MPSERS Dental Benefit Plan Administration

The State of Michigan, through the Department of Technology, Management and Budget-Procurement, is seeking a qualified Third-Party Administrator (TPA) to administer the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System (MPSERS) Dental Benefit Plan under RFP No. 200000001290. The procurement aims to secure a contractor to manage dental benefits for approximately 261,000 members, including retirees, beneficiaries, COBRA participants, and their dependents. Key deliverables include maintaining a national provider network, processing claims, providing customer service, managing enrollment and eligibility, conducting member communications, and offering web-based support. Contractors must be licensed Third-Party Administrators in Michigan or properly licensed insurance companies. The technical proposal will be evaluated across multiple criteria, including staffing (20 points), project management/invoicing/transition (30 points), company background/experience (30 points), and other technical requirements (120 points), with a minimum of 160 points required to advance to pricing evaluation. The RFP was issued on March 5, 2020, with questions due by March 13, 2020, claims repricing data file requests due by March 27, 2020, and the proposal deadline set for April 6, 2020, at 3:00 PM Eastern. The anticipated contract start date is July 8, 2020, with services commencing on January 1, 2021.

The solicitation does not explicitly mention specific set-aside designations or restrictions for disadvantaged enterprises. The contract is a self-insured arrangement funded through public school employer contributions and contract holder premiums, with an estimated annual claim payment volume of $81.7 million. The selected contractor must provide a $60,000 implementation credit and operate within an all-inclusive Administration Fee with no additional charges. The State will consider overall economic impact, including factors such as principal place of performance, Michigan employment, capital investments, and tax revenue implications. The contractor must maintain SSAE 16 SOC 2 Type 2 audit compliance and meet specific service level agreements, with potential financial penalties for non-compliance. While no incumbent vendor is specified, the contract includes a four-year term from January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2024, with the possibility of up to four additional one-year renewals at the State's discretion. The estimated membership is projected to grow 2% annually, starting at 167,447 contracts in Year 1 and increasing to 177,696 contracts by Year 4.