NOTE: The Mercer County Improvement Authority will only consider proposals from firms or organizations that have demonstrated

NOTICE of REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

NOTICE is hereby given that the Township of Medford is seeking Qualification Statements for Health Insurance Broker of Record Services. Sealed Qualification Statements will be received by the Township of Medford, in the County of Burlington, State of New Jersey on Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. prevailing time or as soon thereafter as the matter may be reached. All submissions will be publicly opened at that time. Sealed Qualification Statements may be hand delivered or mailed to the attention of Dawn Bielec, Human Resources Coordinator at 17 North Main Street, Medford, New Jersey 08055 on or before that date and time. No Qualification Statements shall be received other than at the time and place herein designated for their receipt.

Copies of the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) may be obtained, during regular business hours, from the Township Clerk’s Office, 17 North Main Street, Medford, New Jersey 08055.

The services that are the subject of the RFQ constitute professional services in accordance with the Local Public Contracts Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq., and are not subject to public bidding. However, this RFQ process is being undertaken in accordance with the “New Jersey Local Unit Pay to Play” Law, N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20.5 et seq.

The selected Health Insurance Broker of Record will be required to comply with the requirements of P.L. 1975, c.127. (Affirmative Action Program, Equal Employment Opportunity).

Each Qualification Statement shall be enclosed in a sealed envelope which shall bear on the outside thereof, the name of the person/firm submitting the RFQ and the following phrase:

“Qualification Statement for Health Insurance Broker of Record Services”

The Township reserves the right to reject any and all Qualification Statements, to waive any informality or to select the professional(s) who in its judgment shall be in the Township’s best interest. Qualification Statements must be prepared and submitted in the manner designated within the RFQ for the Health Insurance Broker of Record Services

Christopher J. Schultz, MPA, MS

Township Manager

GLOSSARY

The following definitions shall apply to and are used in this Request for Qualifications:

"Township" - refers to the Township of Medford.

"Qualification Statement" - refers to the complete response to this RFQ submitted by the Respondents.

"Qualified Respondent" - refers to those Respondents who (in the sole judgment of the Township) have satisfied the qualification criteria set forth in this RFQ.

"RFQ" - refers to this Request for Qualifications, including any amendments thereof or supplements thereto.

"Respondent" or "Respondents" - refers to the interested person(s) and/or firm(s) that submit a Qualification Statement.

SECTION 1

INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL INFORMATION

1.1. Introduction and Purpose.

The Township is soliciting Qualification Statements from interested persons and/or firms for Health Insurance Broker of Record Services, as more particularly described herein. Through the Request for Qualification process described herein, persons and/or firms interested in providing Health Insurance Broker of Record Services must prepare and submit a Qualification Statement in accordance with the procedure in this RFQ. The Township will review Qualification Statements only from those firms that submit a Qualification Statement which includes all the information required to be included as described herein (in the sole judgment of the Township). The Township intends to qualify person(s) and/or firm(s) that: (i) possesses the professional, financial and administrative capabilities to provide the proposed services, and (ii) will agree to provide the proposed services based on terms and conditions determined by the Township to provide the greatest benefit to the taxpayers of the Township of Medford.

1.2. Procurement Process.

The solicitation of Qualified Respondents and the selection of a Qualified Respondent is not subject to the provisions of the Local Public Contracts Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq. because the services are professional services exempt from public bidding. However, the solicitation and selection are subject to the “New Jersey Local Unit Pay-to-Play” Law, N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20.5 et seq. The Township has structured a procurement process that seeks to obtain the desired services through a competitive process and to assure that each person and/or firm is provided an equal opportunity to submit a Qualification Statement in response to the RFQ. Qualification Statements will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria set forth in Section 2 of this RFQ, which will be applied in the same manner to each Qualification Statement received.

Qualification Statements will be reviewed and evaluated by the Township Manager, Chief Financial Officer and Human Resources Coordinator (collectively, the "Review Team"). The Qualification Statements will be reviewed to determine if the Respondent has met the minimum professional, administrative and financial criteria described in this RFQ. Based upon the totality of the information contained in the Qualification Statement, including information about the reputation and experience of each Respondent, the Township will (in its sole judgment) determine which Respondents are qualified. Each Respondent that meets the requirements of the RFQ (in the sole judgment of the Township) will be designated as a Qualified Respondent and will be given the opportunity to participate in the selection process determined by the Township.

