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Procurement Management Division
Voluntary Benefits Services
269-2015-043
Addendum 2
To:
All Prospective Service Providers
Date:
January 23, 2015
Subject:
Addendum #2 – Voluntary Benefits Services, 269-2015-043
Please note the specification changes/modifications below for the RFP.
Item #
Page #
Section #
Specification(s)
Change(s) Modification(s)
Modification:
The following definitions are hereby added to
Section 1:
Enrollers:
1
1-3
1.2
Definitions
Refers to employees of benefits
providers that assist County employees
in the selection of benefits during Open
Enrollment.
Open
Enrollment: Refers to a period in November where
employees select their benefits for the
following calendar year.
Modification:
The following is hereby added as Section 3.11:
2
20
3.11
Open Enrollment
Open Enrollment.
Open Enrollment for all benefits is held in
November. The County provides both in person and
self-serve options for Open Enrollment. There is no
requirement for the Service Provider to participate in
onsite enrollment meetings but in the past, the
County has partnered with Service Providers and
conducted Open Enrollment education sessions
based upon changes to the plan for the following
year. As required by law, the County has an active
enrollment for FSA and a passive enrollment for all
other Voluntary Benefits.
Voluntary Benefits are available outside of
Enrollment for new employees and qualified
status changes as allowed by the IRS.
Enrollment is generally the only time
Procurement Management Division
Shared Services/City of Charlotte 600 East Fourth Street Charlotte, NC 28202-2850
Phone: 704/336-2256 Fax: 704/336-2258
1
Open
family
Open
onsite
Item #
Page #
Section #
Specification(s)
Change(s) Modification(s)
Enrollers are available. Enrollments and changes
outside of Open Enrollment are handled online and
or over the phone.
The County’s HR department will coordinate
enrollment and education activities; Service
Providers are not allowed to reach out to
Departments without the coordination of County HR.
Employees enroll for FSA benefits along with their
core benefits (medical, dental, vision, life and
disability) through the County’s enrollment website
or in person.
Accident, Cancer and Medical Bridge benefits are
enrolled in the current Service Provider’s website,
through their phone system or in person with their
Enroller during Open Enrollment and over the
phone for new employees and those with qualifying
events. A comparable system will be required of the
new Service Provider(s).
3
27-28
6
Pricing
Worksheet
Modification:
Section 6, Form 4 (“Pricing Worksheet”) is
hereby removed and replaced in its entirety with
that appended hereto as Attachment 1.
Service Provider Question:
How should Service Providers indicate Contract
exceptions in their Proposals?
4
6
1.6.12
Exceptions
Answer:
Service Providers may include a complete redline of
the Sample Contract or a list of those sections that
they would like adjusted and how.
Service Provider Question:
How many County employees currently participate
in each Voluntary Benefit program?
5
6
11
11
3.1
3.1
General Scope
General Scope
Answer:
The following are the number of employees
currently participating in each Voluntary Benefit:
• FSA: Medical: 2,265, Dependent Care: 194
• Accident: 812
• Cancer: 754
• Medical Bridge: 605
Service Provider Question:
Are the current Voluntary Benefits individual or
group? Are the Voluntary Benefits plans required to
be individual coverage or group plans, as long as
they are portable?
Answer:
The current Voluntary Benefits are individual. The
County will consider group plans.
Procurement Management Division
Shared Services/City of Charlotte 600 East Fourth Street Charlotte, NC 28202-2850
Phone: 704/336-2256 Fax: 704/336-2258
2
Item #
7
Page #
11
Section #
3.1
Specification(s)
Change(s) Modification(s)
General Scope
Service Provider Question:
Are all of the Voluntary Benefits offered on a
guarantee issue basis including all options on the
Cancer program? If not, does the County desire
programs that allow for guarantee issue during the
initial enrollment of newly hired employees?
Answer:
The current Cancer plan is not offered on a
guaranteed basis. The County does desire to offer
programs that allow for guarantee issue during
initial enrollment of newly hired employees.
Service Provider Question:
How are employees currently billed for the
Voluntary Benefits and how is the current Service
Provider paid?
