No_BAA_per_Attorney_Email.msg
MSG file 300 KB Posted
- Solicitation number
- 26-0137-REQ
- Issued by
- Pinellas County, Florida
About this file
This email chain documents internal legal review of RFP 26-0137 for Workers Compensation Third-Party Administrator Services by Pinellas County, Florida. The correspondence involves multiple county attorneys (Christy Pemberton, Kelly Vicari, and Jeffrey Klein) and procurement staff (Patricia Cortez) reviewing a redlined scope of work document between November 24 and December 4, 2025. The RFP seeks a Florida-licensed third-party administrator to manage workers' compensation claims for approximately 5,359 county employees and Sheriff's Office personnel. Key services include claims management, claims adjustment, investigation, transition of existing claims, administrative support, and technical system management. Proposals are due January 22, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. through the OpenGov procurement portal, with a question submission deadline of January 13, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. The initial contract term is three years with two optional one-year renewal periods. The evaluation criteria include qualifications (20%), approach and statement of work (25%), technology and reporting capabilities (25%), compensation (25%), and adherence to RFP terms (5%).
A significant legal issue addressed in the correspondence concerns whether a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) under HIPAA is required for the TPA services. Senior Assistant County Attorney Kelly Vicari confirmed that no BAA is required, citing 45 CFR 164.512, which permits covered entities to disclose protected health information for workers' compensation purposes without regard to fault and without a BAA. Pemberton also flagged the need to review special handling instructions for potential incorporation into the scope of work. The attorneys reviewed edits to the scope of work (pages 25-35 of the RFP document), with Klein providing specific comments on Scope of Work sections (a)(2) and (a)(9) and Technical and Reports section (1)(a) regarding claims management. The county currently manages approximately 200-300 open workers' compensation files, 70 closed files requiring annual maintenance, and 30 files in litigation, with a predominantly digital system utilizing Riskonnect Clearsight for RMIS entry, Corvel for bill review, Mitchell Script Advisor for pharmacy management, and Paragon Case Management for case management.
Text of this file
RE: Word Document Redlines 26-0137-RFP Workers Compensation Third-Party Administrator Services
| From |
| Vicari, Kelly L |
| To |
| Pemberton, Christy D; Cortez, Patricia D |
| Cc |
| Bentley, Keith |
| Recipients |
| cpemberton@pinellas.gov; pdcortez@pinellas.gov; kbentley@pinellas.gov |
Good morning, No, the BAA is not required.
(l) Standard: Disclosures for workers’ compensation. A covered entity may disclose protected health information as authorized by and to the extent necessary to comply with laws relating to workers’ compensation or other similar programs, established by law, that provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness without regard to fault.
45 CFR 164.512
HHS Website:
Kelly L. Vicari
Senior Assistant County Attorney
Pinellas County Attorney’s Office
315 Court Street, 6th Floor
Clearwater, FL 33756
Phone: (727) 464-3354
Fax: (727) 464-4147 kvicari@pinellas.gov
All government correspondence is subject to the public records law.
From: Pemberton, Christy D <cpemberton@pinellas.gov> Sent: Thursday, December 4, 2025 10:42 AM To: Cortez, Patricia D <pdcortez@pinellas.gov> Cc: Bentley, Keith <kbentley@pinellas.gov>; Vicari, Kelly L <kvicari@pinellas.gov> Subject: RE: Word Document Redlines 26-0137-RFP Workers Compensation Third-Party Administrator Services
My apologies – I didn’t get the word document attached on my prior email.
Thank you!
Christy Donovan Pemberton, Board Certified City, County &
Local Government Lawyer
Managing Assistant County Attorney
Pinellas County Attorney's Office
Phone: (727) 464-3354
Email: cpemberton@pinellas.gov
From: Pemberton, Christy D Sent: Thursday, December 4, 2025 10:36 AM To: Cortez, Patricia D <pdcortez@pinellas.gov> Cc: Bentley, Keith <kbentley@pinellas.gov>; Vicari, Kelly L <kvicari@pinellas.gov> Subject: RE: Word Document Redlines 26-0137-RFP Workers Compensation Third-Party Administrator Services
My comments contain a lot of questions that are outside my area of expertise, but her you go.
I also have these two issues that I raised via e-mail:
I don’t believe a BAA is required under HIPAA due to this being worker’s comp, but Kelly, would you please confirm as the law may have changed since the 2002 HHS guidance I saw.
I didn’t see the special handling instructions, I recommend we review those as well to see if there’s anything that should just be added to the scope.
Local Government Lawyer
Managing Assistant County Attorney
Pinellas County Attorney's Office
From: Cortez, Patricia D <pdcortez@pinellas.gov> Sent: Thursday, December 4, 2025 10:30 AM To: Pemberton, Christy D <cpemberton@pinellas.gov> Cc: Bentley, Keith <kbentley@pinellas.gov> Subject: FW: Word Document Redlines 26-0137-RFP Workers Compensation Third-Party Administrator Services
Christy, could you please send me your comments and suggested revisions? Kelly did not have anything to send me.
Thank you, Patricia Cortez, CPPB, NIGP-CPP
Lead Procurement Analyst
Purchasing Department
400 S. Ft. Harrison Avenue, 6th FL
Clearwater, FL 33756 pdcortez@pinellas.gov
From: Vicari, Kelly L <kvicari@pinellas.gov> Sent: Tuesday, December 2, 2025 12:38 PM To: Cortez, Patricia D <pdcortez@pinellas.gov> Subject: RE: Word Document Redlines 26-0137-RFP Workers Compensation Third-Party Administrator Services
No.
