BCBS Medical Claims Data – 2019

Request for Proposal Benefit Consulting and Actuarial Services/Broker of Record Due: Friday, May 13, 2022 Time: 4:30 PM CST City of Brooklyn Park Human Resources Division 5200 85th Avenue North Brooklyn Park, MN 55443 Table of Contents Section Description Page I Statement of Purpose 1 II Summary of Organization 1 III Proposal Due Date, Contact & Location 1-2 IV Proposal Format and Content 2 V Evaluation of Proposals 2-3 VI Rejection of Proposals 3 VII Project Timeline 3 Attachment A Scope of Services & Consultant Questions 4-7 Attachment B Benefit Plan Information 8-9 Attachment C Experience and Capacity 10 Attachment D References 11 Page | 1 I. Statement of Purpose The City of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota is inviting proposals for the purpose of contracting with a Benefit and Actuarial Consultant/Broker of Record. The City of Brooklyn Park (hereinafter referred to as the City) makes this Request for Proposals (hereinafter referred to as the RFP) to select a qualified Consulting Firm

(hereinafter referred to as the Consultant) for providing professional Benefit Consulting and Actuarial services and to establish a Benefit Consultant/Broker of Record (hereinafter called the Project). The Project is generally described in the “Scope of Services” (Attachment A) contained within this RFP, including descriptions of roles, responsibilities, and the relationship between the Consultant, City, and other parties involved in the Project. II. Summary of Organization The City is a second tier suburb of the Minneapolis/St. Paul area in the northeast portion of Hennepin County. Just 20 minutes from downtown Minneapolis or St. Paul, it was incorporated in 1954, covers 27 square miles, and has a population of approximately 86,500 residents and growing. Brooklyn Park is a mature, progressive City that is around 90% developed. On October 9, 1969, the City adopted as a Home Rule Charter. The City’s governing body is the City Council, comprised of the mayor and six council members. The mayor serves a four-year term of office. Council members are elected by district to serve overlapping four-year terms. Two council members are elected from each of the City’s three districts. The City Manager is responsible for the daily operations of the City. Reporting to the City Manager is the Department Directors. The Council delegates operational authority to the Manager, who in turn, delegates specific functional authority and budgetary responsibility to the department heads in accordance with the City Charter and Council policies. There are seven departments that report to the City Manager: Administration, Finance, Police, Fire, Community Development, Operations & Maintenance, and Recreation & Parks. The City has approximately 400 regular full and/or part-time employees. The workforce is supplemented during peak seasons by up to 300 temporary and/or seasonal workers. Employees are located in multiple locations throughout the City and conduct field work as needed. More than half of the employees are represented by one of six labor organizations in Police, Fire, and Operations & Maintenance. III. Proposal Due Date, Contact, and Location The Consultant shall submit five (5) copies of their proposals by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, May 6, 2022, to: City of Brooklyn Park c/o Wokie Freeman-Gbogba, Assistant City Manager 5200 85th Avenue North Brooklyn Park, MN 55443 Page | 2 The Consultants primary interface with the City shall be with an HR Specialist who will act as the City’s designated representative for the Project. Prospective responders shall direct any inquiries/questions in writing only to: Kari Kraft, Human Resources Specialist 5200 85th Avenue North Brooklyn Park, MN 55443 Kari.Kraft@brooklynpark.org All questions are due no later than 4:30 p.m. on Friday, April 22, 2022. Responses to questions will be published to the City’s website by Friday, April 29, 2022. The HR Specialist is the only individual who can be contacted regarding the Project before proposals are submitted. IV. Proposal Format and Content To allow for easier comparison of proposals during evaluation, the proposals should contain the following sections and appendices and be arranged in consecutive order. A. Executive Summary: The Executive Summary should include a clear statement of the Consultant’s understanding of the RFP including a brief summary of the Scope of Work. Include, at a minimum, an outline of the contents of the proposal, and identification of the proposed project team, a description of the responsibilities of the project team, and a summary of the proposed services. B. Scope of Services: Describe in detail how services will be provided. Include a detailed listing and description of tasks and deliverables. Attachment A includes Scope of Services and Consultant Questions. C. Experience and Capacity: Describe background and related experience demonstrating ability to provide required services. Indicate if company expansion is required to provide services. Attachment C includes specific information to include in your response. D. References: List references from contracts similar in size and scope. Attachment D contains specific information to include in your response. E. Personnel Listing: Show involved individuals with resumes and specific applicable experience. Sub-consultants should also be listed. F. Cost/Fees: Indicate proposed cost of service including a description of how costs were determined for services outlined in Attachment A; hourly rates; direct costs and payment billing schedule; list of charges per classification of employee; cost breakdown for each year of service. V. Evaluation of Proposals mailto:Kari.Kraft@brooklynpark.org Page | 3 Proposals will be reviewed by an Evaluation Committee made up of representatives of the City of Brooklyn Park. Evaluation