8
11
3.1
General Scope
Answer:
All Accident, Cancer, and Medical Bridge premium
payments are done through payroll deduction. The
Service Provider notifies the County of those
employees that have enrolled and the appropriate
deduction and the County deducts the correct
amount. The total deducted amount for all
employees using a particular benefit are paid
monthly to the Service Provider.
FSA payment structure is described in Attachment 1
and Item #10 below.
9
11
3.2
Project Award
Options
Service Provider Question:
Does the County intend to award the Services to
one (1) Service Provider or are they considering
multiple awards? Would the County select more
than one (1) Direct Provider to provide the same
Voluntary Benefit?
Answer:
The County is open to either awarding to one (1) or
multiple Service or Direct Providers per Section 3.2.
The County will most likely not chose multiple Direct
Providers of the same Voluntary Benefit.
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11
3.3
Flexible
Spending
Account Benefit
Service Provider Question:
Who pays the FSA monthly fee, the County or
employees?
Answer:
The County pays this fee.
Procurement Management Division
Shared Services/City of Charlotte 600 East Fourth Street Charlotte, NC 28202-2850
Phone: 704/336-2256 Fax: 704/336-2258
3
11
11
3.3
Flexible
Spending
Account Benefit
Service Provider Question:
Does the current FSA Service Provider provide
COBRA services for the other three (3) Voluntary
Benefits? Will a list of all currently enrolled
employees so that they can be provided with
COBRA information?
Answer:
No, the County administers all COBRA services.
12
11
3.3
Flexible
Spending
Account Benefit
Service Provider Question:
Is it mandatory that the FSA Direct Provider have a
customer service phone line available twenty-four
(24) hours a day or would an answering service be
acceptable after 5:00 pm?
Answer:
Twenty-four (24) hour a day phone coverage is
required for the FSA.
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11
3.3
Flexible
Spending
Account Benefit
Service Provider Question:
What is the current cost for dependent day care
account administration?
Answer:
The $4.00 FSA fee applies to both FSA and
dependent day care.
Service Provider Question:
Please clarify the statement that participants in the
Accident Benefits are covered worldwide.
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15
15
16
3.4
3.5
Accident Benefits
Cancer Benefits
Answer:
If an employee became totally disabled as the result
of a covered accident or a covered sickness while
outside the covered geographical areas and is
totally disabled longer than the elimination period
shown on the rider schedule, their maximum benefit
period for total disability and partial disability
combined while outside the covered geographical
areas will be limited to sixty (60) days. Covered
geographical areas are less than forty (40) miles
outside the territorial limits of the United States,
Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Bahama Islands,
the Virgin Islands, Bermuda or Jamaica.
Service Provider Question:
Is the Cancer benefit required to be a Cancer only
plan or would the County accept a critical illness
program that covered other conditions in addition to
a lump sum cancer benefit? Would the County
consider a Cancer plan that pays a lump sum
benefit for employees to use as they see fit?
Answer:
The County will consider other options.
Procurement Management Division
Shared Services/City of Charlotte 600 East Fourth Street Charlotte, NC 28202-2850
Phone: 704/336-2256 Fax: 704/336-2258
4
16
18
3.6
Medical Bridge
Benefits
Service Provider Question:
The GAP plan 3000 is a specific plan with Colonial
Life; will the County look at other plans that do not
provide the same benefits but may be more HSA
compatible that will comply with high deductible
health care plans as offered by the state of North
Carolina?
Answer:
The County is not under the State Health Plan. The
County does not currently offer a high deductible
plan or HSA. However, all options will be
considered.
Service Provider Question:
How do employees currently enroll in Voluntary
Benefits? Would the County prefer this method to
remain the same in the new Contract(s)? When will
the County conduct Open Enrollment for the
Voluntary Benefits that have an effective date of
January 1, 2016? Does the County use in-person
enrollment counselors during Open Enrollment or is
the process conducted in a self-serve format? Is the
Service Provider required to participate in onsite
enrollment meetings? Is Open Enrollment a passive
or active process? Does Open Enrollment for core
benefits like medical occur at the same time as
Voluntary Benefits?
