Employee Benefits Consultant and Broker Services

The Vendor is required to provide strategic guidance, market analysis, and ongoing support for our employee benefits program. 
- Ensure our employees and their families have access to competitive and comprehensive health, dental, vision, life, and disability coverage.
- The ideal firm should be well versed in the benefits market, experienced in advising comparable public agencies, and works well with various levels of staff and management.
- The City currently has 245 benefit eligible employees, with 194 actively enrolled in medical/dental/vision benefits.
- Analysis and Reporting
•    Analyze existing coverage and identify or develop cost-saving alternative benefit strategies and plans.
•    Assist in the development of long-range goals and strategies, including making projections of potential savings.
•    Provide analysis and recommendations based on utilization and performance reports, statistical and/or financial reports, and plan specific data.
•    Assist the City in monitoring and analyzing experience trends and providing timely alerts on changing patterns and appropriate recommendations.
•    Provide financial and/or performance reviews of self-funded and fully insured plans and programs.
•    Be available to provide various types of reports as needed, such as cost analysis for benefit changes, and other statistical, financial, forecasting, trend, labor negotiations, or experience reports.
•    Regularly monitor and evaluate performance measures and guarantees for providers.
•    Maintain full and accurate records with respect to all matters and services provided on behalf of the City's benefit plans and programs. 
•    Provide City staff or officials with all spreadsheets, assumptions, and calculations upon completion of any project performed on behalf of the City's benefit plans and programs.
- Liaison and Problem Intervention
•    Act as liaison between the City and insurance providers.
•    Provide consultation on plan interpretation and problem resolution.
•    Provide timely customer service and assistance to staff regarding enrollment, issues involving provider billing, claims, vendor service issues/problems, advocacy for services, disputes, interpretation of contracts and services, changes and general troubleshooting. 
•    Act as an advocate or ombudsman in appeal, arbitration, or court process between the City and the providers on unresolved issues if needed; provide advice when needed to enforce City, employee, retiree, or their dependents' rights. 
•    Assist the City in proactive mitigation of negative impacts or disruption of services to employees and retirees from benefit and/or provider network changes.
- Compliance
•    Assist with ongoing plan administration and ensure that programs are in compliance with State and Federal legislation and regulations.
•    Provide training to City staff, as needed, regarding regulatory updates and/or best practice seminars for the effective administration of benefit plans.
•    Review and disseminate information to staff on new or revised State and Federal legislation that impacts benefits programs.
•    Assist City staff with annual audit to ensure compliance with all mandated reporting and posting/notice requirements for benefit plans.
•    Develop and/or assist in developing communication materials and tools for conducting dependent verification audits.
- Annual Renewal Process and Evaluation
•    Establish an annual strategy for benefits. Consider trends, bargaining group negotiations, prospective legislation, new delivery systems, and geographic health-care practices.
•    Review and make cost-saving recommendations regarding the modification of plan design, benefit levels, premiums, communications, and quality of current employee and retiree benefit plans.
•    Recommend appropriate premium rates and reserves to maintain the viability of the plans to ensure that quality and cost-effective benefits are provided by the plans if self-insured plans or plan components are elected.
•    Provide estimates of renewal rates and cost trends to assist City staff in preparation of budget figures in January of each year.
•    Conduct thorough and applicable market research in preparation for contract renewals.
•    Represent the City in all negotiations with providers on various topics, including, but not limited to, premiums, benefit levels and plan design, performance measures and guarantees, contractual terms and conditions, and quality assurance standards.
•    Make recommendations for items of negotiation with providers, including, but not limited to, benefit levels and plan design, premiums, quality of service, performance measures and guarantees, and return on investment, where applicable.
•    Prepare specifications and compile data, obtain quotes and proposals, negotiate rates and analyze and compare proposals.
•    Review rate proposals to ensure underlying assumptions are appropriate and accurate to the City.
•    Provide the City with renewal information that provides clear and accurate information relative to proposed plan designs and premiums; all carrier documentation must be provided as back-up. Any plan design differences between renewal proposals and existing plans should be noted in a clear and concise manner.
•    Provide communication development and support for the annual open enrollment period, new benefit offerings and/or changes to the existing benefits offerings.
•    Attendance at and assistance with coordination of the annual Benefits Fair (1 day event) and Health Benefits Committee meetings (up to 2-3 meetings during the renewal period if plan design changes are negotiated with bargaining units).
- Other Service Requirements
•    Recommend and help develop enhancements and improvements for communications specific to the needs of the City's employees and retirees, including, but not limited to, brochures, pamphlets, matrices, comparison charts, summaries, electronic communications, forms, employee handbooks and employee orientation.
•    Provide timely research and responses to technical questions posed by City staff.
•    Provide regular and timely communications needed for the effective administration of benefit plans.
•    Provide guidance and recommendations on items such as, but not limited to, trends in benefits plans, methods for improving cost containment, financial arrangements and administration.
•    Provide access to published benefit-related survey information.
•    Identify and recommend training opportunities and educational forums that would be beneficial to the City.
•    Develop and/or assist in developing and evaluating employee/retiree needs and satisfaction surveys.
•    Work collaboratively with other consultants and City staff.
•    Manage plan transitions as necessary.
•    Review and evaluate current administrative processes related to enrollment and billing. Recommend and assist with implementation of administrative process enhancements.
•    Be available for assistance during normal business hours, defined as Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. excluding national holidays.

- Contract Period/Term: 5 years
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: October 29, 2025