STATE OF MARYLAND

MARYLAND HEALTH BENEFIT EXCHANGED (MHBE)

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

MHBE FULFILLMENT SERVICE CENTER

RFP NUMBER PENDING

ISSUE DATE: DECEMBER 15, 2025

A Prospective Offeror that has received this document from a source other than eMarylandMarketplace Advantage (eMMA) https://procurement.maryland.gov should register on eMMA https://emma.maryland.gov/

MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISES ARE ENCOURAGED TO RESPOND TO THIS SOLICITATION.

https://procurement.maryland.gov/ https://emma.maryland.gov/

STATE OF MARYLAND

MARYLAND HEALTH BENEFIT EXCHANGED (MHBE)

KEY INFORMATION SUMMARY SHEET

Request for Proposals MHBE FULFILLMENT SERVICES

Solicitation Number: BPM054543

RFP Issue Date: December 15, 2025

RFP Issuing Office: Maryland Health Benefit Exchanged 750 East Pratt Street, 6th Floor Baltimore, MD 21202

Procurement Officer: Shirelle Green 750 East Pratt Street, 6th Floor Baltimore, MD 21202

Email:

Phone Number:

Shirelle.green1@maryland.gov 410-547-5181

Proposals are to be sent to:

Submit on emma.maryland.gov under Solicitation Number PENDING To submit a proposal, offerors must first register on emma.maryland.gov.

We recommend registering in advance to become acquainted with the site.

No Bid/Proposal Notice Feedback Form

*If you are not submitting a proposal for this solicitation, submit Attachment 1 with your reasons why.

Pre-Proposal Conference:

December 22, 2025 @ 10am est.

See Section 4.3 for additional details.

Scheduled Site Visit N/A

Questions Due Date and Time:

January 26, 2026 @ 10am Local Time:

mailto:Shirelle.green1@maryland.gov

Proposal Due (Closing) Date and Time:

February 9th, 2025 Local Time Offerors are reminded that a completed Feedback Form is requested if a no-bid/proposal decision is made (see Attachment 1 - No Bid Notice/Vendor Feedback Form).

MBE Subcontracting Goal:

An overall Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) or Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) subcontract participation goal of __10% percent of the total contract dollar amount, including all renewal option terms, if any, has been established for this procurement. The overall MBE or DBE subcontract participation goal includes the following subgoals, which have been established for this procurement:

_____% for African-American MBEs;

_____% for Asian-American MBEs;

_____% for Hispanic-American MBEs; and _____% for Woman-Owned MBEs.

Refer to Exhibit 1 for information on how goal setting was determined.

Also, refer to Appendix 4 for information about the MBE or DBE program and goals.

VSBE Subcontracting Goal:

N/A

Procurement Method: A Contract will be awarded in accordance with MHBE Policy for Competitive Sealed Proposal; under COMAR 03.03.01..

Multiple or Alternate Bids:

Multiple or alternate Proposals will not be accepted.

Contract Type: Indefinite quantity with fixed unit prices.

Contract Duration: Three (3) year base period with one (1) two -year option period.

Primary Place of Performance:

Maryland (MD)

SBR Designation: No

Federal Funding: Yes

TABLE OF CONTENTS – RFP

1 71.1 72 82.1 82.2

92.3 112.4 12.5 33

63.1 63.2 63.3

83.4 9Service Level Agreements (SLA) 10

Service Level Metrics and Measurements 11

3.4 153.5 153.6 153.7 163.8 163.9 163.10 163.11 173.12 173.13 173.14 18 3.15Security Requirements……………………………………………………………………….…..20

3.16 Background Check…………………………………………………………………………..…..20

4 254.1 254.2 254.3 254.4 264.5 264.6 264.7 264.8 274.9 274.10 274.11 274.12 284.13 284.14 284.15

284.16 294.17 294.18 295 305.1 305.2 305.3 315.4 406 416.1 416.2 416.3 416.4 416.5 426.6 43

7 457.1 457.2 46

1 Minimum Qualifications

1.1 Offeror Minimum Qualifications

1.2 The Offeror shall have at least three (3) years of experience within the past seven (7) years with: (1) reading barcodes, scanning and indexing high volumes of inbound documents, (2) receiving electronic data files to generate high volumes of material such as notices, Medicaid Cards or IRS 1095 forms for printing and mailing, (3) working knowledge of ACA eligibility applications and verifications document processing, and (4) experience utilizing a third party customer relationship manager (CRM) solution such as Salesforce. The Offeror shall be SOC2 compliant.

1.3 The Offeror shall, or can be within 90 days, able to show compliance with all directives outlined in IRS Publication

1075, Guide to Protecting Federal Tax Information.

1.4 Offerors must be located within 100 miles of MHBE offices in zip code 21201 or within the State of Maryland.

The Offeror must document in its Proposal that it satisfies the above required Minimum Qualifications:

A. By providing at least three references in the company’s letterhead that provides the reference. The Offeror shall provide with its Proposal resumes from all parties working on this request; resumes must demonstrate that the staff has the knowledge and background to meet the requirements.

B. The Offeror shall provide with its Proposal "Attachment L Reference Checks" with three or more references filled out.

THE REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.

2 Contractor Requirements: Scope of Work

2.1 Summary Statement

This Request for Proposals (RFP) is issued to procure the goods or services, as specified in this Section 2, from a contract between the selected offeror(s) and the State of Maryland (“State”).

