22-0.1 Information Instructions.pdf

Phone: 386-364-3400 suwanneecountyfl.gov Fax: 386-362-1032

Board of County Commissioners 224 Pine Ave, 2nd Floor, Live Oak, FL 32064

Franklin White, Chairman

SUWANNEE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Request for Proposals No. 2026-10 Proposal Title: Group Medical Benefits

Information for Respondents

SCOPE OF SERVICES SUMMARY: The Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) desires to receive Proposals for Group Medical Benefits. This program is on behalf of employees and eligible retirees of Suwannee County BCC and related constitutional offices. Constitutional offices include Suwannee County Sheriff, Suwannee County Tax Collector, Suwannee County Property Appraiser, Suwannee County Clerk of Courts, and Suwannee County Supervisor of Elections.

The County’s intended schedule for the solicitation is as follows:

If submitting in hard (paper) copies, responders must submit one original and three copies (4 in total sets of documents); and label on the outside of the envelope as “SEALED RFP NO. 2026-10 RFP GROUP MEDICIAL BENEFITS.” Any paper response received after Monday, June 1st, 2026, at 10:00 am, will be retained at the Clerk of Court Office, unopened, and will not be considered. Digital responding window will be locked at 10:00 am online. Responses submitted in any other manner, besides through the online portal or sealed paper responses to the Clerk to the Board, will not be accepted or considered.

This solicitation does not commit the County to award a contract, to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a response, or to procure or contract for services. The Board of County Commissioners reserves the right to reject any and all responses received, to negotiate with all qualified responders, to cancel this solicitation in part or in its entirety or re-advertise if it is in the best interest of the County to do so. Submitting an incomplete response or a response without proper required forms can result in disqualification.

NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY STATEMENT: The Board of County Commissioners does not discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, genetics, handicap status, income status, or family status.

Event Date Time Location

Release of RFP 4/29/26 Suwanneecountyfl.bonfirehub.com Deadline for Questions 5/18/26 5:00 pm Deadline for Submissions 6/1/26 10:00 am Paper: Suwannee County, Clerk of Court

Cashier’s Window, 200 S Ohio Ave, Live Oak, FL 32064

Or Digital: Suwanneecountyfl.bonfirehub.com

RFP Opening 6/1/26 10:05 am Suwannee County Administration, Conference Room, 224 Pine Ave SW, Live Oak, FL 32064

CONE OF SILENCE NOTICE: A cone of silence shall be established on all County competitive selection processes.

The cone of silence pertains to all solicitations (ITB, RFP, RFQ or other competitive solicitations), and prohibits any communication regarding such solicitation between the bidder (or its agents or representatives) or anyone on behalf of the bidder regarding such solicitation, and any County Commissioner or County employee, selection committee member or other persons authorized to act on behalf of the Board including the County’s Architect, Engineer or their subconsultants, or anyone designated to provide a recommendation to award a particular contract, other than Procurement Department staff. The cone of silence shall be in effect from the time of advertisement until contract award. Violation of the cone of silence by, or on behalf of, a bidder shall be grounds for disqualification from competing in the competitive solicitation.

SWORN ENTITY STATEMENT: The Board of County Commissioners requires a Sworn Statement under section 287.133(3)(a), F.S., on Public Entity Crimes.

INSURANCE: The following information will apply regarding insurance:

• Proof of the following insurance will be furnished by any Awardee to the Board by Certificate of

Insurance within 15 days of notice of award by BCC. Such certificate must contain a provision for notification to the Board 30 days in advance of any material change in coverage or cancellation. BCC shall be named as an additional insured under the General Liability policy. The insurance information must be submitted on an insurance carrier's Certificate of Insurance.

• The insurance policies shall be issued by companies qualified to do business in the State of Florida and grant The Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners, thirty days of advanced written notice of a cancellation, expiration or any material change in the specified coverage. The insurance companies must be rated at least B+ by AM Best. All policies must remain in effect during the performance of the contract.

• General Liability Insurance with limits of not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence combined single limit for bodily injury and property damage.

• Professional Liability insurance with limits of not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence.

• Auto Liability Insurance covering all owned, non-owned and hired vehicles used in connection with this

RFP, with bodily injury limits of liability of not less than $1,000,000 per person; and $1,000,000 per occurrence and property damage limits of not less than $1,000,000.

• Worker's Compensation in accordance with Florida Statutory limits and Employer’s Liability Insurance.

