SOLICITATION NOTICE
Q -- Dental and/or Vision Benefit Carrier Services
- Notice Date
- 8/16/2005
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 524114
— Direct Health and Medical Insurance Carriers
- Contracting Office
- Office of Personnel Management, Center for Contracting, Facilities & Administrative Services, Contracting Group, 1900 E Street, N.W., Room 1342, Washington, DC, 20415-7710
- ZIP Code
- 20415-7710
- Solicitation Number
- OPM-RFP-06-00060
- Description
- This synopsis is issued for a proposed acquisition to be solicited under Full and Open Competition procedures. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in Washington, DC will be issuing a Solicitation for Applications that will establish firm-fixed-price contracts with prospective price redetermination for dental and/or vision benefits to be provided based on the Federal Employee Dental and Vision Benefits Enhancement Act of 2004. The Government may award multiple contracts for dental benefits and for vision benefits. We encourage interested parties to submit offers either as a single entity or as a consortium. We invite interested offerors to review our draft statement of work (SOW) and provide comments. We will post the draft SOW on the OPM Website on or about August 25, 2005 at: http://www.opm.gov/carrier/dentalvision/dvbidders,asp. We invite comments from interested parties on topics you think we should consider to ensure a healthy competition among offerors and provide prospective offerors with the necessary information to effectively develop a response to the Solicitation. We must receive comments by 3 p.m. September 6, 2005. We will consider the comments and questions when finalizing the Solicitation however we will not disclose any questions or comments that are submitted. We are also requesting comments on our proposed timeline for implementing the dental and vision program. While the timeline will be included in the draft SOW, potential vendors are encouraged to comment on it immediately at the following email address: DENTAL-VISIONBIDS@OPM.GOV. Our current timeline for procurement actions leads up to a July 2006 start date. We are soliciting input on the preferences of interested vendors for a later date in 2006 that would be more compatible with other Federal employee benefit programs that operate on a calendar year cycle. Concerns about a mid-year start date include potential increased underwriting risk and/or low enrollment for the initial six month enrollment period. While we are prepared to address these concerns, if industry reaction indicates that a mid-year startup is not optimal, OPM will consider a start up date based on the beginning of the last pay period in 2006 and revise the proposed timeline and SOW accordingly. If this course of action is followed, both will be reissued for comment at a later date. TENTATIVE TIMELINE: 2005; August 25 - SOW posted on OPM?s web site for public comment; September 6 - Vendor comments due to OPM; September 16 - Solicitation for Applications issued; September 30 - Interested Parties Conference; November 16 - Vendor bids due 2006; January 16 - OPM bid review, negotiation and final proposal revision; February 28 - Contract awards and contract negotiations; April/May - Open Season enrollment; July 1 - Effective date. Under this timeline, the Solicitation will be issued on or about September 16, 2005 with proposals due on or about November 16, 2005. An opportunity for questions will also be offered. Our award decision will be based on a best-value determination: All evaluation factors other than cost or price, when combined, will be approximately equal in importance to cost or price. At a minimum, proposals must include the following: 1) A detailed statement of the benefits offered (including any maximums, limitations, exclusions, and other definitions of benefits); 2) The premiums proposed and underlying assumptions; 3) Demonstration of proven experience in providing dental and/or vision benefits to public and private sector organizations, and 4) Demonstration of the financial resources necessary to bear the insurance risk. Proposals will be evaluated using weighted factors, as described in the Solicitation The base period for contracts awarded will be seven years, with option periods each consisting of seven years. There will be no limit to the number of options the Government may exercise. Assuming a July, 2006 start date, the base period would begin on or about March 1, 2006, with program benefits to be available to enrollees on July 1, 2006. The Solicitation for Applications will be available exclusively for download electronically approximately 30 calendar days after the date of this posting through the Federal Government?s Federal Business Opportunities [FedBizOps] Website: http://www.fbo.gov. The NAICS code for this requirement is 524114 (Direct Health and Medical Insurance Carriers), with the small business size standard associated with this NAICS code of less than $6 million in average annual sales for the preceding three years. OPM will consider all responsive sources that submit a proposal.
- Place of Performance
- Address: Office of Personnel Management
- Zip Code: 20415-7700
- Country: United States
- Zip Code: 20415-7700
- Record
- SN00872022-W 20050818/050816213058 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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