Addendeum 3- Question and Answers.docx

Department of Healthcare and Family Services Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plan (D-SNP) Addendum 3- Questions and Answers on RFP BidBuy #25-478HFS-DIREC-B-44525/ Agency Reference Number 2026-24-001

Question 1: A Vendor is requesting that HFS revisit their response to question below on the “Commitment to Diversity” Attachment 12. Total DEI spend would not be complete/accurate if HFS is requiring that BEP vendors be excluded.

1. DEI spend is defined as “the percentage of business, education, and/or community spend from the prior calendar year's gross revenue that involves businesses owned by women, minorities, and/or persons with disabilities”.

1. The instruction on the Commitment to Diversity Section 3 reads the “assisted business is not required to be certified in the Illinois Business Enterprise Programs” but does not say that BEP vendors should be excluded from the reported spend.

1. Examples that can be counted towards this spend include several types of support and purchase of goods/services from a WMD Business. A WMD business is “A business in which at least 51% is owned and managed by a woman, minority, or person with a disability, or any combination of the three classes, who is a current United States citizen or permanent resident.” Definition of WMD business does not specify that they are not to be BEP certified.

Answer: The earlier contract with a BEP vendor was classified under Category II because this category is specifically for contracting and subcontracting. In contrast, Category III covers other spending that supports women, minorities, or persons with disabilities, including BEP-certified vendors, as well as programs and events that promote their entrepreneurial efforts.

While "buying goods/services" is part of the general spend definition, Category III spending must specifically support these groups, rather than being tied to contracts for services or supplies.

Question 2: We have a follow-up question on HFS RFP BidBuy #25-478HFS-DIREC-B-44525/Agency reference Number 2026-24-001. In Addendum 2 -- Question and Answers on Commitment to Diversity, HFS provided the following response to a question that was posed during the Q&A period:

Offeror’s percentage of business, education and/or community spend from prior calendar year gross revenue that involves businesses owned by women, minorities and/or persons with disabilities. Is this revenue based on the previous MMAI revenue or the Offeror's entire revenue from all products offered in the state of IL? Also, does this include both Medicare and Medicaid revenue or Medicaid revenue only?

HFS Answer:

If the Offeror has an established Illinois Procurement Gateway (IPG) account, please use the gross revenue submitted with the disclosures for this calculation. If the Offeror does not have an IPG account, it is the Offeror's discretion how to calculate the gross revenue and spend. Please explain what the Offeror choose to accredit as the previous annual gross revenue/spend and stay consistent with answering questions that rely on the same information.

Our follow up question: Has HFS considered whether this response provides an unfair advantage to bidders who do not have IPG accounts, who will have wide-ranging discretion in how to calculate “gross revenue and spend,” particularly in relation to IPG account holders, who will be disadvantaged by being limited to the IPG submission and calculation requirements with respect to gross revenue and spend? To allow for an even submission field for all bidders, has HFS considered allowing all Offerors the same discretion with respect to how they calculate gross revenue and spend, explaining what the Offeror chooses to accredit as the previous annual gross revenue/spend and staying consistent with answering questions that rely on the same information (as noted in the remainder of the HFS Q&A response)?

Answer: The calculation of gross revenue for the IPG is also left to the vendor’s discretion. Whether a vendor is registered with IPG or not, they can exercise the same level of discretion in determining their gross revenue. If a vendor feels that the amount they previously submitted to the IPG is restrictive when calculating their spend, they are allowed to select a more appropriate gross revenue figure, provided they clearly explain the source and reason. It is essential that the vendor remains consistent across all related calculations. For example, if a business chooses to use its parent company’s gross revenue, they must apply this same figure when calculating staff-related metrics. It’s also important to note that having a higher gross revenue doesn’t necessarily lead to a higher percentage of spend, as larger revenues require proportionally higher expenses to achieve the points.