Delaware Code Title 29. State Government § 6989D. Reverse auction for the procurement of professional services for or related to pharmaceuticals or pharmacy benefits management services

(a) This section applies only to the procurement of professional services for or related to pharmaceuticals or “pharmacy benefits management services,” as defined under § 3351A of Title 18, by the State Employee Benefits Committee established under Chapter 96 of this title.

(b) When the Section determines that a reverse auction is advantageous, the Section may, with written approval by the Section director or the Section director's designee, use or allow an agency to use a reverse auction to receive competitive pricing proposals from proposing firms under this subchapter.

(c) The Section shall establish written procedures for obtaining and evaluating proposals for professional services in advance of the reverse auction price competition.  The procedures must require vendors to preregister before the opening date and time for purposes of vetting vendor responsibility and, as part of that registration, to agree to any contractual terms, conditions, or other requirements of the solicitation.

(d) The solicitation must provide notification of the Section's or procuring agency's intent to use a reverse auction, a schedule of proposing activities, and the procedures established under subsection (c) of this section.

(e) The Section or procuring agency may, with the written approval of the Section director or the Section director's designee, contract with a third-party vendor to conduct a reverse auction on its behalf under this section.

(f) Each proposal received through the reverse auction process must record the name and address of the submitting vendor.

(g) The proposals, proposal summaries, tabulations, or any other aspect of the proposal evaluations are not open for public inspection until after receipt of a signed contract under § 6981(d)(3) of this title.  After receipt of a signed contract, the proposals must be made available for public inspection under § 6981(k)(4) of this title.