The RFQ process commences with the issuance of this RFQ. All communications concerning this RFQ or the RFQ process shall be directed to the Township’s Designated Contact Person, in writing.

Designated Contact Person:

Dawn Bielec, Human Resources Coordinator

Township of Medford

17 North Main Street

Medford, New Jersey 08055

Sealed Qualification Statements must be submitted to, and be received by, the Township, via mail, overnight delivery, hand delivery or email, by 10:00 a.m. prevailing time on Thursday, May 17, 2012. Qualification Statements, if provided in hard copy, must also include an electronic copy. Qualification Statements will not be accepted by facsimile transmission.

Subsequent to issuance of this RFQ, the Township (through the issuance of addenda to all firms that have received a copy of the RFQ) may modify, supplement or amend the provisions of this RFQ in order to respond to inquiries received from prospective Respondents or as otherwise deemed necessary or appropriate by (and in the sole judgment of) the Township.

Section 1.3. Conditions Applicable to RFQ.

Upon submission of a Qualification Statement in response to this RFQ, the Respondent acknowledges and consents to the following conditions relative to the submission and review and consideration of its Qualification Statement:

• This document is an RFQ and does not constitute an RFP.

• This RFQ does not commit the Township to issue an RFP.

• All costs incurred by the Respondent in connection with responding to this RFQ shall be borne solely by the Respondent.

• The Township reserves the right (in its sole judgment) to reject for any reason any and all responses and components thereof and to eliminate any and all Respondents responding to this RFQ from further consideration.

• The Township reserves the right (in its sole judgment) to reject any Respondent that submits incomplete responses to this RFQ, or a Qualification Statement that is not responsive to the requirements of this RFQ.

• The Township reserves the right, without prior notice, to supplement, amend, or otherwise modify this RFQ, or otherwise request additional information.

• All Qualification Statements shall become the property of the Township and will not be returned.

• All Qualification Statements will be made available to the public at the appropriate time, as determined by the Township (in the exercise of its sole discretion) in accordance with law.

• The Township may request Respondents to send representatives to the Township for interviews.

• Any and all Qualification Statements not received by the Township by 10:00 a.m. Prevailing Time on Thursday, May 17, 2012 will be rejected.

• Neither the Township, nor its respective staffs, consultants or advisors (including but not limited to the Review Team) shall be liable for any claims or damages resulting from the solicitation or preparation of the Qualification Statement, nor will there be any reimbursement to Respondents for the cost of preparing and submitting a Qualification Statement or for participating herein.

Section 1.4. Rights of Township.

The Township reserves, holds and may exercise, at its sole discretion, the following rights and options with regard to this RFQ and the procurement process in accordance with the provisions of applicable law:

• To determine that any Qualification Statement received complies or fails to comply with the terms of this RFQ.

• To supplement, amend or otherwise modify the RFQ through issuance of addenda to all prospective Respondents who have received a copy of this RFQ.

• To waive any technical non-conformance with the terms of this RFQ.

• To change or alter the schedule for any events called for in this RFQ upon the issuance of notice to all prospective Respondents who have received a copy of this RFQ.

• To conduct investigations of any or all of the Respondents, as the Township deems necessary or convenient, to clarify the information provided as part of the Qualification Statement and to request additional information to support the information included in any Qualification Statement.

• To suspend or terminate the procurement process described in this RFQ at any time (in its sole discretion.) If terminated, the Township may determine to commence a new procurement process or exercise any other rights provided under applicable law without any obligation to the Respondents.

The Township shall be under no obligation to complete all or any portion of the procurement process described in this RFQ.

1.5 Addenda or Amendments to RFQ.

During the period provided for the preparation of responses to the RFQ, the Township may issue addenda, amendments or answers to written inquiries. Those addenda will be noticed by the Township and will constitute a part of the RFQ. All responses to the RFQ shall be prepared with full consideration of the addenda issued prior to the proposal submission date.

1.6 Cost of Proposal Preparation.

Each proposal and all information required to be submitted pursuant to the RFQ shall be prepared at the sole cost and expense of the respondent. There shall be no claims whatsoever against the Township, its staff or consultants for reimbursement for the payment of costs or expenses incurred in the preparation of the Qualification Statement or other information required by the RFQ.