The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange (MHBE) is issuing this Request for Proposals (RFP) to procure the services of a qualified Offeror to perform fulfillment services.

It is MHBE’s intention to obtain services, as specified in this RFP, through a Contract between the selected Offeror and the MHBE. The anticipated duration of services to be provided under this Contract is three-year base and one-two year option.

This MHBE intends to make a single award as a result of this RFP. See RFP Section 6.5 Selection Procedures for more Contract award information.

An Offeror, either directly or through its subcontractor(s), must be able to provide all services and meet all of the requirements requested in this solicitation. The successful Offeror (the Contractor) shall remain responsible for Contract performance regardless of subcontractor’s participation in the work.

The purpose of this solicitation is to procure fulfillment operations support to ensure successful enrollment into a qualified health plan, standalone dental plan or managed care organization (MCO). Fulfillment services include the electronic upload of all inbound documents to consumer accounts within the MHC application, printing and mailing outbound consumer notices, printing and mailing appeals-related documents, processing mailed paper Medicaid Managed Care Organization (MCO) enrollment forms and returned mail, processing mailed or faxed paper applications, printing and mailing Medicaid cards on behalf of the Maryland Department of Health (MDH), and printing and mailing IRS 1095 forms and all other outbound document mailing. The Contractor shall be fully responsible for the graphic design, printing, forms fulfillment, case documentation in Salesforce CRM, inbound paper application data entry and other fulfillment-related tasks as requested. The contractor is responsible for costs associated with all MCO enrollment materials and outbound correspondence specified in the RFP. All contractors- incurred postage costs will be passed through to the MHBE for reimbursement via monthly billing.

Location Requirements

MHBE will require all offerors to have a facility located in the State of Maryland, approximately within 100 miles of MHBE location at; 750 Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202

A Contract award does not ensure a Contractor will receive all or any State business under the Contract.

2.2 Background and Purpose

The mission of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange (“MHBE”) is to make health coverage affordable and more accessible for the citizens of Maryland. MHBE is responsible for the Maryland Health Connection (MHC), the State’s health insurance marketplace under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-148) as amended, including by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law No. 111-152), and all regulations promulgated pursuant thereto (the

“ACA”).

Notices processed under the fulfillment services contract may include federal tax information (FTI). As a condition of receiving FTI, 26 U.S.C. §6103 requires recipient agencies and their vendors to establish and maintain, to the satisfaction of the IRS, certain safeguards designed to prevent unauthorized use and disclosure of FTI and to protect the confidentiality of that information. FTI is defined as a return, return information, federal tax offset program information, and any tax information not received directly from the party the information is about. Return: any tax or information return, declaration of estimated tax, or claim for refund which includes supporting schedules, attachments, or lists which are supplemental to or part of the return. Return information: a taxpayer’s identity, the nature, source, or amount of his/her income, payments, receipts, deductions, exemptions, credits, assets, liabilities, net worth, tax liability, tax withheld, deficiencies, or tax payments. It is any information that the IRS collects and uses to determine a person’s tax liability. A taxpayer’s identity means the name of a person with respect to whom a return is filed, his/her mailing address, Social Security Number, employer identification number, or account information. This can also include information about whether a person did or did not file a return.

The following chart depicts monthly fulfillment volumes offered during FY24 and FY25 to date:

Outbound Notices Page Counts

July 2023-July

July 2024-July

Page Count

Quantit y of

Notices

Page Count per Notice

Total Page

Count Page

Count

Quantity of

Notices

Page Count per Notice

Total Page

Count

2 424446 2 848892 2 586959 2 1173918 4 630531 4 2522124 4 848943 4 3395772 6 475399 6 2852394 6 567857 6 3407142 8 294528 8 2356224 8 372997 8 2983976 10 96306 10 963060 10 117543 10 1175430 12 150283 12 1803396 12 155761 12 1869132 14 88400 14 1237600 14 92696 14 1297744 16 25 16 400 16 7 16 112 18 9 18 162 18 1 18 18 20 922 20 18440 20 1080 20 21600 22 37 22 814 22 38 22 836 24 2 24 48 24 0 24 0 26 0 26 0 26 0 26 0 28 0 28 0 28 0 28 0 30 0 30 0 30 1 30 30 32 0 32 0 32 0 32 0 34 0 34 0 34 0 34 0 36 0 36 0 36 0 36 0 38 0 38 0 38 0 38 0 40 0 40 0 40 0 40 0 44 0 44 0 44 0 44 0 46 0 46 0 46 0 46 0 56 0 56 0 56 0 56 0

Totals 1,019,99

12,603,55

4 Totals 2,743,883 15,325,71

2.3 Contractor Requirements/ Responsibilities

ID # Task Requirement

2.3.1 System Generated Outbound

Notice Production

The Contractor shall print and mail notices from nightly HBX- generated PDF files. The notices are relative to enrollment, disenrollment, and action reminder eligibility.

Number of pages varies based on type of notice and size of household.

Assume 2-sided printing, mostly black & white print, occasional color added.

2.3.2 Ad hoc Manual Notice

Production & Mailings

The Contractor shall prepare mail merge letter with address data points, print and mail on an as requested basis by the MHBE. The volume can range from several hundred to several thousand. The files are typically encrypted and emailed to Contractor point of contact. Ad hoc mailings include Appeals-related correspondence that is emailed to a designated point of contact by the MHBE Appeals workers. Instruction is provided to print and mail to specified recipients. Mailing page counts vary.

