What Does the Insurance Commissioner Do?
May 18th, 2009 • Related • Filed Under
By jason330
I mean other than walk around the Democratic convention shaking hands with people during the Governor’s remarks, what doe she do?
I thought she was being paid to run the Insurance Commissioner’s Office. I must have been wrong about that though since they are sending out an RFP asking for a “managment consultant” to …you know…consult…
The DOI anticipates that, after conducting interviews, it will select a firm to evaluate the DOI’s management efficiencies and weaknesses.
Comment by Unstable Isotope on 18 May 2009 at 4:07 pm:
It seems a bit tone deaf to be soliciting a new employee when so many people are taking a pay cut.
Comment by cassandra m on 18 May 2009 at 4:21 pm:
I thought there was a moratorium on hiring outside consultants for awhile?
And this RFP is horrible:
It has no scope of work — all you know is something vague about management efficiencies. It promises a scope after you get to negotiations. THIS IS NOT HOW YOU GET BEST VALUE, FOLKS!
What are they pricing?
How come they don’t ask for costs for materials and travel?
Experience and reputation doesn’t ask for anything that lets you evaluate Past Performance. How about some detail about previous projects like this (provided you can know something about what this project is)? References you can call?
How do you demonstrate capacity to do work when you are not told what that work is?
What is the term of this contract?
What are the deliverables?
This cannot be the way that the State does business. It CANNOT be. These kinds of RFPs are ripe for the Delaware Way — where some favored someone or firm gets a contract to whoknowswhat, but it is a river of State money.
Comment by jason330 on 18 May 2009 at 4:23 pm:
Wow. I had a gut feeling that it stunk. I had no idea that it reeked to high heaven.
Comment by cassandra m on 18 May 2009 at 4:35 pm:
OMG — this really makes me mad.
How much does it cost to incorporate something here? Seriously, I am thinking we could create a business to respond to this piece of idiocy that would at least entitle us to a debriefing (I think) to see how this craziness worked. I don’t have much time to write a proposal, but this is not more than an 8 hour labor effort.
When we had the post on Markell putting the state’s checking account online — this is exactly what I meant about that checking account being not that useful without being able to see what was procured and what was agreed to (the contract).
Comment by anon on 18 May 2009 at 4:36 pm:
It looks like they will examine the “financial management” of DOI, not its policymaking functions. But you have to send in the boxtop to get the details:
I am guessing Markell is planning to slash the DOI as part of reengineering but doesn’t want to take the heat from insurance companies who are happy with the way things are. Or maybe he gave DOI an ultimatum to come up with their own plan, or hire a consultant to come up with one.
Also they were supposed to have posted the vendor Q&As by May 1, but they are not there… keep checking:
Comment by El Somnambulo on 18 May 2009 at 4:41 pm:
This looks like an RFP drawn up with a specific vendor in mind. Does Richard Korn have a management firm? Didn’t KWS claim that management expertise is something that SHE would bring to the office?
Markell really has nothing to do with this office. It is independently elected and independently administered.
‘Bulo agrees w/anon. Keep checking on this, it definitely smells bad.
Comment by cassandra m on 18 May 2009 at 4:47 pm:
More detailed information about the scope of the project will be provided upon receipt of a proposal.
One of the SEU RFPs I saw had this language or something very similar in it too.
Comment by liberalgeek on 18 May 2009 at 5:01 pm:
I checked with a source in the Governor’s office and they are not the source of this RFP.
Comment by Mark H on 18 May 2009 at 5:04 pm:
“The DOI anticipates that, after conducting interviews, it will select a firm to evaluate the DOI’s management efficiencies and weaknesses.”
I thought that what all the people in her “transition team” were doing.
Comment by Mark H on 18 May 2009 at 5:05 pm:
And you wonder why I’m so disillusioned
Comment by cassandra m on 18 May 2009 at 5:08 pm:
Mark H has an excellent point — that massive transition team (and I still don’t know who paid for that) was supposed to do some of this work.
And it would surprise me if the Gov’s office was involved with this — if you are looking to absorb or otherwise make this office surplus, this isn’t the path to that.
