Inquiries and Answers for RFP AABA 2027-0049 V2.pdf

DPA Solicitation #:

RFP AABA 2027*0049

Health and Welfare Actuarial and Broker Consultant for the

State of Colorado

INQUIRIES AND ANSWERS

Question 1: Would you be able to offer come clarification since we have not been able to reconcile different numbers provided as responses for two similar questions.

In the State’s response to questions, Answer 13 indicated the “Hours utilized by the incumbent consultant- 20”

For reference, Question 13: Exhibit A, Section 1.8.8 The RFP requires the contractor to provide administrative support during open enrollment. Please provide historical information regarding: hours, number of staff, duration of support, number of inquiries)

Separately, Answer 35 noted “The estimated time that the person spent on these functions is 680 hours”

For reference, Question 35: Exhibit A - 1.8.8 “The scope indicates to provide an administrative person to assist the Employee Benefits Unit during open enrollment (typically: March - June). What is the estimated time (total hours

March-June) that person has spent on the noted functions?”

This also seems like 8.5 hours a day X 5 days X 16 weeks = 680. I’m not sure if that’s a coincidence of the number of possible hours and the top response is number of actual hours spent.

Both questions asked for number of hours for administrative support for OE.

Since the two questions were asking for what seemed like the same information, Could your clarify what work the 20 hours refers to. Also what does the 680 hours refer to?

Are these hours annual or for the life of the current broker’s engagement?

Are those hours included in the table you provided for Exhibit B, 2.6 (hours the incumbent spent to support the State account)?

Answer 1: The State appreciates the opportunity to clarify the historical hours utilized for

Open Enrollment (OE) administrative support and to reconcile the numbers provided in previous responses.

The bidder's mathematical observation is correct. The figure of 680 hours provided in Answer 35 represents a theoretical calculation of maximum potential capacity based on a full-time schedule over a standard 16-week window (8.5 hours per day, 5 days per week, for 16 weeks between March and June). It does not reflect the actual hours billed by or required from the incumbent consultant.

To provide complete clarity on what these figures represent, how they apply to the timeline, and their inclusion in the historical hours table, please note the following parameters:

Definition of the Hours: The 20 hours referenced in Answer 13 reflect the actual, historical time utilized by the incumbent consultant to provide dedicated administrative support during the Open Enrollment window. Conversely, the 680 hours referenced in Answer 35 represent the maximum potential capacity ceiling of a full-time resource during that period, not the actual hours worked.

Time Horizon: The 20 actual hours utilized represents an annual average per contract year, specifically tracking the localized footprint of an OE season. It does not represent the cumulative life of the contract.

Inclusion in Exhibit B, 2.6 Table: The 20 actual hours utilized annually are fully included within the broader historical consulting hours table provided for Exhibit

B, Section 2.6, categorized under the general Actuarial and Consulting workstream. Because the 680 hours is a theoretical full-time capacity calculation rather than actual tracked time, it is not factored into that historical utilization table.

In summary, bidders should note that actual historical utilization for dedicated OE administrative support averages 20 hours per year. Future hours will be utilized dynamically and will scale based on the specific operational needs of the

Employee Benefits Unit (EBU) during the March through June window.

Question 22: Exhibit B, Section 2.6

Can the State provide a breakdown of the historical consultant hours by major workstream?

Response: The incumbent operates with the State under a general, annual retainer structure.

Because of this, time charges are bundled under a single tracking code rather than separate matter numbers for individual projects or categories. Furthermore, team members routinely work across multiple overlapping disciplines (e.g., a legislative fiscal note may touch both pharmacy and general consulting).

While an exact hourly breakout by individual workstream is unavailable, historical data shows that annual utilization scales roughly as follows across consolidated functional categories:

Actuarial and Consulting: 73% to 78% of total effort (Includes: General Actuarial, General Consulting, Fiscal Notes, Procurement Support, Wellness, and Open

Enrollment Support)

Pharmacy Consulting: 17% to 20% of total effort

Compliance Consulting: 2% to 4% of total effort

Administrative Consulting: 1% to 3% of total effort

Bidders should use these percentage allocations to contextualize the baseline staffing footprint across the 8,900.50 total hours delivered between 2023 and

2026.

Question 35: Exhibit A - 1.8.8

The scope indicates to provide an administrative person to assist the Employee

Benefits Unit during open enrollment (typically: March - June). What is the estimated time (total hours March-June) that person has spent on the noted functions?

Response: Please refer to the master Reconciliation of Open Enrollment Hours section in response to questions 13 and 35. Dedicated open enrollment administrative support historically averages 20 actual hours annually.

Question 43: Exhibit B — Management Capabilities 2.6

We noticed not all positions that support the State are noted in the table. For example, pharmacy, compliance, anything systems/IT related, etc. are missing.

Can you provide approximate hours spent by the other types of functions?

Response: The primary Exhibit B table exhaustively accounts for all 8,900.50 historical hours provided to the State, categorized strictly by internal position seniority levels (SVP/VP, SR Consultant/Consultant, and SR Analyst/Analyst).

The incumbent’s core account team directly encompasses Subject Matter Experts

(SMEs) across Pharmacy, Data Analytics, Compliance, and Administrative

Technologies. While these individuals bring specialized technical expertise to the account, their hours are fully integrated into the primary table. They have been mapped directly to their equivalent professional role bands (for example, a

Pharmacy or IT Specialist is billed under the corresponding Consultant or Analyst tier based on their seniority). No hours or positions have been omitted from the historical table.

Question 46: Exhibit B — Management Capabilities 2.7.12

You requested an individual be designated IT expertise. We would appreciate more information on the hours required (based on past work).

Response: Historical IT and systems-related consulting hours are embedded within the incumbent's broader administrative and general consulting tracking. To provide context on a major recent initiative, IT-related consulting has historically required approximately 60 hours over the past two contract years specifically preparing for the Third-Party Administrator (TPA) / Business Solver RFP. This effort included analyzing RFI responses, collaborating with the state team, and mapping out implementation timelines and staffing scope documents. Because the formal RFP execution phase has not yet officially launched, this historical time strictly reflects the upfront strategic and technical preparation.