2.3.3 Voter’s Registration Forms

Fulfillment

The Contractor shall mail voter registration forms, provided by the MHBE or the Maryland State Board of Elections, to recipients on the weekly address file generated from HBX.

2.3.4 Paper Application Fulfillment The Contractor shall mail printed paper MHC application forms, as requested by consumers, to recipients in the provided address file generated from HBX and/or CRM.

2.3.5 IRS Forms 1095-A and

1095- B Production

The Contractor shall print and mail HBX-generated IRS Forms 1095-A and 1095-B forms not later than January 31stt of each year. 1095-B forms are mailed based on consumer request only. Ad hoc requests for 1095-A and 1095-B forms occur throughout the year.

2.3.6 Medicaid Managed Care

Organization (MCO) Enrollment Packet Production and Mailing

Real time MCO plan shopping upon MAGI Medicaid eligibility determination has significantly reduced the volume of MCO enrollment packets that are printed and mailed to MAGI consumers. However, non-MAGI consumers will be required to receive the MCO enrollment packets via the mail. The MHBE and the MDH anticipate a need to fulfill approximately 7,500 MCO enrollment packets per month. Enrollment packets are printed, assembled and stocked for mailing request fulfillments. There are currently 9 unique pieces and 2 envelopes to be printed in black and white and color format.

MCO-provided brochures are also included as assembly items. We do not anticipate changes to current artwork and layout formats.

The MHBE and the MDH anticipate less than 500 paper enrollments to be processed per month.

The Contractor shall design, print and mail Medicaid MCO enrollment packets to recipients in address file generated from the HBX on a daily basis.

The MHBE and MDH are responsible for providing the content, draft layouts and final approval of all enrollment materials. The Contractor shall be responsible for providing, at a minimum, the enrollment materials printed in both English and Spanish. The

Contractor shall design the enrollment materials and submit to the MDH for review 60 days before the Go-Live date. Once approved, the Contractor must print and mail all enrollment materials as required.

Enrollment materials included in the MCO Enrollment packet should be printed, revised and/or ordered as needed to ensure adequate real-time inventory.

The Contractor will be responsible for formatting and adding inserts which are approved by MDH into the MCO enrollment packet if a change is necessary to the enrollment materials between print cycles. Print cycles typically occur on January 1st and July 1st of each year.

The Enrollment Packet shall contain the following (See Appendices):

A. Cover Letter B. Notice - MCO Change Policies C. HealthChoice Program Information Booklet D. An MCO Performance Card E. A Doctor/Clinic Listing Request Card F. An MCO Enrollment Form G. A Health Service

Needs Information (HSNI) Form G. Envelope that is postage-paid and self-addressed to the vendor’s mailing address for processing of mailed in enrollment forms

H. Reminder Notices I. Non-Discrimination Statement and Accessibility

Requirements Brochure

J. MCO-furnished enrollment brochures

The Contractor shall print and mail enrollment packets to designated HOH recipients within five (5) Business Days upon receipt of new Health Choice enrollment transactions from the MHBE.

The Contractor shall print and mail a reminder notice (See Appendix B) within seven (7) days of sending the enrollment packet if no response has been received from the recipient explaining that the recipient must choose an MCO within a specified time or be auto assigned by the Department.

The Contractor shall generate graphics from MDH provided artwork along with pre-printed window envelopes.

The MHBE and the MDH anticipate the printing, fulfillment and mailing of less than 75 Provider Network Directories per month. The Provider Network Directory is not required to be included in the MCO Enrollment packets, but a printed copy must be made available to a recipient upon request. There are seven regional Provider Network Directories that include approximately 114 pages. Page numbers range from 25 pages to 200 pages, depending on the region.

2.3.7 Inbound Document

Processing Services

The Contractor shall provide the following inbound document processing services:

● Provide P.O. Box/Collect Mail Daily

● Document receipt

● Form Identification/Coding

● Barcode reading

● Scan into PDF format and upload to HBX

● Data enter and process received paper applications to eligibility determination in HBX worker portal

● Data enter and process received cancellation forms in

HBX worker portal

● Data enter and process Medicaid MCO enrollment request forms within 48 hours of receipt date.

● Document receipt of Fair Hearing Requests in CRM and attach to CRM for routing to Appeals Team

● Shredding received documents after scanning

● Return to sender wrongly mailed checks and important originals

2.3.8 Medicaid/Program ID Cards The Contractor shall be responsible for the printing, fulfillment, and mailing of Medicaid and Kidney Disease Program ID cards and envelopes. MDH is responsible for providing the content, draft layouts and final approval of ID card carriers.

A secure daily electronic ID card file will be provided to the contractor by the MDH. The contractor is expected to print and mail the cards out daily upon receipt of file.

Card Specifications:

8.5” x 11” White

UV Finish coated Card Finish

Finish size 3.375 x 2.125

Substrate .015 White PVC

Credit Card sized perforated punch out die cut

Card Colors-template provided: Medicaid Program- Card color: Red/White Kidney Disease Program- Card color:

Blue/White

Family Planning Program- Card color: Purple/White Hospice Program- Card color: Orange/White Medicare Buy-In Program- Card color: Gray/White

#10 left side window envelopes 4.125 x 9.5 (10) - Template provided by the MDH

Basic Volume Assumptions:

Medicaid Cards: 300,000 annually Kidney Disease Program- 3,000 annually Family Planning Program- 4,000 annually Hospice Program- 2,000 annually Medicare Buy-In Program- 7,000 annually

Returned mail of Medicaid/Program cards will be directed to MDH for tracking and recording purposes.