will be based on the required criteria listed in the Section titled “Proposal Format and Content” and the following factors: A. Quality, thoroughness, and clarity of proposal B. Qualifications and experience of staff C. Reputation of firm based on references D. How well the Scope of Services offered meets City goals and objectives E. Cost of services proposed A formal presentation/interview will be required of the finalists. Specifically, the City requests that the Consultant’s Project Manager assigned to the proposed project team lead the presentation and the actual members of the project team (including any sub-consultants) participate in the formal presentation/interview. The presentation/interview will consist of the following elements: • Discussion of Consultant’s approach to providing services for this Project based upon the Scope of Services described herein. • Overview of the Consultant’s experience as related to the Scope of Services, including qualification and experience of assigned staff. During the evaluation process, the City reserves the right, where it may serve the City’s best interest, to request additional information or clarifications from the Consultants to allow corrections of errors or omissions or to negotiate with a qualifying Contract on any matter in the proposal. At the discretion of the City, the Consultant may be requested to make an oral presentation as part of the evaluation process. All proposals will become property of the City. VI. Rejection of Proposals The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, waive formalities, negotiate terms and conditions, and to select the consulting firm and service options that best meet the needs of the City and its employees. The City’s objective is to select a consultant that provides the best possible services at the best cost. The City is not obligated to award the contract based on cost alone. VII. Project Timeline Event Date RFP Release Monday, April 18th Questions Friday, April 22nd Questions Answered Friday, April 29th Due date Friday, May 13th Evaluation Panel Review Weeks of May 16th and 23rd Interviews with selected firms Week of June 6th Second Interviews (if needed) Week of June 13th Selection of Firm Week of June 20th Contract Start Date July 1, 2022 *The above schedule is subject to change at the discretion of the City Page | 4 ATTACHMENT A Scope of Services AND Consultant Questions It is the intent of this document to outline a general description of the services to be provided by the Consultant, followed by questions for the consultant to answer in its proposal. The contents of this document are considered representative of the consulting services to be provided but are by no means conclusive. The Consultant will provide advice and other services to assist the City in providing competitive and cost- effective health and welfare benefits to its workforce. These services will include assistance in establishing short and long-term benefits and wellness strategies, managing plan finances, including rate setting, renewals, actuarial and claims analysis, marketing for existing benefits and new lines of coverage, and increasing employee benefit knowledge and engagement. The City’s current health, dental, flexible spending, life and disability plans are summarized in Attachment B. The Consultant must agree to actively participate in the Benefits Labor Management Committee meetings as needed, but no more often than monthly. 1. Strategy and Plan Design Consultant will: • Facilitate quarterly strategic planning meetings involving key decision-makers and stakeholders. The strategic planning sessions will: o Focus on long-term benefit goals related to overall business objectives, contribution strategy, current programs, benefit offerings, wellness strategy, and next steps for the City’s benefit plan. o Claims review and analysis and needed mitigation measures o Provide the City with updated benchmarking information on benefit programs and costs compared to other public sector employers in Minnesota. • Provide collective bargaining support, including plan design recommendations and actuarial modeling with cost projections as needed. Questions: A. Describe the process you would use to assist the City in developing a multi-year benefits strategy. Include in your description: • The systems/tools you would use to benchmark the City’s current benefit program to the programs of other public sector employers. • The process you would use to review the City’s current employee benefit plans and recommend changes to the program. • The experience your proposed team members have presenting to councils, boards, and labor management committees. • The data analytics systems/tools you would use to develop, assess, and quantify plan design changes and the impact on population health. Page | 5 B. What are the three (3) biggest benefits-related challenges that you anticipate the City will face over the next five years? What do you propose to help the City overcome them? 2. Account Management Consultant will: • Coordinate and provide input in renewals, new contracts and performance guarantees for all vendors providing health and wellness benefits for the City. • Develop request for proposals/information and assist with placement of benefits vendors in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. • Review and edit technical language in service agreements and contracts. Questions: A. Describe the services you would provide for request for proposal projects. Your description should include your approach to the following: • Vendor identification • Proposal development and analysis • Negotiating, contract development, and transition support B. Describe your firm’s marketplace leverage in negotiating with carriers regarding rates, policy terms, and plan designs. C. Does your organization accept overrides or commissions based on in-force premium