Dental benefits administration

The State of New Hampshire Department of Administrative Services, Division of Risk and Benefits, is soliciting proposals through a Request for Proposal (RFP) for comprehensive dental benefits administration services. The procurement seeks a qualified vendor to administer dental benefits for approximately 10,280 active employees and COBRA participants located in New Hampshire and surrounding New England states. The vendor must duplicate the State's current benefit plans as closely as possible, including administering a passive dental network plan with consistent plan design across all represented unions, and must be prepared to implement any plan design changes resulting from collective bargaining negotiations with seven unions throughout the contract term. Key deliverables include dedicated implementation staff (Implementation Manager, Account Executive, Customer Service Manager), claims processing with bi-weekly or semi-monthly invoicing, toll-free member services, quarterly business reviews, comprehensive data reporting, and network provider management capabilities. Required qualifications include demonstrated financial stability with performance guarantees of at least $100,000 at-risk annually, prior experience administering dental benefits for at least three governmental entities with minimum 5,000 subscribers and experience servicing at least one client with 10,000 or more dental subscribers, maintained dental networks in New Hampshire with adequate provider access, and full compliance with HIPAA, ERISA, and New Hampshire state regulations including prompt pay requirements. The contract term runs through December 31, 2031, with options to extend for up to two additional years, and implementation activities shall commence within seven days of Governor and Executive Council approval or September 1, 2026, whichever is later, with administrative services becoming effective January 1, 2027. Proposals must be submitted by May 27, 2026, at 2:00 PM Eastern Time via email to NH.Purchasing@DAS.NH.Gov, with evaluation based on initial screening for minimum qualifications, followed by non-financial scoring (50 points) and financial scoring (50 points).

Northeast Delta Dental has served as the incumbent dental administrator since 1993, with the self-funded arrangement effective since December 1, 2007, utilizing Delta Dental PPO and Premier National networks that vendors must be prepared to maintain or successfully transition. The current plan structure provides Diagnostic & Preventive Benefits (Coverage A) at 100% coverage with no deductible, Basic Restorative Benefits (Coverage B) at 80% coverage with no deductible, Major Restorative Benefits (Coverage C) at 50% coverage with a $25 per person calendar year deductible, and Orthodontic Benefits (Coverage D) at 50% coverage with no deductible, with a calendar year maximum benefit of $2,000 per person and a lifetime orthodontic maximum of $1,200 per person. Pricing shall be submitted on a guaranteed, all-inclusive per-employee-per-month (PEPM) basis for mature administration covering a 12-month run-out period, with fees guaranteed for the full five-year contract period with no minimum participation requirements; bidders must also provide repricing of actual dental claims incurred between February 1, 2025, and January 31, 2026, based on contracted provider discounts effective as of May 1, 2026. The RFP does not identify specific set-aside designations or restrictions on respondent types based on disadvantaged enterprise status. No specific award value or budget range is disclosed in the procurement documents, with pricing to be determined through the competitive proposal evaluation process and subject to Governor and Executive Council approval.