REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Voluntary Benefit Products Accident, Critical Illness & Hospital Benefits Solicitation #JG26-07-RFP

This Request for Proposals (RFP), having been determined to be the appropriate procurement method to provide the best value to the Granite School District (“GSD” or “District”). The RFP is designed to provide interested offerors with sufficient basic information to submit proposals meeting minimum requirements but is not intended to limit a proposal's content or exclude any relevant or essential data. Offerors are at liberty and are encouraged to expand upon the specifications to evidence service capability under any agreement. GSD will not be liable for any cost’s proposers may incur in the preparation or presentation of this proposal.

No contact is to be had with any district employees or Board of Education members during the RFP process through contract award regarding the RFP. Contact is to be made through the Purchasing Department only.

This RFP is issued in accordance with State of Utah Procurement Code, Utah Code Annotated (UCA) Chapter 63G-6a, and applicable Rules found in the Utah Administrative Code (UAC). If any provision of this RFP conflicts with the UCA or UAC, the UCA or UAC will take precedence.

I. PURPOSE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)

The purpose of this request for proposal is to enter into a contract with a Voluntary Benefit Carrier to provide competitive group voluntary accident, critical illness, and hospital benefits to the employees of Granite School District (“District”). Currently there are around 4,950 benefit eligible employees. It is anticipated that this RFP may result in a contract award to a single contractor.

II. BACKGROUND

The district’s current contract runs through December 31, 2026. The contract resulting from this contract will begin January 1, 2027, but the products will be available to employees for election during our open enrollment process that is scheduled for October 2026.

Granite School District approximately has around 4,950 benefit eligible employees with around 11,500 belly buttons on our medical plans.

Granite School Districts’ current voluntary carrier is MetLife, accident, critical illness, and hospital benefits.

III. AGENT OF RECORD

Granite School Districts contracts with GBS for Benefit Consulting. Carriers will need to contact GBS to obtain a census, see contact information. GBS will assist the district with tabulation and interpretation of the cost offers.

Eriq Rhees, Data Analyst

Eriq.Rhees@gbsbenefits.com 801-710-0710

IV. PRIVATE

ISSUING OFFICE AND RFP REFERENCE NUMBERtc \l 1 "ISSUING OFFICE AND RFP REFERENCE NUMBER" The District’s Purchasing Department is the issuing office for this document and all subsequent addenda relating to it, on behalf of the Human Resources Department. The reference number for the transaction is Solicitation #JG26-07-RFP. This number must be referred to on all proposals, correspondence, and documentation relating to the RFP.

NOTICE: Wherever the term bid, bidder, bidding or quote appears in this solicitation or reference is made to a bid, bidder, bidding, or quote, it shall be interpreted to mean offeror, as defined in 63G-6a-103(30), RFP, or Request for Proposals, as defined in 63G-6a-103(38) and the procurement shall be conducted subject to the provisions of 63G-6a-701-711.

V. PRIVATE

LENGTH OF CONTRACTtc \l 1 "LENGTH OF CONTRACT" The Contract resulting from this RFP will be for a period of one year.

The contract may be extended beyond the original contract period of 4 one-year contracts at the school district’s discretion and by mutual agreement.

The district reserves the right to review contract(s) on a regular basis regarding performance and cost analysis and may negotiate price and service elements during the term of the contract.

VI. PRIVATE

PRICE GUARANTEE PERIODtc \l 2 "PRICE GUARANTEE PERIOD" All pricing must be guaranteed for one year, but multi-year rate guarantees are encouraged. Following the guarantee period, any request for price adjustment must be for an equal guarantee period and must be made at least 30 days prior to the effective date. Requests for price adjustment must include sufficient documentation supporting the request. Any adjustment or amendment to the contract will not be effective unless approved by the Director of Purchasing. Granite School District will be given the immediate benefit of any decrease in the market, or allowable discount.

VII. PRIVATE

STANDARD CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS

tc \l 2 "STANDARD CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS" Any contract resulting from this RFP will include but not be limited to the District’s Standard Terms and Conditions (see Attachment A). Exceptions and or additions to the District’s Standard Terms and Conditions are strongly discouraged.

Exceptions and additions to the Standard Terms and Conditions must be submitted with the proposal response. Exceptions, additions, service level agreements, etc. submitted after the date and time for receipt of proposals will not be considered. Website URLs, or information on website URLs must not be requested in the RFP document and must not be submitted with a proposal. URLs provided with a proposal may result in that proposal being rejected as non-responsive. URLs are also prohibited from any language included in the final contract document.

The district retains the right to refuse to negotiate on exceptions should the exceptions be excessive, not in the best interest of the district, negotiations could result in excessive costs to the state or could adversely impact existing time constraints.

If negotiations are required, contractor must provide all documents in MS Word format for redline editing. Contractor must provide the name, contact information, and access to the person(s) that will be directly involved in legal negotiations.

