Addendum 1.pdf

COUNTY OF LOUISA

Finance Department

INVITATION FOR BIDS # HR-27-01

ADDENDUM NUMBER 1

Date: August 19, 2027

Title: Benefits Consulting Services

Question: Please confirm that Louisa County is in the market for a stop loss quote for the medical and Rx plans.

And if so, please forward the following documents to the below Symetra email box:

• Census – including gender, date of birth, home zip code, coverage tier

• Claim data – both monthly (claims & enrollment) and large claims for the current year along with 2 prior years

• SL terms to quote along with the current stop loss policy including stop loss rates.

• Plan documents.

Answer: Census information will be provided to the awarded vendor of this

RFP. The counts for the County and the Schools were included in

Appendix B.

Question: How long has the current consultant been providing services to the

County?

Answer: Three years.

Question: Is the current consultant compensated by fees, commissions, or a combination of both? Does the County have a preference?

Answer: The current consultant receives a flat fee for consulting services, and commissions from voluntary benefits, but uses part of those to pay

FSA and HSA fees for those vendors.

Question: Who is the current employee benefits consultant?

Answer: Innovative Insurance Group, LLC.

Question: Was this solicitation issued due to procurement requirements or for some other reason?

Answer: The contract is a year-to-year contract with renewal options. The contract was at the end of its current annual term.

Question: What improvements would you like to see to the benefits consulting services you are currently receiving.

Answer: Anticipating employee needs through proactive communication, swift inquiry resolution, and getting answers and preparatory items delivered before questions are even asked. The firm should be honest, accurate, thorough and meticulous.

The firm would provide comprehensive training on enrollment systems at least one month prior to open enrollment, conduct Open

Enrollment meetings at each location with a presentation and take-home materials for the team, deliver timely responses and efficient processing when assisting with enrollment changes, and provide presentations/materials that will be distributed to employees at least one month prior for review.

Question: Please share a few specific challenges the County would like to address regarding the benefits programs over the next several years.

Answer: Continuing to move total benefits modernization forward by migrating to a (consistent)fully online platform, evaluating self-funded insurance structures, and building a proactive, incentive-based employee wellness strategy. Also, the increase in healthcare costs continues to be an issue, the County Board of Supervisors currently is picking up of the employees’ share of these costs, but this may not be sustainable in the future.

Question: When were the benefits plans last marketed?

Answer: The Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance plans and the Voluntary

Benefits were advertised in December of 2025.

Question: How many in-person meetings should we anticipate annually (open enrollment, budget, with County staff, with vendors, etc.)?

Answer: For open enrollment we need a minimum of four separate in-person meetings for the County and eight for the Schools, which could coincide with counseling session for employees, at three different locations for the County and eight locations for the schools; once or twice a year for the budget; quarterly with County staff; and as needed with the vendors, at least once a year.

Question: Are there any services currently being provided by the incumbent consultant that are not explicitly listed in the Scope of Services that the

County/schools expects to continue? Covering FSA/HSA expenses?

Answer: Yes, possibly. We will discuss those during the negotiations phase of the RFP process. The consultant will cover the FSA/HSA expenses.

Question: Regarding Voluntary Benefits, the FAQs indicate interest in learning about individual plan models as an alternative to group voluntary benefits.

Is there an administrative reason you are looking to switch to individual plans?

Answer: We would like to review the administrative differences, and with individual plans we would expect the vendor to handle billing and enrollment directly with the employees.

The County is aware it’s not an option for FSA and HSA, which must be payroll-deducted for pre-tax reasons.

Question: The County has been with TLC/Anthem for 13+ years. Is there an appetite to explore alternatives outside of The Local Choice framework, or is remaining within TLC a priority?

Answer: We do not have any issues with TLC, but the County likes to look at all the options, especially if a considerable savings can be found.

Question: Regarding Compensation, is the County open to a retainer-based fee model, a commission-based model, or a hybrid structure? Is there a preferred approach?

Answer: A flat fee is preferred for consulting services, commission would be only for the Voluntary Benefits.

Question: What is the arrangement with the current consulting partner and what is the total annual amount?

Answer: Currently, the total annual amount is $50,000 split between the

County of Louisa, Louisa County Public Schools, Department of

Human Services, and the Louisa County Water Authority by percentage of employees.

Question: Given Virginia's newly enacted PFML law and the Paid Sick Leave mandate effective July 2027, has the County or schools conducted any preliminary assessment of its PFML budget exposure based on its current workforce?

Answer: We have not done this yet, but the County and Louisa County Public

Schools intend to make a plan in-house.

END OF ADDENDUM