17
20
3.11
Open Enrollment
Answer:
Open Enrollment for all benefits is held in
November. The County provides both in person and
self-serve options for Open Enrollment. There is no
requirement for the Service Provider to participate in
onsite enrollment meetings. In the past, the County
has partnered with Service Providers and
conducted Open Enrollment education sessions
based upon changes to the plan for the following
year. As required by law, the County has an active
enrollment for FSA and a passive enrollment for all
other Voluntary Benefits.
Employees enroll for FSA benefits along with their
core benefits (medical, dental, vision, life and
disability) through the County’s enrollment website
or in person. Accident, Cancer and Medical Bridge
are currently enrolled in the current Service
Provider’s website, through their phone system or in
person with their Enroller during Open Enrollment
and over the phone for new employees and those
with qualifying events. A comparable system will be
required of the new Service Provider(s).
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20
3.11
Open Enrollment
Service Provider Question:
If a County employee is already using Voluntary
Benefit(s), at the start of the new Contract, would
they be required to switch to the new Service
Procurement Management Division
Shared Services/City of Charlotte 600 East Fourth Street Charlotte, NC 28202-2850
Phone: 704/336-2256 Fax: 704/336-2258
5
Providers’ coverages or will they be given the option
to continue to use their current coverage? If an
employee does not switch to the new Voluntary
Benefits, will the County continue payroll deductions
for the existing coverage?
Answer:
This decision has not and will not be made until
after Proposals are received.
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20
3.11
Open Enrollment
Service Provider Question:
Would the County be willing to, during Open
Enrollment, require that each employee accept or
decline each Voluntary Benefit coverage?
Answer:
No, the County will not include a requirement for
employees to decline Voluntary Benefit coverages
other than FSA.
Service Provider Question:
Are Voluntary Benefits available for enrollment
throughout the year or only during Open
Enrollment? How are new hires enrolled in
Voluntary Benefits? Are qualifying events such as
marriage and births allowed outside of Open
Enrollment?
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21
20
20
3.11
3.11
Open Enrollment
Open Enrollment
Answer:
Voluntary Benefits are available outside of Open
Enrollment for new employees and qualified family
status changes as allowed by the IRS. Open
Enrollment is generally the only time onsite
Enrollers are available. Enrollments and changes
outside of Open Enrollment are handled online and
or over the phone.
Service Provider Question:
Will the selected Service Provider be able to
communicate with managers and supervisors in all
Departments to conduct communications regarding
the Voluntary Benefits?
Answer:
Enrollers cannot go directly to managers and
supervisors to discuss the Voluntary Benefits. The
County’s HR department will coordinate enrollment
and education activities per Item #2 above.
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23
5
Evaluation
Service Provider Question:
Will the County be conducting a formal evaluation of
all Proposals submitted? Will scoring or weighting of
evaluation criteria be conducted?
Answer:
Yes, a formal evaluation process will be done of all
Proposals per Section 5 of the RFP. This evaluation
does not include scoring or weighting; the
Procurement Management Division
Shared Services/City of Charlotte 600 East Fourth Street Charlotte, NC 28202-2850
Phone: 704/336-2256 Fax: 704/336-2258
6
Evaluation Team assesses each Proposal as a
whole to determine the Service Provider(s) best
meeting the County’s needs.
Service Provider Question:
Will anyone other than the County employees on
the Evaluation Team have access to Proposals
submitted by Service Providers? Who else might be
involved in evaluation of Proposals?
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27
5
Section 6,
Form 4
Evaluation
Pricing
Worksheet
Answer:
The County does not, at this point, plan to include
third party evaluators in the Evaluation process.
However, the County reserves the right to do so. In
addition, all Proposals become public information
once submitted and are thus available for public
information requests submitted in accordance with
the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Service Provider Question:
Will the FSA Direct Provider be paid through
commissions and the remainder be paid to the
enrollment firm and broker?
Answer:
The County currently pays the monthly FSA
administrative fee. The County prefers to continue
this method and not have FSA administrative fees
paid by commissions.
Service Provider Question:
Is the County requiring a three- (3) year rate
guarantee as indicated in Section 3.7? Please
confirm that rates are required to be rounded to the
nearest quarter dollar.