volume with insurers? If so, please describe. D. Does your organization operate collaboratives that submit during client RFP’s (e.g., stop loss or pharmacy collaboratives)? If so, how do you ensure impartiality when evaluating proposals? E. What other public entities in Minnesota have the members of your proposed account team provided services similar to the scope of this RFP? 3. Financial Management Consultant will: • Provide rate models for all plans consistent with the goals, objectives, timelines, and policies of the City, including “best estimate” full-cost accrual rates for the upcoming plan year and multi-year projections to meet the City’s needs • Produce an actuarial rate development model which analyzes data and projects estimates across the following elements and domains: • Claims data – ensure that any changes in covered services, changes in benefit plan or claims anomalies are accounted for • Enrollment – quantify any changes in enrollment and adjust for any potential consequences of the enrollment changes. • Expenses – detailed projections for each expense item. Page | 6 • Trend – Trend assumptions and sources will be documented, and trends generated for different segments of the population. • Plan options – projections will be completed for each individuals plan as well as on an aggregated basis. • Assist the City in answering any and all rate-related questions and perform other duties as agreed upon by both parties required to support positive health plan performance. Questions: A. Describe the analytic capabilities your firm offers to assist with plan management, including a comprehensive description of the reporting you will provide. B. Describe your quality review process for rate setting (including annual premium renewals), contribution development and plan design modeling. C. Describe how your firm will assist the City in identifying current and future exposures to risk. 4. Health and Productivity Management Consultant will: • Work with the City to evaluate and refine wellness program design and propose enhanced program design tailored to the objectives, circumstances, and population profile of the City. • Develop request for proposals for wellness solutions as requested. Assist with negotiations and terms of contract. Questions: A. Describe your firm’s approach and philosophy to developing a wellness strategy for the City. How would your strategy build on the work the City has already done in this area? B. What is your process for measuring the success of health improvement programs? C. Please provide an example of how you have worked with a client to develop, implement, manage, and measure a health improvement program that has proven results. 5. Legal Awareness and Compliance Consultant will: • Advise the City of changes or proposed changes in state and federal laws or regulations that may impact the various programs and assist in implementing changes. • Maintain security provisions that meet HIPAA and Minnesota Data Practices requirements to ensure confidentiality of all information received by the vendor if any of the activities under the terms of the contract. Page | 7 Questions: A. Describe the process you would use to keep the City advised of changes in regulatory requirements, healthcare reform, or rulings as related to benefits provided to our employees. B. How do you ensure timely discovery of regulatory requirements? Please describe how you will share that information with the City. Page | 8 ATTACHMENT B Benefit Plan Information We offer eligible employees the opportunity to enroll in a fully insured health plan through Blue Cross Blue Shield of MN. Two plan design options are available, each offering two network options. Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) Health Insurance with Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) The HRA compatible plan has a single deductible of $2,000 and a single + 1 and family deductible of $4,000. The out-of-pocket maximum is also set at $2,000 for single enrollees and $4,000 for single + 1 and family enrollees. A prescription drug copay is included with the plan and is not subject to the deductible. This plan type is paired with an HRA. The HRA is a health reimbursement arrangement funded by a VEBA. Employer HRA contributions of $125 are made each month and vest immediately. HRA dollars can be used to pay for qualified medical expenses. The HRA is managed by MidAmerica. Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) Health Insurance with Health Savings Account (HSA) The HSA compatible plan has a single deductible of $2,800 and a single + 1 and family deductible of $5,600. The out-of-pocket maximum is also set at $2,800 for single enrollees and $5,600 for single + 1 and family enrollees. This High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) is paired with an HSA. The HSA is a health savings account funded by employer and employee contributions. The employer makes a monthly contribution of $125 to eligible employee’s Health Savings Accounts. HSA dollars can be used to pay for qualified medical expenses. The HSA is managed by Benefit Resource (BRi). Public Employee Insurance Program (PEIP) Some Union represented employees are eligible to enroll in one of three self-funded health plans offered through the Public Employee Insurance Program. Plan options include the Advantage High Plan, the Value Plan, and the Health Savings Account Plan. The PEIP plans utilize a Primary Care Clinic (PCC) model and offers the choice of three benefit carriers (BCBS, Health Partners and Preferred One). Deductibles, co-pays, and out-of-pocket maximums are based on the cost level associated with your chosen PCC. The Advantage High Plan has deductibles that range from $250-$3,000, co-pays that range from $30-$500 depending on the service, and separate prescription drug and service out-of-pocket maximums up to combined total of $9,300. Co-insurance is applied to services once the deductible has been met. This plan is paired with a Health Reimbursement Account funded by a VEBA. Employer HRA contributions of $125 are made each month and vest immediately. HRA dollars can be used to pay for qualified medical expenses. The HRA is managed by MidAmerica. The Value Plan has deductibles that range from $600-$4,200, co-pays that range from $35-$750 depending on the service, and separate prescription drug and service out-of-pocket maximums up to a combined total of $12,100. Co-insurance is applied to services once the deductible has been met. This plan is paired with a Health Reimbursement Account funded by a VEBA. Employer HRA contributions of $125 are made each month and vest immediately. HRA dollars can be used to pay for qualified medical expenses. The HRA is managed by MidAmerica. Page | 9 The HSA Plan has deductibles that range from $1,500-$8,000, and combined prescription drug and service out- of-pocket maximums that range from $3,000-$10,000. Co-pays and co-insurance are available for some services once the deductible has been met. This plan is paired with an HSA. The HSA is a health savings account funded by employer and employee contributions. The employer makes a monthly contribution of $125 to eligible employee’s Health Savings Accounts. HSA dollars can be used to pay for qualified medical expenses. The HSA is managed by Benefit Resource (BRi). Dental: Dental benefits are provided under a self-insured arrangement administered by Delta Dental of Minnesota. The plan design includes two plan options: The Base Plan and Buy-Up Plan with PPO and Premier networks. The Base Plan offers a $1,000 per year member benefit and includes a deductible of $50 for single enrollees and $150 for families. Co-insurance for services range between 50% for major services, and 100% for Diagnostic and Preventive services in the PPO network. The Buy-Up Plan offers a $2,000 per year member benefit and waives the deductible at the PPO level. Services are covered at 60% for major services and 100% for Diagnostic and Preventive, as well as Basic Services. The employee pays the full cost of this plan for both single and family coverage. Both plans offer a 50% orthodontic benefit for dependents 19 and younger up to a maximum of $1,000 under the Base Plan and $2,000 under the Buy-Up Plan. Life Insurance: The City pays the full cost of a basic $10,000 group term life and AD&D coverage for each eligible employee (40+ hours per week). Eligible employees may purchase additional voluntary coverage in increments of $10,000 not to exceed five (5) times their annual salary to a maximum of $300,000. Premiums are based on age. $200,000 guaranteed issuance at time of hire only. Employees may also purchase optional dependent term life insurance equal to $1,000/$5,000/$10,000 for each eligible dependent. Basic and optional life insurance is provided by Lincoln Financial Group. Short-Term Disability: STD coverage is available to eligible employees in increments of $100 starting at a minimum of $400 up to a maximum of $6,500 – not to exceed 60% of pre-disability income. The benefit is available for up to 90 days. Employees can choose from two waiting periods of 7 or 14 days. Premiums are fully paid by the employees and are based on age, selected coverage amount, and chosen waiting period. Long Term Disability: LTD coverage equals 60% of covered monthly pay (to a benefit maximum of $6,000 per month) in the event of total disability lasting more than 90 days. The City pays the full cost of this plan through a reduction in the sick time accrual for those that elect coverage. LTD coverage is offered through Lincoln Financial Group. Flexible Spending Accounts: The City offers health care, limited health care, and dependent care flexible spending accounts, and allows contributions up to the IRS maximums. Benefit Resource (BRi) is our current vendor. Employee Assistance Program: Services are provided by BCBS through Beacon Health. Fees are included in medical plan premiums. Page | 10 ATTACHMENT C Experience and Capacity 1. Provide contact information for the individual authorized to answer questions regarding your response to this request for proposal. Include the contact’s name, title/position, telephone number and email address. 2. Provide information on your firm including background and experience demonstrating ability to provide required services. Your description should be limited to two pages and should include: • A company history including any changes to organizational structure (including but not limited to mergers, acquisitions, addition or deletion of offices, staff additions or reductions) that have occurred in your firm in the past 12 months or are anticipated to occur in the next 12 months • Relevant previous experience with public sector entities • Relevant previous experience working with union representatives and/or labor management committees • Compliance/regulatory resources available in-house • Size (number of employees and annual revenue associated with local office) • A representative client list • The main attributes that differentiate your company from your competition 3. Provide the following information regarding the team that would be assigned to this account. Include bios for the team members listed. Please note that sub-consultants should also be listed. Name Job Title/Position Location Yrs. Of Industry Experience Years With Firm Number of clients currently assigned 4. List other resources to which we would have access such as wellness, reporting actuarial, legal/compliance, technology, etc., if different than the account management team listed in your above response. Page | 11 ATTACHMENT D References Provide references for three to five clients of similar size, at least two of which are governmental entities. Client Name Contact Name & Title Email Telephone