Comment by Gabriel on 18 May 2009 at 5:15 pm:
I told you so. And it’s only going to get worse.
Comment by Guy on 18 May 2009 at 7:06 pm:
Maybe it was written so vaguely in order to “appoint” some politicians daughter, brother, wife, girlfriend or other Delaware insider.
Comment by jason330 on 18 May 2009 at 7:43 pm:
That seems to be the consensus. If that is the case it would not be breaking any new ground in terms of corruption. It would be just another sad, clumsy case of it.
Comment by El Somnambulo on 18 May 2009 at 7:53 pm:
Or maybe, by shining light on it, as you have, it can be stopped and, if not, it certainly can be investigated.
Comment by Mark H on 18 May 2009 at 8:58 pm:
“If that is the case it would not be breaking any new ground in terms of corruption.”
Just run an add: Free money for some suckup to do as I (IC) say….
Comment by cassandra m on 18 May 2009 at 11:47 pm:
it certainly can be investigated.
By who? Seriously. I’m not sure who the IC is even accountable to.
Comment by Gabriel on 19 May 2009 at 2:05 am:
She owes so many favors for getting into office with no qualifications that there aren’t enough hours in the day or dollars in the DE budget to pay them all back. It seems already that the IC’s office isn’t enough for her delusions of grandeur….looks like with all the “meet and greet” at functions that have nothing to do with her, this moron may be laying the groundwork for running for higher office.
Comment by PI on 19 May 2009 at 7:27 am:
“The DOI anticipates that, after conducting interviews, it will select a firm to evaluate the DOI’s management efficiencies and weaknesses. ”
They really don’t need to hire a management team to discover the weaknesses. I’ll give it to them for free in 3 short words: Karen Weldin Stewert.
Comment by PI on 19 May 2009 at 7:29 am:
How can she possibly justify expansion in the IC office when the entire state is facing a financial tsunami?
Comment by Reis on 19 May 2009 at 8:15 am:
I loved the “compensation” section of the RFP. It essentially says, “Tell us how much money you want, and we’ll give it to our relatives, uh, I mean, successful bidders.”
Methinks that this RFP is the same $60 million contract exposed last year by DownWithAbsolutes and the News Journal, held for the past 16 years by Mr. “I treat Tom Ross and Daniello good” Tinsley.
Comment by cassandra m on 19 May 2009 at 9:02 am:
Spending $60M for financial efficiencies? Please. The compensation thing really caught my eye — especially in light of the article in the NJ on procurements at the state. This RFP doesn’t even say what kind of contract will be awarded — Time and Materials? Cost Plus Fixed Fee? Cost Plus Aware Fee? Cost Plus Incentive Fee? What?
Comment by jason330 on 19 May 2009 at 9:12 am:
This is a bullshitty RFP – even so it is impossible to imagine that this is the new look for the $60 million auditor (?) contract.
I mean, this IC might be mental, but there is still a staff. There are still people in the IC’s office that have to get up and go to work in the morning…right?
This half-assed peice of shiite simply cannot be the $60 contract Reis mentions. It can’t be.
This is a “$250,000 to my buddy” hook-up if I ever saw one.
Comment by jason330 on 19 May 2009 at 10:51 am:
Here we go:
I have not sent it yet so any edits, changes would be appreciated.
Comment by Reis on 19 May 2009 at 11:01 am:
“Please post this question and your expeditious answer on the Delaware Insurance Department website, otherwise known as ‘Karen Weldin Stewart’s Website paid for with Tax Dollars’, per the instructions you put in the RFP.
Comment by cassandra_m on 19 May 2009 at 11:02 am:
Cool — questions! I can help with this, but I need to check out now to get to my next meeting. If you are still working on this by about dinnertime I’ll jump back in.
Comment by jason330 on 19 May 2009 at 11:05 am:
Sure. No rush. I’ll leave it open.
Comment by Gabriel on 19 May 2009 at 3:45 pm:
The state pays KWS about $140,000 per year for doing nothing. And this very interesting QOD got dropped although it probably concerns other sources of income:
http://www.delawareliberal.net/2009/05/07/question-of-the-day-17/#comments