2.3.9 MDH Medicare Notices “Medicare Age Out” – Letter 1 -MDH monthly notices to Medicaid consumers who are becoming 65 years old or Medicare eligible.

“Medicare Outreach” – Letter 2 - MDH weekly notices to consumers who may be eligible under the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program offered through Medicaid.

Content, draft layouts and final approval of the notices provided by

MDH.

Notice and Envelope Specifications:

8.5” x 11” White Paper

#10 left side window envelopes 4.125 x 9.5 (#10)

Basic Assumptions:

● Medicare Outreach Notice: 700/month:

8,400/annually

● Medicare Age-Out Notice:

6,000/month: 72,000/annually

2.3.10 Returned Mail Management The Contractor shall document all returned mail in the CRM.

The Contractor shall determine if there is a correct address and resend.

2.3.11 Facility The Contractor is responsible for providing a facility that meets, but is not limited to the following requirements:

● The Contractor shall provide turn-key facilities within 100 miles of zip code 21202 (Baltimore, MD).

● The Contractor shall provide adequate and secure workspace with equipment and furniture to support mailroom, document preparation, data entry operations and secure document storage facilities. This includes mail opening equipment, and document scanning hardware and software to capture 200 dpi bi-tonal (black and white) images of paper documents.

● The Contractor shall provide PC workstations for indexing operations and processing of data in a secure room with only authorized staff access.

● The Contractor's physical and environmental security controls shall meet MARS-E and HIPAA compliance standards.

2.3.12 Network Infrastructure The Contractor shall maintain at least two environments:

Integrated Test Environment (ITE) and production environment.

Integrated test environment to be used for end-to-end testing with HBX.

The Contractor must provide appropriate network infrastructure and expert support services to acquire and complete circuit connectivity within the Fulfillment Center facility.

The Contractor must provide fiber connectivity within the Fulfillment Center facility.

The Contractor will work with the state technology division to arrange for connectivity to the Worker Portal via means of direct connection from the state to a contractor premise and/or site to site VPN tunnel.

The Contractor must provide local internet services capable of supporting a 150M MPLS connection.

The Contractor must supply all PCs, monitors, printers, network routers, network switches, data center racks, and wiring sufficient to meet network and operational needs.

Contractor will assume billing and cost management responsibilities for establishing and maintaining connectivity (MPLS and Internet)

The Contractor shall provide resource (s) to:

● Configure production environment and ITE servers

● Test the production environment and ITE servers

● Configure production environment workstations

● Configure production environment networking equipment

● Test production environment workstations and networking equipment

● Support system integration testing and troubleshooting

● Participate in system User Acceptance Testing (UAT) in conjunction with the MHBE.

The Contractor will provide redundant DHCP and DNS network services.

The Exchange will provide CRM Users License sufficient for the number of required staff and Maryland.gov email addresses for specific staff.

The contractor must provide internet connectivity to the following applications:

● The Exchange’s Web Application

● The Exchange’s Learning Management System (LMS)

● The Exchange’s Customer Relationship

Management System (CRM) The Contractor will ensure desktop upgrades to support Service Center tools to Service Center Representatives desktops.

Contractor will either use Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer web browsers, or such other upgraded versions as required, to connect to the hosted Exchange applications.

● The Contractor shall provide computing systems workstations with the following minimum specifications:

● Processor - 7th Generation - i7 Processor

● Memory - 8 Gig minimum Disk Space - Minimum 256 SSD or Regular Hard Drive (500Gig)

● Full disk encryption

● Monitors (2) - 24-inch monitors

● The Contractor shall have technical support for all provided systems, desktops and network connectivity.

2.3.15 Ongoing

Support/Account Management

The Contractor shall provide resources to process and resolve the MHBE support requests (emails/phone calls) regarding system issues such as unreadable images; images not received;

incomplete batch of documents; etc.

• Provide a single vendor point of contact.

• Coordinate all activities with the MHBE contract monitor.

• Implement methods, procedures, documentation, standards and controls for the Scanning and Indexing Operations.

• Upon request, provide the MHBE with status information/reports on work plans, schedules, deliverables, acceptance criteria and other work products related to the Scanning and Indexing Operations.

2.3.13 Development, Testing, Network Connectivity Services

MHBE will pay for Contractor labor to execute activities described in tasks 3.2.1.10 (Network Infrastructure) and 3.2.1.12 (Specific Development and Testing)

2.3.14 Specific Development and

Testing

The Contractor shall provide resource (s) to:

● Develop and test scanner applications for the MHBE documents.

● Validate the capability to process all the existing forms and verification documents with no additional impact to HBX system

● If HBX replaces current document repository, then make necessary system changes required for that transition

● Support enhanced forms design by working with the MHBE and to validate that all the MHBE application forms and notices will be suitable for efficient scanning and processing.

● Develop, implement and test the MHBE specific requirements such as unique form types.

● Establish and test SFTP connections PGP encryption and transmission.

● Develop User Acceptance Test scripts and test batches in conjunction with the MHBE.

