proposals.