Sincerely, Pinellas County Attorney’s Office
315 Court Street, 6th Floor
Clearwater, FL 33756
Phone: (727) 464-3354
Fax: (727) 464-4147
Sent: Tuesday, December 2, 2025 12:35 PM To: Vicari, Kelly L <kvicari@pinellas.gov> Subject: RE: Word Document Redlines 26-0137-RFP Workers Compensation Third-Party Administrator Services
Good afternoon, Kelly. Do you have any edits that you need to provide?
Purchasing Department
400 S. Ft. Harrison Avenue, 6th FL
From: Vicari, Kelly L <kvicari@pinellas.gov> Sent: Tuesday, December 2, 2025 9:45 AM To: Pemberton, Christy D <cpemberton@pinellas.gov>; Cortez, Patricia D <pdcortez@pinellas.gov>; Klein, Jeffrey <jklein@pinellas.gov>; Bentley, Keith <kbentley@pinellas.gov>; Townsend, Keiah <ktownsend@pinellas.gov> Subject: RE: Word Document Redlines 26-0137-RFP Workers Compensation Third-Party Administrator Services
I’m all set- I just needed confirmation on the PCSO piece.
Pinellas County Attorney’s Office
315 Court Street, 6th Floor
Clearwater, FL 33756
Phone: (727) 464-3354
Fax: (727) 464-4147
Sent: Tuesday, December 2, 2025 7:50 AM To: Cortez, Patricia D <pdcortez@pinellas.gov>; Klein, Jeffrey <jklein@pinellas.gov>; Bentley, Keith <kbentley@pinellas.gov>; Townsend, Keiah <ktownsend@pinellas.gov>; Vicari, Kelly L <kvicari@pinellas.gov> Subject: RE: Word Document Redlines 26-0137-RFP Workers Compensation Third-Party Administrator Services
My apologies, Patricia. I sent my comments and suggested revisions to Keith and Kelly for further review.
Kelly, can you please let Patricia know when you anticipate your review to be complete? Then Keith will need to review.
Local Government Lawyer
Managing Assistant County Attorney
Pinellas County Attorney's Office
Sent: Tuesday, December 2, 2025 7:41 AM To: Pemberton, Christy D <cpemberton@pinellas.gov>; Klein, Jeffrey <jklein@pinellas.gov>; Bentley, Keith <kbentley@pinellas.gov>; Townsend, Keiah <ktownsend@pinellas.gov>; Vicari, Kelly L <kvicari@pinellas.gov> Subject: RE: Word Document Redlines 26-0137-RFP Workers Compensation Third-Party Administrator Services
Good morning, Christy. When do you think your edits will be completed?
Please let me know, as I’ve updated OpenGov and will make any other edits you may have.
Purchasing Department
400 S. Ft. Harrison Avenue, 6th FL
Sent: Monday, November 24, 2025 2:50 PM To: Klein, Jeffrey <jklein@pinellas.gov>; Cortez, Patricia D <pdcortez@pinellas.gov>; Bentley, Keith <kbentley@pinellas.gov>; Townsend, Keiah <ktownsend@pinellas.gov>; Vicari, Kelly L <kvicari@pinellas.gov> Subject: RE: Word Document Redlines 26-0137-RFP Workers Compensation Third-Party Administrator Services
Patricia, once all three of the attorneys have reviewed it and made our edits, we’ll let you know.
Local Government Lawyer
Managing Assistant County Attorney
Pinellas County Attorney's Office
From: Klein, Jeffrey <jklein@pinellas.gov> Sent: Monday, November 24, 2025 2:43 PM To: Cortez, Patricia D <pdcortez@pinellas.gov>; Pemberton, Christy D <cpemberton@pinellas.gov>; Bentley, Keith <kbentley@pinellas.gov>; Townsend, Keiah <ktownsend@pinellas.gov>; Vicari, Kelly L <kvicari@pinellas.gov> Subject: RE: Word Document Redlines 26-0137-RFP Workers Compensation Third-Party Administrator Services
See edits/comments to:
Scope of Work (a)(2); (a)(9).
Technical and Reports (1)(a)
Claims management (20)
Jeffrey N. Klein, Assistant County Attorney
Pinellas County Attorney’s Office
315 Court Street, Sixth Floor
Clearwater, Florida 33756 jklein@pinellas.gov
Sent: Monday, November 24, 2025 2:00 PM To: Pemberton, Christy D <cpemberton@pinellas.gov>; Bentley, Keith <kbentley@pinellas.gov>; Townsend, Keiah <ktownsend@pinellas.gov>; Klein, Jeffrey <jklein@pinellas.gov>; Vicari, Kelly L <kvicari@pinellas.gov> Subject: Word Document Redlines 26-0137-RFP Workers Compensation Third-Party Administrator Services
Good afternoon. For ease of access, I’ve attached a redlined version. Pages 25 through 35 are the scope, but any area can be edited as needed.
The highlighted area in the scope will be deleted as language in other areas addresses these areas.
Please feel free to group or redline individually if needed.
Once I have your responses, I will update OpenGov.
Purchasing Department
400 S. Ft. Harrison Avenue, 6th FL image003.jpg image004.png image005.png image001.png
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