RFP Process Improvement: Open Roundtables, Request for Information, and Individual Meetings with Health Plan

AHCCCS has retained an independent consultant, the Pacific Health Policy Group (PHPG), to facilitate three Open Roundtable discussions regarding RFP improvement. PHPG’s role will be to facilitate and document discussion content and report findings to AHCCCS, which will be made public. In addition to the Open Roundtables, PHPG will also be facilitating a Request for Information (RFI) and individual meetings with interested health plans regarding solicitation process improvement.

OPEN ROUNDTABLES

The Open Roundtable meetings are intended to be informal and are open to the public (participants should not bring presentations or handouts). AHCCCS encourages participation from all community members with interest in the AHCCCS procurement process, including health plans, healthcare providers, and AHCCCS members. While the next RFP will be for AHCCCS’s Elderly and Physically Disabled Arizona Long Term Care System (EPD-ALTCS) contract, AHCCCS seeks input regarding its procurement processes generally. If you intend to give feedback specific to the EPD-ALTCS contract or to another AHCCCS contract, please plan to qualify your responses.

The Open Roundtable meeting format will be hybrid (virtual and in-person). Due to space limitations, participating organizations are encouraged to restrict in-person attendance to individuals who plan to participate actively in the discussions. There will be no limitations on virtual attendance, and all who are interested should attend.

Each meeting will be scheduled for two hours. The discussion will be restricted to the RFP process only and will not address substantive RFP content. Questions regarding AHCCCS/ALTCS programs and substantive RFP content will be addressed later in the fall through a formal FAQ process. Open Roundtable meetings will address three separate topics, and AHCCCS encourages all interested parties to attend all three Open Roundtables.

Meeting topics are below:

Meeting 1:
Date: October 20, 2025
Time: 10am to 12pm
Location: ADOT Building - 1130 N. 22nd Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85009
(Ocotillo Room) *
Topic: General RFP Process

Meeting 2:
Date: October 27, 2025
Time: 10am to 12pm
Location: ADOT Building - 1130 N. 22nd Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85009
(Ocotillo Room) *
Topic: Proposal Evaluation Criteria

Meeting 3:
Date: November 3, 2025
Time: 10am to 12pm
Location: ADOT Building - 1130 N. 22nd Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85009
(Ocotillo Room) *
Topic: Decision Making and Contract Transition

*Please RSVP or register to participate remotely. In person capacity will be limited.

You can register separately for each meeting at the links provided below:

Meeting 1:
AHCCCS RFP Process Improvement Meeting 1 | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams

Meeting 2:
AHCCCS RFP Process Improvement Meeting 2 | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams

Meeting 3:
AHCCCS RFP Process Improvement Meeting 3 | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams

In preparing for the Open Roundtables, participants are encouraged to consider recent ALTCS and AHCCCS procurements and how the RFP process could be strengthened, both in terms of 1) offering clarity and fairness in the process, and 2) supporting AHCCCS in selecting contractors best able to meet the Agency’s obligations to provide quality and efficient healthcare to eligible Arizonans. Information regarding prior procurements is available in the AHCCCS bidder’s library.

Meeting 1 – General RFP Process

1. What information should be included in the RFP to mitigate confusion or concern among respondents when drafting proposals?
2. How can AHCCCS provide information about evaluation and scoring that is sufficient to allow respondents to raise questions or concerns prior to proposal submission, without compelling respondents to “write to the test”?
3. What technical proposal content would best enable AHCCCS to differentiate respondents in terms of their ability to meet agency objectives, particularly if all respondents can meet minimum performance standards?
4. AHCCCS has used a ranking method to evaluate proposals over multiple procurement cycles. Should this be retained or modified (and if modified, how and why)?
5. Arizona has traditionally awarded Medicaid managed care contracts through a competitive solicitation process. Some states award Medicaid managed care contracts through a non-competitive or semi-competitive application process that results in more health plans being awarded contracts. Should Arizona consider deviating from its competitive process model?
6. In addition to what has been discussed, how can AHCCCS raise confidence in the fairness of future procurements?
7. What other feedback should AHCCCS consider related to the General RFP Process?

