The Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace Board on Wednesday awarded a $5.8 million contract for marketing and outreach services to CJRW of Little Rock.
The contract, which has not yet been executed, would run through 2017 as the state transitions from a partnership to a state-based marketplace, said Heather Haywood, the director of policy and communications at AHIM.
Haywood said in an email that “[t]he scope of work includes a phased approach to branding, Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Marketplace marketing and outreach services and individual marketplace marketing and outreach services.”
More: Click here (PDF) to view the RFP.
CJRW beat out two other Little Rock agencies for the contract: Mangan Holcomb Partners and Impact Management Group. CJRW bid $5.82 million for the contract, while IMG bid $5.876 million and MHP bid $5 million, according to the board’s Technical and Cost Proposal Score Summary (PDF).
Haywood said in an interview that the procurement rules allow for choosing a vendor that doesn’t submit the lowest bid because the cost is weighed alongside the technical specifications.
CJRW President Darin Gray said in a statement that the agency was pleased with the board’s decision.
“We’re extremely pleased that the insurance marketplace board has placed its trust in our multi-dimensional team to manage the marketing of this extremely important project,” Gray said. “As a firm, we believe all Arkansans should have access to health insurance and we are ready to hit the ground running to implement this important program.”
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