• Prior to the commencement of any work the Awardee(s) must provide BCC Administration Department with a Certificate of Insurance which is evidence of the above coverage and with BCC named as an additional insured.

E-VERIFY: The following condition will be a part of the contract as required by Suwannee County:

Contractor shall utilize the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify system, in accordance with the terms governing use of the system, to confirm the employment eligibility of;

1. all persons employed by the Vendor/Contractor during the term of the Contract to perform employment duties within Florida; and

2. all persons, including subcontractors, assigned by the Vendor/Contractor to perform work pursuant to the contract with Suwannee County.

DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE ON: Electronic copies (in pdf format) of the RFP documents, specifications, and addenda are available on the County’s procurement portal, suwanneecountyfl.bonfirehub.com. All addenda issued in regard to this solicitation will only be available on the County’s procurement portal. Due to the possibility of technical glitches, it will be the sole responsibility of the Contractor to check for all bid documents and addenda prior to submitting their subsequent bid response package.

QUESTIONS: As previously mentioned, any questions concerning specifications and/or documents should be asked in the public questions and answers section for the specific solicitation. Deadline for questions Monday, May 18th, 2026, before 5:00 pm. Any, and all, such interpretations and any supplemental instructions will be in the form of a written addendum which, if issued, will be posted on the County’s procurement portal, suwanneecountyfl.bonfirehub.com. All addenda so issued shall become part of the documents.

PAPER SUBMISSIONS: All sealed paper proposals must be submitted with one original and three originals (4 total sets of documents) and labeled on the outside of the envelope as:

CLERK TO THE BOARD

200 SOUTH OHIO AVENUE

LIVE OAK, FL 32064

SEALED BID NO. 2026-10

GROUP MEDICAL BENEFITS

CONTRACT TERM: The purpose of this RFP is to establish a contract, beginning October 1, 2026, or date of award, whichever is later, and continuing through September 30, 2027 (Initial Contract Period). The term of the contract may, by mutual agreement between BCC and the Awardee, be extended for additional one-year periods (Renewal Contract Periods), at the discretion of the Board. If needed, the Initial Contract Period or a Renewal Contract Period may be extended 180 days beyond the expiration date of such period.

RE-RATING ENDORSEMENT: Notwithstanding any provision in the Agreement between BCC and Awardee(s) to the contrary:

• Any increase of rates or other provisions shall be preceded by delivery to BCC of notice of any increase in rates or other provisions. Any such increase in rates or other provisions shall be effective no earlier than January 1st following the current plan or applicable rate period year.

• Awardee(s) must provide BCC valid written notice, stating the amount of change proposed, at least 180 calendar days prior to the effective date of the increase during the first year of the Agreement, and at least 180 calendar days prior to the effective date of the increase subsequent to the first year of the Agreement. Notice that a change in rates or consideration is proposed, without stating clearly the exact amount and the effect of the proposed change on the overall consideration of the Agreement shall not constitute a valid notice. A written notice of any change in rates or other change in consideration shall be delivered by certified mail to: County Administrator, Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners, 224 Pine Ave, Live Oak, FL 32064.

• Notice by Awardee(s) of intent to effect any change in consideration shall thereby entitle the Board to cancel the Agreement without penalty.

PERFORMANCE STANDARD: BCC may negotiate performance standards and performance guarantees with the Awardee(s). These proposed standards and guarantees are contained in Attachment H. BCC reserves the right to negotiate any and all performance standards at its discretion, but does not wish to entertain performance standards which do not meet those outlined in Attachment H.

SELECTION PROCESS: In collaboration with the consulting broker, Gallagher Benefit Services (GBS), designated BCC personnel will evaluate all proposals received, which meet or exceed requirements listed in “Submission Requirements.”

CRITERIA: County staff will utilize objective criteria when evaluating and ranking qualified respondents. These criteria are outlined below:

*Note: Responses without required forms may not be scored*

The Evaluation Team reserves the right to ask questions of clarifying nature once Proposals have been opened, require presentations from all Proposers, interview any or all Proposers that respond to the RFP, or make their recommendations based solely on the information contained in the Proposals submitted. Presentations, if required, will be part of the evaluation process.

In the event that an Agreement between the Evaluation Team and the selected Proposer(s) is deemed necessary, at the sole discretion of the Evaluation Team, the Evaluation Team will begin negotiations with the selected Proposer(s). The Evaluation Team reserves the right to negotiate any term, condition, specification or price with the selected Proposer(s). In the event that mutually agreeable negotiations cannot be reached, the Evaluation Team may negotiate with the next ranked Proposer, and so forth. No recalculation of points in any section shall be made. An impasse may be declared by the Evaluation Team at any time.

