EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF TEXAS

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS TO PROVIDE DENTAL PREFERREDPROVIDER ORGANIZATION AND DENTAL HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATION PLANS UNDERTHE TEXAS EMPLOYEES GROUP BENEFITS PROGRAM

SOLICITATION NO. 23-12734-001

NIGP CODE: 948-28

ADDENDUM #1

(December 13, 2024)

The Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) has issued an amendedRequest for Proposals (RFP) seeking a qualified firm (Respondent) to providethe following services under the Texas Employees Group Benefits Program inaccordance with Chapter 1551 of the Tex. Ins. Code:

a) Adental Preferred Provider Organization plan (State of Texas Dental Choice Plansm),a self-funded plan; and

b) Adental health maintenance organization plan.

ERSwill only select one (1) Respondent to provide the Services for both PPOand DHMO Plans. ERS will execute two Contracts, one for Administrator toprovide the PPO Plan and one for Carrier to provide the DHMO Plan.Administrator and Carrier must be the same entity or Affiliated as defined inArticle XII. Glossary of Terms. ERS reserves the right not to select anyRespondent to provide the Services.

Respondentshall provide the level of services required in the RFP and meet otherrequirements that are in the best interests of ERS, its members, and the stateof Texas (State). Respondent shall be required to execute contracts (Contract)provided by, and satisfactory to, ERS for a period that begins upon executionof the Contracts by ERS and extends through August 31, 2032 for six (6) years,subject to the terms of the Contracts. It is anticipated the Contracts will beexecuted in August 2025.

TheRFP was amended on December 13, 2024. Please see the Summary of AmendmentChanges for a list of specific portions of the RFP and appendices that havebeen amended.

The Confidentiality and Nondisclosure Agreement, attached to the amendedRFP as Appendix E (NDA) must be properly executed in order to receiveAppendices S, S-1, S-2, S-3, T, T-1, T-2, T-3, and T-4, and U. See RFP SectionsI.E.8. – I.E.8.a. for more information on submitting an NDA.

To download the amended RFP or submit an executed NDA, questions,and/or a Proposal, prospective Respondents must first create a profile inBonfire (ERS’ e-procurement portal located at erstexas.bonfirehub.com), whichoperates best on the latest versions of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, andMozilla Firefox. Browser cookies must be enabled when accessing Bonfire. Notethat Respondent’s primary contact must create a Bonfire profile (with theactual contact person’s email address) and download the amended RFP documentsin order to send and receive messages via Bonfire.

Questions were accepted via Bonfire until December 10, 2024 at 4:00 p.m. Central Time (CT). Answers toquestions will be posted to Bonfire and ESBD on the date specified in RFPSection I.B.1.

To be eligible for consideration, Respondent is required to submit itsProposal in accordance with the instructions set forth in the RFP. Respondentsmust meet the Minimum Requirements Questionnaire set forth in Appendix H of the RFP. All Proposalmaterials shall be received by ERS via Bonfire no later than January 30, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. CT.

ERS reserves the right to rebid the RFP if deemed by ERS to be in thebest interests of ERS, its members, and/or the State. ERS also reserves theright to reject any Proposal submitted that does not fully comply with theRFP’s instructions and criteria. ERS is under no legal requirement to execute aContract on the basis of this notice or upon issuance of the RFP and will notpay any costs incurred by any Respondent in connection with the preparation ofa Proposal. ERS also reserves the right to revise any provisions set forth inthe RFP at any time prior to execution of a Contract where ERS deems it to bein the best interests of ERS, its members, and/or the State.

Any general questions should be sent to ERS’ point of contact, Chloe Conner, Procurement Specialist,via Bonfire or ivendorquestions@ers.texas.gov.ERS’ mailing address is P.O. Box 13207, Austin, Texas 78711-3207.