Meeting 2 – Proposal Evaluation Criteria

1. What would be an appropriate team structure for future procurements, in terms of the number of team members, their qualifications, and the team’s role in the evaluation?
2. How should the following evaluation components be weighted (out of 100%): Past performance/experience; written technical proposal; oral presentation; and price?
3. How should AHCCCS evaluate and verify Arizona-based and non-Arizona experience?
4. How should AHCCCS evaluate price?
5. What types of investments and partnerships should be considered in the evaluation?
6. What other feedback should AHCCCS consider related to the Proposal Evaluation Criteria?

Meeting 3 – Decision Making and Contract Transition

1. What level of supporting detail is necessary for respondents to understand how evaluators scored proposals and AHCCCS made award decisions?
2. What improvements could be made to the standards and processes for contract award selection?
3. What options should AHCCCS consider for better alignment of contract terms and structure with respect to managed care services across multiple service lines?
4. What practices have helped or hindered member continuity during past transitions?
5. How can AHCCCS support smoother handoffs between contractors?
6. What other feedback should AHCCCS consider related to the Decision Making and Contract Transition?

Request for Information (RFI)

The purpose of this RFI is to request information related to improvements to AHCCCS’s RFP Process. This RFI is for planning and information gathering purposes only. Submissions will not result in a contract award.

Please submit written recommendations regarding AHCCCS’s RFP process in writing on or before 5:00 p.m. MST on November 5, 2025. While all feedback is welcome, AHCCCS is specifically interested in answers to the questions identified at numbers 1 – 19, above. Anyone may participate in this RFI, but AHCCCS is especially interested in hearing from health plans, healthcare providers, and AHCCCS members and their families. Please submit written recommendations regarding AHCCCS’s RFP improvement process to AHCCCS’s contractor, Andrew Cohen with PHPG, at acohen@phpg.com (please note that all recommendations will be shared with AHCCCS). Again, while the next RFP solicitation will be for AHCCCS’s EPD-ALTCS contract, AHCCCS seeks input regarding its procurement processes generally. If you intend to give feedback specific to the EPD-ALTCS contract, or to another AHCCCS contract, please specify that in your RFI response. Do not submit any information that is confidential or proprietary. To the extent permitted by law, responses to this RFI shall be considered confidential until a formal procurement process is completed, or for two years, whichever occurs first. This RFI and responses to it are subject to the Arizona Public Record statute and are open to public inspection after that time.

Again, while the next RFP solicitation will be for AHCCCS’s EPD-ALTCS contract, AHCCCS seeks input regarding its procurement processes generally. If you intend to give feedback specific to the EPD-ALTCS contract, or to another AHCCCS contract, please specify that in your RFI response. Do not submit any information that is confidential or proprietary. To the extent permitted by law, responses to this RFI shall be considered confidential until a formal procurement process is completed, or for two years, whichever occurs first. This RFI and responses to it are subject to the Arizona Public Record statute and are open to public inspection after that time.

Individual Meetings with Health Plans

In addition to attending the Open Roundtable meetings, and the RFI process, AHCCCS leadership and PHPG consultants will be available to meet one-on-one with any interested health plans. PHPG and AHCCCS will not be answering questions during these meetings, but will be open to feedback from health plans, and are interested in hearing candid thoughts about how to improve the RFP process. Meetings will last no longer than one hour and will be virtual. Participants are free to set the agenda and cover any RFP-related matters. PHPG has reserved the following dates and times for the individual health plan meetings:

• Wednesday, October 29, 2025: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. MST
• Thursday, October 30, 2025: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. MST
• Thursday, November 6, 2025: 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. MST
• Friday, November 7, 2025: 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. MST

Requests for meetings should be sent directly to Andrew Cohen with PHPG at acohen@phpg.com. Please specify your first, second, and third choices for meeting times, in case your first (or second) preferred times are no longer available. Consistent with RFI best practices, the substance of each meeting will be documented for public record. Any materials the health plans wish to share should be submitted as part of the formal RFI process, outlined above. Following the RFP improvement Open Roundtables, the closing of the RFI period, and individual meetings with interested health plans, PHPG will summarize the feedback received for AHCCCS, and the Agency will carefully evaluate and consider including process improvement recommendations into its next MCO RFP process. The Agency will make further announcements regarding the EPD RFP major decisions from this improvement process and the timeline in November 2025.