● Unit testing and complete solution testing.

● Professional Services resources to test the scanning, form identification and indexing processes and associated workflows in the ITE.

● Upload test export batches to the MHBE test folder for validation by the MHBE.

• Provide operational reports that detail the volume of documents scanned and processed by date and source.

• Notify the MHBE contract monitor on a timely basis of any and all issues and concerns of which the Contractor becomes aware relating to the conduct of the project.

• The Contractor and the MHBE will review this SOW on a quarterly basis to ensure that all of the activities and processes associated with the project at that time are fully captured by this SOW. New services that are determined to be out of scope will result in amendments to the SOW.

2.3.16 Operations The Contractor shall:

• Provide appropriate staffing to handle the daily mail pickup at the USPS Post Office.

• Conduct all required training of personnel.

• Create operational procedures documentation.

• Read barcodes on the MHBE documents that contain 1D or 2D barcodes and automatically populate document metadata.

• Perform manual identification of semi-structured and unstructured client documents (e.g., identifying a client’s U.S. passport as document type “AHU-1”).

• Perform automatic or manual separation as required of merged client documents to allow each document to be indexed separately.

• Export images and data in PGP encrypted zip file format to the MHBE SFTP site at least once every business day.

If the daily volume increases significantly, increase the upload frequency to ensure the constant flow of images and data to the MHBE.

• Provide chain of custody mailroom controls and mailroom processing, pre-scan document preparation, document scanning, indexing, quality assurance and reconciliation.

• Return certain critical documents (such as original passports, original driver’s licenses, checks, money orders, voter registration documents) to senders within 1 business day.

• Implement pre- and post-scanning Quality Assurance processes. Provide description and example of Quality Assurance and Control program.

• Perform other MHBE worker portal activities as requested by the MHBE.

2.3.17 Ownership of Hardware and

Software Resources

All computer hardware, computer software and facilities resources required to implement and operate the MHBE processing operation will be the sole property of the Contractor. The scanned paper documents, and the data and images created from the scanned documents will be the sole property of the MHBE.

2.3.18 Adding or Changing

Document Types

The production and test environments for the MHBE will be configured to process the Document types provided by the MHBE. Document types can be added or changed, and business rules can be added or changed via a project change request.

2.3.19 Barcode Scan Contractor shall have capability to scan barcoded documents as generated by the HBX.

2.3.20 Reports Design Contractor shall provide daily and monthly production reporting.

2.3.21 Compliance The Contractor shall securely destroy post-scanning of MHBE paper documents (unless original versions to be returned to sender)

The Contractor shall provide secure destruction of the MHBE paper documents.

The Contractor shall prepare for and participate in facility and operational audits conducted by the MHBE and OIG.

Security standards shall be in accordance with State and federal security and privacy requirements regarding collection, maintenance, and use of the Protected Information, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) of 1996, and implementing regulations of 45 C.F.R. Parts 160 and 164; and the Affordable Care Act, and 45 C.F.R. § 155.260 and the Maryland Confidentiality of Medical Records Act

(“MCMRA”).

Md. Code Ann. Health-Gen §§ 4-310 et seq. The Offeror must also maintain all directives outlined in IRS Publication 1075, Guide to Protecting Federal Tax Information.

RFP for Maryland Health Benefit Exchange Page 1 of 46

2.4 Experience and Personnel

2.4.1 Preferred Offeror Experience

As referenced in section 2.0.

All offerors should have demonstrated experience with

● Print and mail notices from nightly generated PDF files.

● Be familiar with mass mailing including Voter’s registration forms, IRS forms and system generated outbound notice, etc.

● Familiar with designing enrollment materials, formatting and inserting changes.

2.4.2 Personnel Experience

The following experience is expected and will be evaluated as part of the Technical Proposal

● The Offeror shall identify the number and types of staff proposed to be utilized under the Contract.

● The Offeror shall describe in detail how the proposed staff’s experience and qualifications relate to their specific responsibilities, including any staff of proposed Subcontractor(s), as detailed in the Work Plan.

● The Offeror shall provide an Organizational Chart outlining personnel and their related duties. The Offeror shall include job titles and the percentage of time each individual will spend on his/her assigned tasks. Offerors using job titles other than those commonly used by industry standards must provide a crosswalk reference document.

Staffing Plan

The Offeror shall provide a draft Staffing Plan with the Technical Proposal. The Staffing Plan shall describe the Offeror’s staffing approach and team organizational structure for the Offeror and any proposed Subcontractors, to complete all phases of work, functions, requirements, roles, and duties associated with this RFP.

The Staffing Plan deliverable will be updated and submitted as Final to the MHBE Contract Monitor within 30 calendar days of NTP.

2.4.3 Number of Personnel to Propose

As part of the Proposal evaluation, Offerors shall propose the exact number of proposed personnel who are expected to be available as of the start date specified in the Notice to Proceed (NTP Date). Offerors shall describe in a Staffing Plan how additional resources shall be acquired to meet the needs of the MHBE. Offerors may generally describe planned positions in a Staffing Plan. Such planned positions may not be used as evidence of fulfilling personnel minimum qualifications.

RFP for Maryland Health Benefit Exchange Page 2 of 46

2.4.4 Key Personnel Identified

For the Contract, the following positions to be identified in the Technical Proposal will be considered Key Personnel and shall be required to meet the qualifications stated in Section 2.4 and Appendix.

