Some Metro Council members want to change the way the consulting firm that negotiates health benefits for city-parish employees is selected. Council members John Delgado and Ryan Heck say the request for proposals that was drafted last time the benefits consultant contract went out for bid—in January of last year—was written in such a way that several of the largest consulting firms in the industry were ineligible to compete for the deal.
“We didn’t like the way it was being done,” Delgado says. “The RFP was written so it seemed favorable to some entities to the exclusion of others.”
The city-parish currently provides health insurance benefits to its employees through Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana. The benefits contract was negotiated by the New Orleans-based consulting firm Clesi Burns, which was to be paid up to $80,000 for its services.
Delgado and Heck say the administration stipulated in the RFP that the benefits consultant retained by the city-parish could not also sell or broker health insurance. The councilmen say that disqualified several of the largest firms in the field, including Gallagher Benefit Services, a division of insurance giant Arthur J. Gallagher Co. At the time, GBS sent a letter of protest to the city-parish, arguing that it was unfairly disqualified.
Heck and Delgado have asked the city-parish human resources director for an update on the procurement process that will be used this summer, when it is time again to retain a benefits consultant. The councilmen submitted the agenda item request today for introduction at the next council meeting on Wednesday. Both say they want the RFP to be revised so they can choose from a broader array of consultants.
“When we approved the previous contract it was my understanding that we would be moving towards improving a new RFP that included the recognized industry leaders,” Heck says. “I’m not interested in hearing six months from now that we ran out of time and have to stick with what we are currently doing.”
—Stephanie Riegel
