County selects 90 Degree Benefits for medical/dental administration and CBA for COBRA; Rx decision tabled

Benefits staff and consultants presented the results of a request-for-proposals process for the countymployee health plan. Evaluators recommended awarding medical claim administration, dental claim administration, care navigation and cash-pay point-of-service claim adjudication to 90 Degree Benefits (a Blue Cross company); the court approved the recommendation. The court separately accepted Creative Benefit Administrators for COBRA administration and deferred a decision on pharmacy benefit management for further study.

The RFP evaluation included multiple respondents and a point-scoring process that staff described as exhaustive. Benefits staff emphasized the importance of matching components for a self-funded plan and noted that pharmacy benefit management required additional analysis before a recommendation would be made to the court.

"We're recommending the medical claim administration, dental claim administration, care navigation, cash pay point of service claim adjudication to 90 Degree Benefits," the benefits presenter said. Commissioners carried motions to accept the recommendations for 90 Degree Benefits and Creative Benefit Administrators for COBRA administration, and agreed to continue studying PBM options before taking action.