A. Operations Manager- Oversees and optimizes an organizations’ daily activities to ensure efficiency, productivity, and alignment with business goals and objectives.

B. Fulfillment Supervisor – Oversees warehouse operations like order processing, picking, packing, and shipping to ensure accuracy and efficiency, while also managing a team, maintaining inventor, enforcing safety protocols, and troubleshooting any operational issues to meet performance goals and customer satisfaction.

C. Software Developer – Designs, builds, test, and maintains software applications and systems for various platforms, including desktop computers, mobile devices, and networks. Key responsibilities include writing and debugging code, troubleshooting issues, collaborating with team members, analyzing user needs, and participating in the entire software development lifecycle

2.4.5 Contractor Personnel Experience Equivalency (including Key Personnel submitted in response to this RFP)

A. A Substitution of Education for Experience: Bachelor’s Degree or higher may be substituted for the general and specialized experience for those labor categories requiring a High School Diploma. A Master’s Degree may be substituted for two years of the general and specialized experience for those labor categories requiring a Bachelor’s Degree. Substitution shall be reviewed and approved by the State at its discretion.

B. Substitution of Experience for Education: Substitution of experience for education may be permitted at the discretion of the State.

C. Substitution of Professional Certificates for Experience: Professional certification (e.g., Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert, SQL Certified Database Administrator) may be substituted for up to two (2) years for general and specialized experience at the discretion of the State.

2.4.6 Contractor Personnel Maintain Certifications

NOT APPLICABLE

2.4.7 Work Hours

Unless otherwise specified, the following work hours requirements are applicable:

The Contractor’s core personnel will work an eight-hour day, Monday through Friday except for contractor recognized holidays. Contractor shall provide appropriate management oversight during all open business hours

A. Contractor Personnel may also be required to provide occasional support outside of normal State Business Hours, including evenings, overnight, and weekends, to support specific efforts and emergencies, such as to resolve system repair or restoration. Hours performing activities must be billed on an actual time worked basis at the rates proposed.

RFP for Maryland Health Benefit Exchange Page 3 of 46

B. Scheduled non-Business Hours Support: Once personnel have demonstrated an understanding of the MHBE’S infrastructure, they will also be required to participate in a rotating emergency on-call schedule, providing non-Business Hours support.

Typically, personnel assigned to MHBE’S non-Business Hours support are required to be on-call 24 hours a day for a seven-day period, one week out of every four to five weeks.

C. State-Mandated Closings: Contractor Personnel shall be required to participate in any State-mandated closings. In this event, the Contractor will be notified in writing by the Contract Monitor of these details.

D. Minimum and Maximum Hours: Full-time Contractor Personnel shall work 40 hours per week with starting and ending times as approved by the Contract Monitor. A flexible work schedule may be used with Contract Monitor approval, including time to support any efforts outside core business hours. Contractor personnel may also be requested to restrict the number of hours Contractor personnel can work within a given period of time that may result in less than an eight-hour day or less than a 40-hour work week.

2.5 Substitution of Personnel

2.5.1 Continuous Performance of Key Personnel

When Key Personnel are identified for the Contract, the following apply:

A. Key Personnel shall be available to perform Contract requirements as of the NTP Date.

Unless explicitly authorized by the Contract Monitor or specified in the Contract, Key Personnel shall be assigned to the State of Maryland as a dedicated resource.

B. Key Personnel shall perform continuously for the duration of the Contract, or such lesser duration as specified in the Technical Proposal. Key Personnel may not be removed by the Contractor from working under the Contract without the prior written approval of the Contract Monitor.

C. The provisions of this section apply to Key Personnel identified in any Task Order proposal and agreement, if issued, and any Work Order Request and Work Order, if issued.

2.5.2 Definitions

For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

A. Extraordinary Personal Event – means any of: leave under the Family Medical Leave Act; an Incapacitating injury or Incapacitating illness; or other circumstances that in the sole discretion of the State warrant an extended leave of absence, such as extended jury duty or extended military service that precludes the individual from performing his/her job duties under the Contract.

B. Incapacitating – means any health circumstance that substantially impairs the ability of an individual to perform the job duties described for that individual’s position in the RFP or the Contractor’s Technical Proposal.

2.5.3 Contractor Personnel General Substitution Provisions

The following provisions apply to all of the circumstances of Contractor Personnel substitution described in Section 2.5.4.

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A. The Contractor shall demonstrate to the Contract Monitor’s satisfaction that the proposed substitute has qualifications at least equal to those of the Contractor Personnel proposed to be replaced.

B. The Contractor shall provide the Contract Monitor with a substitution request that shall include:

1. A detailed explanation of the reason(s) for the substitution request.

2. The resume of the proposed substitute, signed by the substituting individual and his/her formal supervisor.

3. The official resume of the current personnel for comparison purposes; and

4. Evidence of any required credentials.

C. The Contract Monitor may request additional information concerning the proposed substitution and may interview the proposed substitute personnel prior to deciding whether to approve the substitution request.

D. The Contract Monitor will notify the Contractor in writing of: (i) the acceptance or denial, or (ii) contingent or temporary approval for a specified time limit, of the requested substitution. The Contract Monitor will not unreasonably withhold approval of a proposed Contractor Personnel replacement.