1.7 Proposal Format.

Responses should cover all information requested in the Questions to be answered in this RFQ.

Responses which in the judgment of the Township fail to meet the requirements of the RFQ or which are in any way conditional, incomplete, obscure, contain additions or deletions from requested information, or contain errors may be rejected.

SECTION 2

SCOPE OF SERVICES

It is the intent of the Township to solicit Qualification Statements from Respondents that have expertise to provide Health Insurance Broker of Record Services for medical, dental, prescription, vision, long term disability and group life insurance. The Broker of Record shall possess both an Agency License and Individual Licenses for those persons who would be assigned to provide services to the Township, from the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance. Respondents must be able to demonstrate that they have the continuing capabilities to perform these services if awarded a contract.

Services to be provided include, but are not necessarily limited to the following:

a. Assisting with the development of and planning of long range health insurance,

b. Assisting in managing of all aspects of the Township’s health insurance program,

c. Identifying issues and exposures and negotiating on the Township’s behalf with insurers to procure medical insurance coverage, dental insurance coverage, and prescription coverage;

d. Making recommendations in connection with health insurance procurement, and provide analysis of proposals including but not limited to, analysis of service areas, conformance with collective bargaining agreements, plan details, cost, etc.

e. Keeping the Township informed of significant developments affecting its insurance coverages.

f. On-going monitoring and analysis of health care trends, township utilization rates and township claims experience.

g. Assisting in the development of alternative strategies to reduce claims; consultation as to the probable impact of strategies elected by the Township

h. Assisting the Township as a resource during collective bargaining sessions

i. Providing expert assistance and advice on the design of new benefits

j. Participating in on-going meetings with Township personnel regarding insurance strategies and day to day operations of the Township’s health, long term disability and group life insurance needs

k. Assisting covered employees and retirees in obtaining timely resolution of submitted claims.

l. Following up with insurance carriers for timely issuance of policies and endorsements

coverage delivery binders to the Township prior to the expiration of the current policies.

m. Reviewing policies and endorsements for accuracy and conformity to specifications and negotiated coverages.

n. Monitoring and ensuring carrier compliance with plans, commitments, and facilitating carrier relationship with Township

o. Attending meetings that the Township deems necessary;

p. Assisting in the preparation of all written documents referred by the Township, and preparation of such documents for the Township, if requested, including employee communication pieces, coverage summaries for all new coverages and updates on changes to existing coverages, collective bargaining agreement language, the employee handbook, inter-office memos, etc.

q. Facilitating employee group sessions at open enrollments and/or when changes are introduced

r. Keeping the Township apprised of pending or enacted state and federal legislation, which may have a financial / administrative impact on the Township’s health, long term disability and group life insurance coverages.

s. Marketing programs periodically

SECTION 3

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Section 3.1 General Requirements.

The Qualification Statement submitted by the Respondent must meet or exceed the professional, administrative and financial qualifications set forth in this Section 3 and shall incorporate the information requested below.

In addition to the information required as described below, a Respondent may submit supplemental information that it feels may be useful in evaluating its Qualification Statement. Respondents are encouraged to be clear, factual, and concise in their presentation of information.

Section 3.2 Administrative Information Requirements.

The Respondent shall, as part of its Qualification Statement, provide the following information:

1. An executive summary (not to exceed two (2) pages) of the information contained in all the other parts of the Qualification Statement.

2. A completed and executed Letter of Qualification (See Appendix A to this RFQ).

3. Name, address and telephone number of the firm or firms submitting the Qualification Statement pursuant to this RFQ, and the name of the key contact person.

4. A description of the business organization (i.e., corporation, partnership, joint venture, etc.) of each firm, its ownership and its organizational structure.

(a) Provide the names and business addresses of all Principals of the firm or firms submitting the Qualification Statement. For purposes of this RFQ, "Principals" mean persons possessing an ownership interest in the Respondent. If the Respondent is a corporation, "Principals" shall include each investor who would have any amount of operational control over the Respondent and every stockholder having an ownership interest of 10% or more in the firm.

