CLAYTON — The St. Louis County Council has delayed a contract for employee health care benefits after a losing bidder said the process was unfair and the winning bid would cost millions of dollars more.
United Healthcare’s winning proposal will cost $4 million to $6 million more than Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Missouri’s, attorney Amy Fehr wrote on behalf of Anthem in a letter sent to the county’s procurement administrator.
The county also changed how it evaluated a proposal’s finances in the middle of the bidding process, the letter said.
“There is no transparency as to the source or reason for the change or how scoring might have been altered,” Fehr wrote.
Doug Moore, a spokesman for County Executive Sam Page, declined to comment Wednesday, saying the contract is still under a rule that prohibits discussing it publicly to prevent unfair influence.
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United did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Anthem has administered St. Louis County’s health care benefits for its employees and their families since 2017. Its current contract expires at the end of September, and Anthem competed with three other providers for the new contract.
It’s not uncommon for losing bidders to challenge or even sue when an award goes to another company. Anthem said it has a high satisfaction rate and few major complaints from county customers.
But in early March, Anthem noticed “conflicting messages” in the procurement process, mainly with “the financial evaluation area,” according to the letter from Fehr. Anthem raised concerns with the county about a possible flaw in procurement.
The county then “changed the financial evaluation methodologies mid-procurement,” Fehr’s letter states, “an unheard of circumstance in and of itself and contrary to the level playing-field expected of public procurements.”
On Friday, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page asked the County Council to consider a new, two-year contract with United to replace Anthem’s contract.
But Anthem said Page sent the contract to the council too soon. The county should have waited until after a protest period passed a week later — on Friday, June 14, Fehr wrote in her letter.
Stephanie Vojicic, president of Anthem in Missouri, spoke before the council Tuesday night about the company’s concerns. She asked its members to hold off on advancing any legislation that would award the contract to United.
“Our request of the council is to vote no on this proposal and initiate a thorough, transparent review of the irregularities of the health benefits procurement process,” Vojicic said during the meeting’s public comment period.
Council Chair Shalonda Webb, a Democrat from North County, said she would hold off on approving a contract before a hearing on the issue.
It had not yet been scheduled as of Wednesday afternoon.
St. Louis County Council Chair Shalonda Webb, and other council members, tried to hold a hearing about federal funding for some nonprofits, but County Executive Sam Page and his staff didn’t attend. Later, Webb tried to block Page from giving a statement at the council meeting; other members moved to allow the statement. Video provided by the county; edited by Beth O’Malley