2.5.4 Replacement Circumstances

A. Directed Personnel Replacement

1. The Contract Monitor may direct the Contractor to replace any Contractor Personnel who, in the sole discretion of the Contract Monitor, are perceived as being unqualified, non-productive, unable to fully perform the job duties, disruptive, or known, or reasonably believed, to have committed a major infraction(s) of law, MHBE policies, or Contract requirements. Normally, a directed personnel replacement will occur only after prior notification of problems with requested remediation, as described in paragraph 2.5.4.A.2.

2. If deemed appropriate in the discretion of the Contract Monitor, the Contract Monitor may give written notice of any Contractor Personnel performance issues to the Contractor, describing the problem and delineating the remediation requirement(s). The Contractor shall provide a written response to the remediation requirements in a Remediation Plan within ten (10) days of the date of the notice and shall immediately implement the Remediation Plan upon written acceptance by the Contract Monitor. If the Contract Monitor rejects the Remediation Plan, the Contractor shall revise and resubmit the plan to the Contract Monitor within five (5) days, or in the timeframe set forth by the Contract Monitor in writing.

3. Should performance issues persist despite an approved Remediation Plan, the Contract Monitor may give written notice of the continuing performance issues and either request a new Remediation Plan within a specified time limit or direct the substitution of Contractor Personnel whose performance is at issue with a qualified substitute, including requiring the immediate removal of the Contractor Personnel at issue.

4. Replacement or substitution of Contractor Personnel under this section shall be in addition to, and not in lieu of, the State’s remedies under the Contract or which otherwise may be available at law or in equity.

5. If the Contract Monitor determines to direct substitution under 2.5.4.A.1, if possible, at least fifteen (15) days’ advance notice shall be given to the Contractor. However, if the Contract Monitor deems it necessary and, in the State’s, best interests to

RFP for Maryland Health Benefit Exchange Page 5 of 46 remove the Contractor Personnel with less than fifteen (15) days’ notice, the Contract Monitor may direct the removal in a timeframe of less than fifteen (15) days, including immediate removal.

6. In circumstances of directed removal, the Contractor shall, in accordance with paragraph 2.5.4.A.1 of this section, provide a suitable replacement for approval within fifteen (15) days of the notification of the need for removal, or the actual removal, whichever occurs first.

B. Key Personnel Replacement To replace any Key Personnel in a circumstance other than as described in 2.5.4.C, including transfers and promotions, the Contractor shall submit a substitution request as described in Section 2.5.3 to the Contract Monitor at least fifteen (15) days prior to the intended date of change. A substitution may not occur unless and until the Contract Monitor approves the substitution in writing.

C. Key Personnel Replacement Due to Sudden Vacancy

1. The Contractor shall replace Key Personnel whenever a sudden vacancy occurs

(e.g., Extraordinary Personal Event, death, resignation, termination). A termination or resignation with thirty (30) days or more advance notice shall be treated as a replacement under Section 2.5.4.B.

2. Under any of the circumstances set forth in this paragraph B, the Contractor shall identify a suitable replacement and provide the same information and items required under Section 2.5.3 within fifteen (15) days of the actual vacancy occurrence or from when the Contractor first knew or should have known that the vacancy would be occurring, whichever is earlier.

D. Key Personnel Replacement Due to an Indeterminate Absence

1. If any Key Personnel has been absent from his/her job for a period of ten (10) days and it is not known or reasonably anticipated that the individual will be returning to work within the next twenty (20) days to fully resume all job duties, before the 25th day of continuous absence, the Contractor shall identify a suitable replacement and provide the same information and items to the Contract Monitor as required under Section 2.5.3.

2. However, if this person is available to return to work and fully perform all job duties before a replacement has been authorized by the Contract Monitor the Contract Monitor may, at his/her sole discretion, authorize the original personnel to continue to work under the Contract, or authorize the replacement personnel to replace the original personnel, notwithstanding the original personnel’s ability to return.

2.5.5 Substitution Prior to and Within 30 Days After Contract Execution

Prior to Contract execution or within thirty (30) days after Contract execution, the Offeror may not substitute proposed Key Personnel except under the following circumstances (a) for actual full-time personnel employed directly by the Offeror: the vacancy occurs due to the sudden termination, resignation, or approved leave of absence due to an Extraordinary Personal Event, or the death of such personnel; and (b) for any temporary staff, subcontractors or 1099 contractors:

the vacancy occurs due to an Incapacitating event or the death of such personnel. To qualify for such substitution, the Offeror must demonstrate to the State's satisfaction the event necessitating substitution. Proposed substitutions shall be of equal caliber or higher, in the State's sole discretion. Proposed substitutes deemed by the State to be less qualified than the originally proposed individual may be grounds for pre-award disqualification or post-award termination

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3 Standard Terms and Conditions

3.1 Contract Initiation Requirements

Once all approvals have been obtained and the Contract is fully executed, the Procurement Officer may schedule a kickoff meeting to be held prior to commencement of Contract performance.

3.2 End of Contract Transition

The Contractor shall cooperate in the orderly transition of services from it to a subsequent contractor at the end of the contract term or upon receipt of a Notice of Termination from the State. Transition shall be provided in a prompt and timely manner and shall proceed in accordance with the schedule provided to the Contractor by the State in the Notice of Transition. Additional instructions regarding transition services may be provided in the event of a Notice of Termination issued by the State.