AWARD: BCC intends to make an award(s) to the Proposer(s) that has complied with the terms, conditions and requirements of the overall RFP. The award(s) will be based on the scores ascribed to Proposals as outlined in Evaluation Process and will be made for the goods and services required by BCC as stated in the RFP. The award(s) shall not be a guarantee of business or a guarantee of specified quantities of products or volume of service.

BCC intends to make an award(s) to the highest-ranked, responsive Proposer(s) who has complied with the terms, conditions and requirements of this RFP. The highest-ranked Proposer(s) will be considered the Awardee(s).

Franklin White, Chairman Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners

1. Experience and Qualifications 35 pts

2. Scope of Services 30 pts

3. Cost of Services 35 pts

Instructions to Responders & Submission Requirements

To be considered responsive, all submittals must be made in accordance with these instructions.

All hard, paper submittals shall include one original and three copies (4 total sets of documents) of the following information. Digital and hard, paper submittals shall be organized in the following order.

**(DO NOT submit binders or glue bound/spined responses)**

Title Page: Include name of firm, address, phone number, contact person.

A. Table of Contents

B. Letter of Transmittal: Limit to one page.

C. Required Summary Form (Provided and Titled “1.1 Summary Form”).

D. Minimum Eligibility: In order to be considered for award and to be further evaluated, Proposer must meet or exceed the following criteria. The Proposer is responsible for providing the following information in their responses. The Proposer should also include a statement of acknowledgement for each item below.

a. Proposers must be licensed in the State of Florida. Provide a copy of your current license and/or certificate that allows Proposer to provide the services proposed.

b. If Proposer is an insurance carrier/reinsurance carrier, Proposer must be licensed to provide coverage in the State of Florida with an AM Best rating of (A -) or better and financial size category of VIII or larger.

BCC desires this rating, but it will not be considered as a basis for disqualification. Financial ratings not meeting this desired level may impact a proposer’s score. Any proposer not meeting this criteria is encouraged to provide supplemental information to assist BCC in the evaluation of responses. The AM Best requirement may be met directly by the Proposer or, in the alternative, by the parent or affiliated company who maintains the ratings specified in this RFP. If qualifying through its parent or affiliated company, the Proposer must (a) include within its Proposal, a written commitment by such parent or affiliated company using the form attached to this RFP as “0.4 Guarantee Letter of Commitment & Guarantee Form” guaranteeing the Proposer’s fulfillment and performance of the terms and conditions of the resultant Agreement between BCC and Proposer. Such representative shall have authority to bind said parent or affiliated company to guarantee the Agreement terms as negotiated by BCC and Proposer and the parent or affiliated company will be required to execute a guarantee of the resultant Agreement.

c. If Proposer is not rated by AM Best, Proposer must submit three (3) years of independent audited financial statements

E. Experience and Qualifications of the Proposer:

a. State under what other or former name(s) the Proposer is currently operating or has operated.

b. State whether Proposer’s firm(s) is local (Suwannee County), regional or national.

c. Give the location of the office from which service is to be performed and the number of partners, managers, supervisors, senior managers and other professional staff employed at that office and the name of each individual in charge.

d. Provide a statement of any litigation or regulatory action that has been filed against your firm(s) in the last three years. If an action has been filed, state and describe the litigation or regulatory action filed, and identify the court or agency before which the action was instituted, the applicable case or file number, and the status or disposition for such reported action. If no litigation or regulatory action has been filed against your firm(s), provide a statement to that effect. For joint venture or team Proposers, submit the requested information for each member of the joint venture or team.

F. Required Forms (Provided and Titled “1.2 Required Forms”):

a. Anti-Collusion Acknowledgement

b. Conflict of Interest Form

c. Debarment

d. Failure to Perform Questionnaire

e. Addendum Acknowledgement(s), as applicable

G. Questionnaires (Provided and Titled “1.3 Questionnaire”)

H. Scope of Services Provided: Clearly describe how the Proposer can accomplish each of the following Scope of Services provided in table provided and titled “1.4 Scope of Services Table.”

I. Cost of Services: Proposer shall complete Financial Response Forms for each plan/program offered.

Proposer should include detailed benefit descriptions for each plan proposed (Provided and Titled “1.5 Financial Response Form”).