Benefit Administrative Services

The County of Volusia, Florida is soliciting competitive sealed proposals through a Request for Proposals (RFP) for comprehensive benefit administrative services serving County employees, retirees, COBRA participants, and Constitutional Officers (Property Appraiser, Supervisor of Elections, and Tax Collector). The procurement encompasses third-party administration of Medical and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) with debit card functionality, Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA) for medical claims under Florida Statute 112.1816, COBRA administration and compliance for medical, dental, vision, and FSA coverage, and retiree billing and premium collection administration for participants under age 65 and Medicare-eligible participants age 65 and older (including Medicare Supplement plans with two options, Pharmacy Part D, dental, and vision). Key deliverables include customer service through multiple channels (phone, email, and web), non-discrimination testing for FSAs within 90 days of plan year start, secure participant portal and mobile application access, debit card distribution by January 1st of each plan year, COBRA notification and premium collection processing, carrier interface coordination, monthly virtual account management meetings with semi-annual or annual in-person meetings, and comprehensive monthly and annual reporting. The contractor must meet stringent performance guarantees for implementation timelines (testing environment 30 days before coverage commencement, coordination 90 days prior to effective date), customer service metrics (average speed of answer, abandonment rates, inquiry response and resolution times), COBRA notification timelines, and debit card delivery schedules. Proposals must be submitted electronically by April 15, 2026 at 3:01 p.m., with technical questions due by April 1, 2026. Evaluation criteria include firm qualifications (10%), project methodology and approach (25%), functional performance (30%), total cost (20%), experience and references (10%), and financial stability and litigation (5%). The contract term spans five years (2027-2031) with one optional five-year renewal contingent upon mutual written agreement and County Council approval, with the plan year commencing January 1, 2027.

The RFP does not specify set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises or restrictions on responder types; however, contractors must complete a Prime/Subcontractor Form disclosing all proposed subcontractors and their scopes of work, with the prime contractor assuming full responsibility for subcontractor licensing and qualifications. The current benefit administrator is Chard Snyder. The County maintains self-funded medical coverage through Cigna, dental through Cigna, vision through Aetna, Medicare Supplement through United Healthcare, and Medicare Part D through United Healthcare, requiring the selected contractor to interface directly with these carriers for enrollment and premium payment processing. Contractors must waive minimum participation requirements, termination fees, setup fees, annual renewal fees, remittance to carrier fees, initial notice fees, and open enrollment mailer costs, while providing COBRA administration costs based on retention of a 2% COBRA administration fee, with only one monthly fee charged per participant regardless of dual FSA enrollment. Current participant populations include approximately 3,300 eligible employees, 3 HRA participants, 7 COBRA participants, and 615 enrolled retirees, with FSA account balances totaling approximately $724,576 as of March 2026. Contractors must maintain comprehensive insurance coverage including Workers' Compensation with Florida statutory limits, Commercial General Liability of $1,000,000 per occurrence/$2,000,000 aggregate, Professional Liability of $1,000,000 per claim/$2,000,000 aggregate, Cyber Insurance of $2,000,000 per claim/aggregate, Fidelity insurance of $2,000,000 single loss limit, and Technology Errors & Omissions insurance, with all insurers rated A- or higher by A.M. Best. Payment terms are established at 45 business days from invoice receipt, and the County is tax-exempt and will not pay sales or federal excise taxes.