Hawaii Health Exchange Releases Request For Proposals

Hawaii’s health exchange, part of the federally-mandated health care reform occurring throughout the country, is moving forward with the Hawaii Health Connector seeking proposals from qualified bidders for the construction of its online marketplace for health insurance.

Hawaii’s nonprofit health insurance exchange, known as Hawaii Health Connector, will be a web-based clearinghouse where federally qualified medical and dental plans will be available for purchase by individuals and small businesses.

The insurance exchange, which has to be up and running by January 2014, will bring the state in compliance with the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, also known as “Obamacare.”

As stated in Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s declaration letter to the Department of Health and Human Services, Hawaii’s intent is to implement a non-profit state-based exchange, and the Connector is seeking solutions supporting this initiative.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to build a system that will make health insurance more transparent and available,” said Coral Andrews, executive director of the Hawaii Health Connector. “We look forward to reviewing proposals from local and national vendors who can support our efforts in this groundbreaking initiative.”

Interested companies can find the 114-page request for proposals (RFP) as well as information about the Connector’s activities online at www.hawaiihealthconnector.com. The downloadable RFP and detailed instructions can be found under the “Public Notices” section of the website. The direct link to the RFP is http://www.hawaiihealthconnector.com/Public_Notices.html.

Public notices about the RFP will run in the daily papers for all islands.

Questions about the RFP should be directed to Kathy Mitchell via email: Kathy@hawaiihealthconnector.com.