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Commission rejects VSP vision bids over minimum-enrollment and rate-risk concerns
Summary
Staff recommended rejecting VSP vision bids because VSP required a minimum enrollment threshold that might trigger rate changes if unmet; commissioners approved the recommendation to avoid potential employee rate volatility.
Purchasing staff explained that VSP's bid included a minimum-enrollment threshold (500 members) that would let the vendor revisit rates if fewer employees chose the plan, creating a risk of a mid-cycle rate change. Staff and the commission voiced concerns about a potential "bait and switch" where employees might sign up and later face higher rates.
Given those underwriting parameters, the commission voted to reject VSP bids and leave Cigna as the county's vision supplier; staff said the county could issue a standalone bid in a future plan year if demand warranted coverage without minimums. "I don't think it's fair," a staff member said of the minimum-threshold terms; the commission approved rejecting the VSP bids by voice vote.