The transition period shall begin 90 calendar days before the Contract end date, or the end date of any final exercised option or Contract extension. The Contractor shall work toward a prompt and timely transition, proceeding in accordance with the directions of the Contract Monitor. The Contract Monitor may provide the Contractor with additional instructions to meet specific transition requirements prior to the end of Contract.

The Contractor shall provide a Transition-Out Plan at least 90 calendar days prior to termination of its Contract outlining the steps necessary to transition out activities to the successor MHBE Contractor. The Contractor shall work in full cooperation with the MHBE and the Successor Contractor to ensure that each status report for Transition-Out activities are accurate.

The Contractor shall work during the Transition-Out period as if time is of the essence. This period of time provides an opportunity for the Successor Contractor staff to gain a full understanding of the operational environment in order to provide all the services required by the Successor Contractor.

The Contractor’s Transition-Out Plan shall address the following:

a) A preliminary Transition-Out Project Work Plan (PWP), with placeholders for milestones, key delivery dates, and resource assignments. The PWP shall contain fields to capture successor and predecessor tasks to identify and track dependencies, and where applicable, it shall link related tasks.

b) The key transition personnel and their respective Roles.

c) The reporting mechanism for providing, at a minimum, twice-weekly reports during the transition.

d) The final Transition-Out methodology, accounting for MHBE’s project work, consumer mail volumes, and other considerations.

e) The mechanism by which the Contractor will identify, capture, and transition to the Successor Contractor any outstanding deliverables and/or tasks and time frames for completion.

f) The plan for ensuring that all Contract documentation has been updated to reflect all changes, such as enhancements and modifications.

g) The plan for ensuring that all required support training materials, and transition information has been delivered to the MHBE.

h) The required involvement of the Successor Contractor team, MHBE resources, and any third-party.

i) A description of the resources that the Contractor will commit and the functions that the Contractor will perform, along with time frames, in

RFP for Maryland Health Benefit Exchange Page 7 of 46 transferring the operation to the Successor Contractor.

j) Risk assessment and mitigation recommendations/solutions and the plan for monitoring and managing risk during the Transition-Out period.

k) A clear set of tasks, objectives, outcomes, and timeframes to transition on-going activities, processes, people, services, knowledge and documentation associated with the exit of the Contractor.

The Contractor shall provide a final PWP to address these tasks at a granular level, and shall successfully complete the tasks as part of the Transition-Out effort. Transition- Out tasks include all aspects of the Contractor’s Transition- Out Plan, including but not limited to the following:

a) Provide timely access to necessary data

b) Provide operational work instruction knowledge transfer

c) Participate and contribute to transition-in activities for the Successor Contractor

d) Ensure seamless telephony shutdown and start-up transition with Successor Contractor to minimize downtime.

e) Provide all data in encrypted and searchable format.

f) Provide weekly/monthly status for the previous period

g) Participate actively in all transition meetings.

h) Provide requested information within five (5) calendar days.

i) Meet all defined due dates as determined and approved by MHBE.

j) Make recommendations throughout the Transition-Out effort to mitigate risk.

k) Participate in all activities required by MHBE to assess the incoming

Contractor’s readiness and capabilities to assume complete control and management of application maintenance and enhancement services.

The Contractor shall provide a Systems Documentation Report no less than 20 calendar days before the end of the Contract during the Transition-Out containing the following:

a) Contractor’s record of its deliverable submissions and approvals, of work products approved and completed, and project documentation throughout the duration of its Contract.

b) All applicable access to tools and repositories as needed to complete turnover to MHBE and references to the locations of all work products and technical artifacts.

c) The final System Documentation Report is due no less than 20 calendar days before the end of the Contract during the Transition Out phase.

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Transition Requirements Summary Table

3.3 Invoicing

Submission of an invoice constitutes the Contractor’s verification that the information in the invoice is accurate as of the time of submission.

An invoice not satisfying the requirements of a Proper Invoice (as defined in COMAR 21.06.09) will not be processed for payment. To be considered a Proper Invoice, invoices must include the following information, without error:

A. Contractor name and address;

B. Remittance address;

C. Federal taxpayer identification (FEIN) number, social security number, as appropriate;

D. Invoice period (i.e. time period during which services covered by invoice were performed);

E. Invoice date;

F. Invoice number;

G. State assigned Contract number;

H. State assigned (Blanket) Purchase Order number(s);

I. Goods or services provided;

J. Amount due; and K. Any additional documentation required by regulation or the Contract.

Invoices that contain both fixed price and labor hour or time and material items shall clearly identify each item as either fixed price, and labor hour, or time and material billing.

The State reserves the right to reduce or withhold Contract payment in the event the Contractor does not provide all required deliverables within the time frame specified in the Contract or otherwise fails to satisfy the terms and conditions of the Contract until such time as the Contractor brings itself into full compliance with the Contract.

RFP Section # Activity Completion Date

3.1 Kick –off Meeting NTP + 5 calendar days

3.2 Contractor submits Transition Plan NTP + 10 calendar days

3.2 Transition-In of contractual activities with day-to-day support from the Incumbent Contractor

NTP + 45 calendar days

3.2 Full transition by Contractor to successfully and completely take over all contractual activities with support from the Incumbent Contractor

NTP + up to 90 calendar days

3.2 Contractor Transition-Out Plan outlining the steps necessary to transition out activities to the successor MHBE Contractor.

Contractor…