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26
27
27
Section 6,
Form 4
Section 6,
Form 4
Pricing
Worksheet
Pricing
Worksheet
Answer:
Yes, the County expects that the rates provided in
Section 6, Form 4 will be firm for the entire length of
the Contract which could potentially be five (5)
years if all optional renewal years are utilized. See
the amended Pricing Worksheet appended hereto
as Attachment 1 for revised pricing instructions.
Service Provider Question:
What are the current fees for each of the Voluntary
Benefits, either to the employee or to the County?
Please provide both the current rate and the rates
dating back to January 1, 2012. Please provide the
following by month dating back to January 1, 2012:
•
•
•
•
Covered lines
Paid premiums
Paid Claims
Claim counts
Procurement Management Division
Shared Services/City of Charlotte 600 East Fourth Street Charlotte, NC 28202-2850
Phone: 704/336-2256 Fax: 704/336-2258
7
Answer:
See Attachment 2 appended hereto for the current
rate structures for each Voluntary Benefit.
The County does not have paid Claims or covered
lines information. Currently the County does not
have the resources to compile the other data
requested because it is not captured in the way
described above.
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30-31
Section 6,
Form 5
M/W/SBE
Compliance
Service Provider Question:
If a Service Provider doesn’t plan to subcontract any
part of the Services, are they still required to fill out
Section 6, Form 5?
Answer:
Yes, they must indicate on Section 6, Form 5 that
they will not be subcontracting.
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29
30
30-31
34
50
Section 6,
Form 5
Section 6,
Form 7
Exhibit A,
Section 27
M/W/SBE
Compliance
References
Service Provider Question:
Should Service Providers include subcontractors
that may by recognized by organizations other than
Mecklenburg County? Are Service Providers
required to meet the goals listed in this form? How
should total contract value be determined? Please
clarify how meeting M/W/SBE goals will be
assessed during the evaluation process.
Answer:
Service Providers should indicate all subcontractors
that may meet these requirements regardless of
where they are certified. Service Providers are not
required to meet the goals listed but are
encouraged to locate any and all opportunities to
use M/W/SBE’s. Contract value does not need to be
completed on this form. M/W/SBE utilization will be
one of many factors used in evaluating responses.
Service Provider Question:
Are Service Providers required to indicate five (5)
references or will fewer be acceptable?
Answer:
Service Providers should indicate
references as possible up to five (5).
Insurance
Requirements
as
many
Service Provider Question:
If a Service Provider is self-insured, are they
required to provide documentation of all coverages
listed in Exhibit A, Section 27?
Answer:
Yes, proof of insurance is still required. The County
will assess insurance certificates with the Selected
Service Provider(s).
Procurement Management Division
Shared Services/City of Charlotte 600 East Fourth Street Charlotte, NC 28202-2850
Phone: 704/336-2256 Fax: 704/336-2258
8
31
General
Service Provider Question:
Are Service Providers’ proposed Voluntary Benefits
plans required to have all aspects described in the
RFP Sections 3.3, 3.4, 3.5 and 3.6 or will the
County consider alternative plan structures and
benefits? Will the County provide the current plan
summaries to Service Providers?
Answer:
Other plans formats will be considered by the
County. The County’s current plan summaries may
be requested by emailing Sarah Poulton
spoulton@charlottenc.gov.
Service Provider Question:
Who is the current Service Provider and Direct
Provider of each Voluntary Benefit? How long has
the County employed this Service Provider? Why
are the Services being solicited? Are there any
Service issues or specific changes the County is
making to address any issues in the current RFP?
32
General
Answer:
The County currently employs the Pierce Group as
a TPA for all of the Services described in the RFP.
The Pierce Group has been the County’s TPA for
these Services for six (6) years. It is the County’s
practice to evaluate programs and services
periodically.
The following are the current Direct Providers:
• FSA: Ameriflex Business Solutions
• Accident: Colonial Life
• Cancer: Colonial Life
Medical Bridge: Colonial Life
33
General
Service Provider Question:
Is Mercer still the consultant for the County for
insurance and employee benefits? If so, will they be
involved in evaluation of Proposals? Will they be the
broker of record?
Answer:
No, Mercer has not been used by the County for
over ten (10) years and they will not be a part of the
Evaluation Team for this Project. No consultants will
be used in the evaluation of the Proposals.