VIII. PRIVATE

DETAILED SCOPE OF WORK

A. PRIVATE

MANAGEMENT, EXPERIENCE, AND QUALIFICATIONS

1. Provide a name, title, address, phone number, cell phone number and email address for the individual authorized to answer questions regarding your response to this RFP.

2. Provide a brief description of your organization including history, business philosophy, and management structure.

3. Describe your firm’s experience related to the services to be provided in response to this RFP.

4. How many of your clients are in the public sector vs. private sector? (school districts, city/county governments, etc vs. commercial employers)

5. Disclose any and all conflicts of interest that currently exist or that may exist.

6. Provide a list of 3 references similar to Granite School District, with over 3 years of experience.

B. SERVICE PROCESS AND OPERATIONS

1. Provide benefit details for group off the job Accident Plan.

a. Include a wellness benefit of $75 per insured per year.

b. AD&D coverage.

2. Provide benefit details for group Critical Illness Plan. (cancer benefit, benefit reoccurrence benefit must be included)

a. $15,000 and $30,000 benefit for employees, 50% benefit for SP and CH

b. Attained Age, Uni-tobacco rates

c. Wellness Benefit-$50 per insured per year

d. Waive pre-ex

e. Perpetual GI at OE and for New Hires

3. Provide benefit details for group Hospital Indemnity.

a. $1,000 admission benefit – please include 4 or more admission per insured per year.

b. $1,000 ICU benefit. ICU benefit should be paid concurrently with the admission benefit.

c. Include a daily benefit, $200 daily. ICU $200 paid concurrently with regular daily benefit.

d. Newborn Confinement Benefit

e. Inpatient rehab benefit

f. Waive pre-ex and maternity waiting periods

g. Perpetual GI at OE and for New Hires

3. Will you provide guarantee issue for Accident\Critical Illness\Hospital Plans? Explain

4. What wellness incentives are included for Accident\Critical Illness\Hospital Plans?

5. What is the process to file wellness claims, do employees need to submit proof of their wellness visit?

6. What is the process for filing all other claims?

7. Do employees have access to a claim’s website via logging into a portal?

8. What is the turnaround time after filing a claim?

9. Are benefits portable when an employee leaves employment? Does the master contract need to stay enforce for plans to be portable?

10. Carriers must be on the Data Exchange with Employee Navigator or have an EDI in place. Can you meet these requirements?

C. BILLING

1. Describe your monthly invoice billing process and how it is calculated.

2. Can monthly invoices be self-billed?

D. PREMIUM - COST PROPOSAL - TO BE ADDRESSED IN COST PROPOSAL ONLY

ANTICIPATED SOLICITATION TIMELINE

IX. QUESTIONS

All questions must be submitted through the Utah Public Procurement Place “U3P” the Utah Bonfire Hub. Answers will be given through the U3P system.

X. PROPOSAL RESPONSE FORMAT

All proposals must include a technical proposal and cost proposal. Formats for both documents follow:

A. Technical Proposal Format

Executive Summary. The one- or two-page executive summary is to briefly describe the offeror's proposal. This summary should highlight the major features of the proposal. It must indicate any requirements that cannot be met by the offeror. The reader should be able to determine the essence of the proposal by reading the executive summary. Protected information requests should be identified in this section.

Detailed Response. This section should constitute the major portion of the proposal and must contain at least the following information:

1. A complete narrative of the offeror's assessment of the work to be performed, the offeror’s ability and approach, and the resources necessary to fulfill the requirements. This should demonstrate the offeror's understanding of the desired overall performance expectations. Clearly indicate any options or alternatives proposed.

2. A specific point-by-point response, in the order listed, to each requirement in the RFP.

Protected Information. The Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA), Utah Code Ann., Subsection 63-2-304, provides in part that:

the following records are protected if properly classified by a government entity:

(1) trade secrets as defined in Section 13-24-2 if the person submitting the trade secret has provided the governmental entity with the information specified in Section 63-2-308 (Business Confidentiality Claims);

(2) commercial information or non-individual financial information obtained from a person if:

(a) disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to result in unfair competitive injury to the person submitting the information or would impair the ability of the governmental entity to obtain necessary information in the future;

(b) the person submitting the information has a greater interest in prohibiting access than the public in obtaining access; and

(c) the person submitting the information has provided the governmental entity with the information specified in Section 63-2-308;

(6) records the disclosure of which would impair governmental procurement proceedings or give an unfair advantage to any person proposing to enter into a contract or agreement with a governmental entity, except that this Subsection (6) does not restrict the right of a person to see bids submitted to or by a governmental entity after bidding has closed;

GRAMA provides that trade secrets, commercial information or non-individual financial information may be protected by submitting a Claim of Business Confidentiality.

To protect information under a Claim of Business Confidentiality, the offeror must:

1. provide a written Claim of Business Confidentiality at the time the information (proposal) is provided to the district, and

2. include a concise statement of reasons supporting the claim of business confidentiality (Subsection 63-2-308(1)).

3. submit an electronic “redacted” (excluding protected information) copy of your proposal response. Copy must clearly be marked “Redacted Version.”

