RFP%2031786-00186%20Amendment%20One.pdf

This is Amendment One to RFP #31786-00186, issued by the State of Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration Benefits Administration for fully-insured short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD-N) insurance benefits. The amendment updates the schedule of events for the procurement, which seeks a single contractor to provide voluntary STD coverage (100% employee-paid premiums) and mandatory LTD-N coverage (100% employer-paid premiums) for eligible central state government and state higher education agency employees. The pre-response conference is scheduled for September 10, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. central time. The written questions and comments deadline is September 17, 2025, at 2:00 p.m., with a second round limited to five questions due October 23, 2025. The response deadline is November 21, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. Technical response evaluations will be completed by January 6, 2026, with cost proposal scoring on January 7, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. Negotiations are scheduled for January 12-14, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. The State Notice of Intent to Award will be released on January 22, 2026, at 2:00 p.m., with the protest period ending January 29, 2026. The contract term is 70 months total, consisting of 10 months of implementation activities (March through December 2026) and 60 months of benefit delivery from January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2031.

The incumbent vendor is Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife), whose current contract expires December 31, 2026. The contract will cover approximately 10,000 or more members across eligible employee populations, with contractor compensation structured as per-member monthly premiums for both STD and LTD coverage. All current plan members will be automatically transferred to the new contractor on January 1, 2027, with guaranteed issue coverage and pre-existing condition limitation credits based on prior enrollment length. The State will evaluate responses based on technical qualifications (40 points), general qualifications and experience (10 points), and cost proposals (50 points). Respondents must demonstrate six years of disability insurance administration experience, including at least five employer accounts with one account having 10,000 or more members, and a current Tennessee Certificate of Authority for group disability benefits. The contract includes performance requirements with at-risk payments tied to service level agreements and potential liquidated damages for failures to meet implementation milestones, plan design accuracy, and data security standards.