34
General
Service Provider Question:
Are County employees paid weekly, bi-weekly,
monthly or semi-monthly?
Answer:
County employees are paid bi-weekly.
Procurement Management Division
Shared Services/City of Charlotte 600 East Fourth Street Charlotte, NC 28202-2850
Phone: 704/336-2256 Fax: 704/336-2258
9
Service Provider Question:
Would the County be willing to provide a census of
employees using each Voluntary Benefit including:
35
General
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Date of birth
Gender
Zip code
Date of hire
Tier (employee only, employee and spouse, etc)
Family status
Salary
Current enrollment
Answer:
A census will be provided to the selected Direct
Provider(s) but not until after Contract(s) have been
awarded.
36
General
Service Provider Question:
Does the County use a benefits consultant when
selecting its Voluntary Benefits?
Answer:
No, the County makes its own internal decisions
about Voluntary Benefits.
37
General
Service Provider Question:
Are there other Voluntary Benefits not described in
the RFP that some employees may have retained
from past providers? What group voluntary benefits,
not described in the RFP, are currently available to
County employees?
Answer:
The County will consider all options. There are no
other voluntary benefits from past providers. There
are no other benefits that are available other than
core benefits (medical, dental, vision, life and
disability).
38
General
Service Provider Question:
Will the County share their medical coverage plan to
ensure that hospital indemnity coverage is
appropriately incorporated?
Answer:
The County’s plan summary is available by emailing
Sarah Poulton at spoulton@charlottenc.gov.
Service Provider Question:
Are there any employees that are eligible for the
Voluntary Benefits that are part of bargaining units?
39
General
Answer:
Mecklenburg County does not have any bargaining
units (unions). North Carolina is a right to work
state.
Procurement Management Division
Shared Services/City of Charlotte 600 East Fourth Street Charlotte, NC 28202-2850
Phone: 704/336-2256 Fax: 704/336-2258
10
Service Provider Question:
May a Service Provider propose both as a TPA and
as a Direct Provider? May a Direct Provider propose
directly as well as part of the Proposal of a TPA’s
complete bill of Services?
40
General
Answer:
If the same corporate entity provides both TPA
services and Direct Provider services, they should
submit one (1) Proposal but with separate Proposed
Solutions as well as Forms 4 and 5 for each
scenario. Yes, Direct Providers may propose
directly or as part of a TPA’s Proposal.
In order to constitute a complete proposal response you must acknowledge receipt of this addendum with the
Addenda Receipt Confirmation Form in Section 6 of the RFP in your Proposal.
Any Service Provider not acknowledging receipt of an issued addendum may not be considered.
In the event additional changes or clarifications to this RFP are warranted, all Service Providers are responsible
for monitoring www.ips.state.nc.us for additional addenda.
We appreciate your interest in doing business with the Mecklenburg County and look forward to receiving a
Proposal from your company.
Sincerely,
Sarah Poulton
Procurement Officer
cc:
RFP Team
RFP File
Procurement Management Division
Shared Services/City of Charlotte 600 East Fourth Street Charlotte, NC 28202-2850
Phone: 704/336-2256 Fax: 704/336-2258
11
ATTACHMENT 1
REQUIRED FORM 4 - PRICING WORKSHEET
RFP # 269-2015-043
Voluntary Benefits Services
Regardless of exceptions taken, Service Providers shall provide pricing based on the requirements and terms set
forth in this RFP. Pricing must be all-inclusive and cover every aspect of the Project. Cost must be in United
States dollars. If there are additional costs associated with the Services, please add to this chart. Your Price
Proposal must reflect all costs that the City will be responsible for.