A Claim of Business Confidentiality may be appropriate for information such as client lists and non-public financial statements. Pricing and service elements may not be protected. An entire proposal may not be protected under a Claim of Business Confidentiality. The claim of business confidentiality must be submitted with your proposal on the form provided in the buyer’s attachments.

To ensure the information is protected, the Department of Purchasing asks the offeror to clearly identify in the Executive Summary and in the body of the proposal any specific information for which an offeror claims business confidentiality protection as "PROTECTED".

All materials submitted become the property of GSD. Materials may be evaluated by anyone designated by the school district as part of the proposal evaluation committee. Materials submitted may be returned only at the district’s option.

B. Cost Proposal Format

Carrier must provide a cost proposal for employee only, employee + spouse, employee + children, and family plans for Accident, Critical Illness, and Hospital. See the cost proposal format below. This format can be used for both products.

The proposal must be set forth in such a way that it will allow the merits of the proposal to be evaluated in conjunction with applicable cost. Please review the Best and Final Offers section below to ensure you properly submit your cost proposal.

XI. PRIVATE

SUBMITTING YOUR PROPOSALtc \l 1 "SUBMITTING YOUR PROPOSAL" Proposals must be received by the posted due date and time. Proposals received after the deadline will be late and ineligible for consideration.

Proposals must be received electronically through U3P. No hard copies are requested.

All submitted proposals will consist of a technical proposal and a cost proposal. The electronic proposal submission you should attach two separate documents in U3P, a document titled “Technical Proposal” and a document titled “Cost Proposal”.

Cost will be evaluated independent from the technical proposal, and as such, is to be submitted separate from the technical proposal. Failure to submit cost separately may result in your proposal being determined non-responsive. Inclusion of any cost or pricing data within the technical proposal may also result in your proposal being determined non-responsive.

When submitting a proposal electronically through U3P, please allow sufficient time to complete the online forms and upload documents. The solicitation will end at the closing time listed in the RFP. If you are in the middle of uploading your proposal at the closing time, the system will stop the process and your proposal will not be received by the system.

Bonfire’s site will accept a wide variety of document types as attachments. However, the District is unable to view certain documents. Therefore, you MAY NOT submit documents that are embedded (zip files), movies, wmp, and mp3 files. All documents must be attached as separate files.

NOTICE: By submitting a proposal in response to this RFP, offeror is acknowledging that the requirements, scope of work, and the evaluation process, outlined in the RFP are fair, equitable, not unduly restrictive, understood and agreed to. Any exceptions to the content of the RFP must be protested to the purchasing agent prior to the closing date and time for submission of the proposal.

XII. PROPOSAL EVALUATION CRITERIA

A committee will evaluate proposals against the following weighted criteria. Each area of the evaluation criteria must be addressed in detail in proposal. All proposals in response to this RFP will be evaluated in a manner consistent with the Utah Procurement Code, rules, policies and the evaluation criteria established in the RFP.

WEIGHT

DETAILED SCOPE OF WORK

10.5% Management, Experience, and Qualifications

46 % Service Process and Operations

10 % Billing

33.5 % Premium – Cost Proposal Understandability and comprehensiveness of information supplied in this RFP will affect the evaluation of the above criteria.

XIII. DISCUSSIONS WITH OFFERORS (ORAL PRESENTATION)

An oral presentation by an offeror to clarify a proposal may be required at the sole discretion of the District. However, the District may award a contract based on the initial proposals received without discussion with the Offeror. If oral presentations are required, they will be scheduled after the submission of proposals. Oral presentations will be made at the offerors expense.

XIV. SHORTLIST

Unless there is a successful offeror based on the initial review of the responses, the evaluation committee will develop a shortlist of the highest scoring offerors based on the stated criteria. To be included on the short list an offeror must have an average total score of no less than a five (5) in any of the stated criteria. Vendors with a score lower than a five (5) will not be considered further in the evaluation. The shortlist of offerors may be asked to prepare a presentation and/or provide additional information prior to the final selection.

XV. AWARD OF CONTRACT

Award shall be made to the offeror whose proposal is the most advantageous to the District taking into consideration price and the other evaluation factors set forth in this request for proposals.

The District reserves the right to award the contract(s) to a technically qualified lower cost offeror(s) in the event the high scoring offer is determined to not be the best value offered to the District, based on a cost benefit analysis.

JG26-07-RFP

Cost Proposal Format

Voluntary Benefit Products Accident, Critical Illness & Hospital tc \l 1 "Sample Cost Proposal (1)"

PRIVATE

tc \l 1 "" Bidder Name: _________________________________________________________________

Product Name:________________________________________________________________ 1.

Provide a price for monthly premiums.

Employee

Employee + Children

Employee + Spouse

Family

2.

Provide pricing for additional costs.

Initial Start Up Costs

Administrative Costs (monthly\yearly)

Other Costs

3.

Number of guaranteed years rate is quoted for

Are there any additional or hidden fees that are not covered in the monthly invoice billing? If so, please list and explain.

For Commissions: Please quote standard level commissions.