TRANSMITTAL LETTER FOR BOARD MEETING OF MAY 21, 2026
COMMITTEE ON PROCUREMENT
Mr. John P. Murray, Executive Director
Title
Issue purchase order and enter into an agreement for Contract 26-RFP-07 Flexible Spending Plan Administrator with P&A Administrative Services, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $350,000.00, Account 101-25000-612430, Requisition 1650774
Body
Dear Sir:
Authorization is requested to issue a purchase order and enter into an agreement with P&A Administrative Services, Inc. (P&A Group) to provide flexible spending plan administrator services to the District’s plans for the period from January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2030, with an additional one-year renewal option.
On February 11, 2026, Request for Proposal 26-RFP-07 Flexible Spending Plan Administrator was publicly advertised. Seventy-seven (77) firms were notified and fifteen (15) requested proposal documents. On March 13, 2026, the District received four (4) responsive proposals from the following vendors: Flexible Benefit Administrators, Inc.; Interflex Payments, LLC; P&A Group; and Total Administrative Services Corporation.
The proposals were evaluated by staff from the Human Resources Department, the Finance Department, and the Procurement and Materials Management Department. The criteria for these evaluations were outlined in Request for Proposal 26-RFP-07 and included: programs and services provided; experience; commitment to state-of-the-art technology; reporting and compliance capabilities; customer service and participant communication; administrative services; financial stability; compliance with insurance requirements; submission of licenses/permits; and cost. Following the preliminary evaluation of the proposals, all four proposers were invited to a finalist interview.
Finalist interviews were held on April 16 and 17, 2026. On April 27, 2026, a solicitation was sent to the finalists for an unqualified “best and final” offer. The “best and final” offers were returned to the Director of Procurement and Materials Management on May 1, 2026.
Based on the evaluation of the proposals using the criteria described above and the pricing provided in the “best and final” offers, the evaluation committee has recommended that a contract be awarded to P&A Group. P&A Group provides flexible spending plan administrative services to more than 4,000 employers with approximately 50% of those employers being in the public sector. They manage flexible spending accounts for more than 513,000 participants. P&A Group utilizes a single “smart” card for medical flexible spending, dependent care and commuter spending accounts making it convenient for plan participants to utilize the benefits. They provide participants with access to their flexible spending accounts via a user-friendly employee portal or a mobile app that includes the same functionality. Participants also have access to P&A Group’s in-house customer service center from 7:30 am - 9:00 pm CT in both English and Spanish or participants can utilize the online Live Chat feature on the portal. P&A Group will maintain the required Section 125 plan document and Summary Plan Description for the District and will perform the required annual non-discrimination compliance testing. They provide on-demand and ad-hoc reporting, including annual forfeiture reporting. P&A Group has existing data file integration with the District’s benefits portal platform, Benefitfocus. The funding model for the program allows for weekly funding of the accounts with no required pre-funding consistent with the District’s current model. The proposed pricing for the plan provides savings of approximately 6% compared to the current rates. Finally, since P&A Group is the incumbent vendor, no transition of participant accounts will be necessary.
The Diversity Section reviewed the request for proposal to determine if Affirmative Action Ordinance Revised Appendix A and Appendix V goals will apply. The review noted that the services requested require specialized work that applies to the contract in its entirety and are not divisible. As such, there are no practical opportunities for subcontracting and Appendix A and V will not apply.
In view of the foregoing, it is requested that the Director of Procurement and Materials Management be authorized to award a contract to P&A Group in the amount of $350,000.00. The estimated 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 expenditures are $92,000.00, $88,000.00, $85,000.00 and $85,000.00 respectively and are contingent on the Board of Commissioners’ approval of the District’s budget for those years.
Requested, Thaddeus J. Kosowski, Director of Human Resources, TJK:JEF
Recommended, Darlene A. LoCascio, Director of Procurement and Materials Management
Respectfully Submitted, Precious Brady-Davis, Chairperson Committee on Procurement
Disposition of this agenda item will be documented in the official Regular Board Meeting Minutes of the Board of Commissioners for May 21, 2026
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