1. FSA Pricing.
Service Providers shall indicate the monthly per-Participant cost of administering the FSA benefits program
below. This cost shall be invoiced to the County:
Monthly Cost Per Participant
$______
2. Accident Benefits Premiums.
Service Providers shall indicate the 26-week premium of the Accident benefits program below. Pricing
should be for on and off the job coverage; Service Providers may indicate specific pricing for on- or off-job
coverage if they prefer by adding on to the below chart. Service Providers shall indicate the age ranges for
each level. The indicated costs will be paid by the Participant:
EE Only Cost
$______
26-Pay Premiums
EE and Spouse
One Parent
Cost
Family Cost
$______
$______
Two Parent Family
Cost
$______
3. Cancer Benefits Premiums.
3.1. Pricing.
Service Providers shall indicate the monthly premium of the Cancer benefits program below as well as
the age ranges for each level. The indicated costs will be paid by the Participant:
Age
Level 3
Level 4
Individual
$______
$______
One-Parent Family
$______
$______
Two-Parent Family
$______
$______
26-Pay Rates for Optional Riders
Specified Disease Initial Diagnosis Progressive Payment
Individual
$______
$______
$______
One-Parent Family
$______
$______
$______
Two-Parent Family
$______
$______
$______
3.2. Included Coverages.
Service Providers shall indicate below what services, tests or screenings, including but not limited to
those listed in Section 3.5, they provide as part of the above-priced coverage.
Service Name
Level 3
Coverage Level
Level 4
Coverage Level
3.3. Optional Riders.
Procurement Management Division
Shared Services/City of Charlotte 600 East Fourth Street Charlotte, NC 28202-2850
Phone: 704/336-2256 Fax: 704/336-2258
12
Service Providers shall indicate below what, if any, riders are included in their services priced above.
Level 3
Coverage Level
Service Name
Level 4
Coverage Level
4. Medical Bridge Benefits Premiums.
Service Providers shall indicate the monthly premium of the Medical Bridge benefits program below. Level
1 and Level 2 parameters are outlined in Section 3.6. Service Providers shall indicate the age ranges for each
level. The indicated costs will be paid by the Participant:
Level 1
Age
Level 2
Age
EE Only
Cost
$______
$______
$______
$______
EE and Spouse
Cost
$______
$______
$______
$______
EE and Dependent
Children Cost
$______
$______
$______
$______
EE, Spouse and
Dependent Children Cost
$______
$______
$______
$______
EE Only
Cost
$______
$______
$______
$______
EE and Spouse
Cost
$______
$______
$______
$______
EE and Dependent
Children Cost
$______
$______
$______
$______
EE, Spouse and
Dependent Children Cost
$______
$______
$______
$______
Procurement Management Division
Shared Services/City of Charlotte 600 East Fourth Street Charlotte, NC 28202-2850
Phone: 704/336-2256 Fax: 704/336-2258
13
ATTACHMENT 2
1. FSA Pricing.
Monthly Cost Per Participant
paid by the County
$4.00
2. Accident Benefits Premiums.
EE Only Cost
$9.76
3. Cancer Benefits Premiums.
Age
Individual
One-Parent
Family
Two-Parent
Family
Individual
One-Parent
Family
Two-Parent
Family
26-Pay Premiums
EE and Spouse
One Parent
Cost
Family Cost
$13.37
$15.08
Level 3
$12.23
Level 4
$16.38
$13.85
$18.23
$20.77
$27.00
Two Parent Family
Cost
$18.68
26-Pay Rates for Optional Riders
Specified Disease Initial Diagnosis Progressive Payment
$0.51
$0.55
$1.66
$0.58
$0.69
$1.85
$0.81
$0.92
$2.77
4. Medical Bridge Benefits Pricing.
Level 1
Age
EE Only
EE and
Cost
Spouse Cost
17-49
$7.20
$15.42
50-59
$9.95
$21.18
60-64
$12.99
$28.18
65-74
$17.10
$37.11
Level 2
Age
EE Only
EE and
Cost
Spouse Cost
17-49
$9.69
$20.79
50-59
$13.41
$28.62
60-64
$17.49
$38.05
65-74
$23.03
$50.08
EE and Dependent
Children Cost
$12.21
$14.77
$18.09
$23.82
EE, Spouse and
Dependent Children Cost
$18.67
$24.05
$30.60
$40.24
EE and Dependent
Children Cost
$16.50
$19.94
$24.46
$32.17
EE, Spouse and
Dependent Children Cost
$25.18
$32.47
$41.28
$54.30
Procurement Management Division
Shared Services/City of Charlotte 600 East Fourth Street Charlotte, NC 28202-2850
Phone: 704/336-2256 Fax: 704/336-2258
14