(b) If a firm is a partially owned or a fully-owned subsidiary of another firm, identify the parent company and describe the nature and extent of the parents' approval rights over the activities of the firm submitting a Qualification Statement. Describe the approval process.

(c) If the Respondent is a partnership or a joint venture or similar organization, provide comparable information as required in (b) above for each member of the partnership, joint venture or similar organization.

5. An executed Letter of Intent (See Appendix B).

6. The number of years your organization has been in business under the present name.

7. The number of years the business organization has been under the current management.

8. A statement that the Respondent is in compliance with all applicable affirmative action (or similar) requirements with respect to its business activities, together with evidence of such compliance.

9. Indicate whether there are any judgments within the last three (3) years in which Respondent has been adjudicated liable for professional malpractice. If yes, please explain.

10. Whether the business organization is now or has been involved in any bankruptcy or

re-organization proceedings in the last ten (10) years. If yes, please explain.

11. Confirm appropriate state licenses to perform the health insurance broker of record

services.

12. List all immediate relatives of Principal(s) of Respondent who are Township

employees or elected officials of the Township, if any. For purposes of the above,

“immediate relative” means a spouse, parent, stepparent, brother, sister, child,

stepchild, direct-line aunt or uncle, grandparent, grandchild, and in-laws by reason

of relation. If none, so state.

13. Respondent shall submit a copy of its Business Registration Certificate.

Section 3.3 Professional Information Requirements.

a. Respondent shall submit a description of its overall experience in providing the type of services sought in the RFQ, and provide proof of all certifications necessary to perform such services. At a minimum, the following information on past experience should be included as appropriate to the RFQ:

1. Description and scope of past experience of Respondent, specifically including prior experience as a health insurance broker of record in the public sector marketplace in New Jersey;

2. Current list of public entity clients with contact name, title, telephone number, lines of business and estimated number of employees;

3. Name, address and contact information of at least 5 public entity references;

4. Relevance of Respondent’s experience to this RFQ

b. A narrative statement of the Respondent’s understanding of the Township’s needs and goals. Describe your knowledge of the Township of Medford, its covered employees and retirees, its current insurance policies and its collective bargaining agreements.

c. Describe recommendations you have made to public entity clients to reduce health insurance costs and claims. Quantify results where applicable.

d. Total number and location of employees dedicated to servicing the Township of Medford. Total number of service employees who hold a license in the life and medical authorities.

e. Highlight the employees who will be assigned to the Township of Medford.

f. Describe the claims administration services to be provided to covered employees and retirees.

g. Describe the services your firm routinely performs for public entity clients.

h. Describe your direct involvement with efforts to reduce health claims for public entity clients (wellness programs, employee health fairs, etc.)

SECTION 4

INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPONDENTS

4.1 Submission of Qualification Statements.

Respondents must submit one (1) original, one (1) copy and one (1) copy on a CD/USB Drive (PDF Format) of their Qualification Statement to the Designated Contact Person:

Dawn Bielec, Human Resources Coordinator

Township of Medford

17 North Main Street

Medford, New Jersey 08055

Sealed Qualification Statements must be received by the Township no later than 10:00 a.m. (prevailing time) on Thursday, May 17, 2012 and must be mailed, overnight delivered, or hand-delivered. Qualification Statements forwarded by facsimile or e-mail will not be accepted. Please indicate on the outside of the sealed envelope “Qualification Statement for Health Insurance Broker of Record Services”

To be responsive, Qualification Statements must provide all requested information, and must be in strict conformance with the instructions set forth herein. Qualification Statements and all related information must be bound, and signed and acknowledged by the Respondent.

SECTION 5

EVALUATION

The Township’s objective in soliciting Qualification Statements is to enable it to select a person or firm from among the Qualified Respondents that will provide high quality and cost effective services. The Township will consider Qualification Statements only from firms or individuals that, in the Township’s judgment, have demonstrated the capability and willingness to provide the services that are the subject of this RFQ.

The Township shall make no payments to the Liability Broker of Record. Compensation shall be derived from fees or commissions paid by the insurance carriers.

Proposals will be evaluated by the Township on the basis of the most advantageous, all relevant factors considered. The evaluation will consider:

1. Experience and reputation in the field;

2. Knowledge of the Township and the subject matter addressed under the contract;

3. Other factors demonstrated to be in the best interest of the Township.