CMS makes awards on $3.5B data, research support recompete
Gettyimages.com / Sarayut Thaneerat
By
Ross Wilkers
The Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services is tasking winners to help the agency create analytical models and demonstrations for health care programs.
The Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services has awarded 17 companies positions on a five-year, $3.5 billion blanket purchase agreement that covers a broad range of data-related and research services.
CMS awarded iteration number three of the Research, Measurement, Assessment, Design and Analysis contract on Wednesday and received 34 offers in total, according to Sam.gov records.
RMADA 3 tasks winners to provide analytical support and technical assistance to aid CMS in models and demonstrations. CMS uses those models for programs such as the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program and those covered under private payer sources.
Awardees are as follows:
- Abt Global (incumbent)
- Acumen (incumbent)
- American Institutes for Research in the Behavioral Sciences (incumbent)
- Arbor Research Collaborative for Health (incumbent)
- Booz Allen Hamilton (incumbent)
- Deloitte Consulting (incumbent)
- General Dynamics’ IT services unit (incumbent)
- Guidehouse (newcomer)
- L&M Policy Research (newcomer)
- The Lewin Group, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth’s Optum arm (incumbent)
- Livanta, now part of Commence (newcomer)
- Mathematica (incumbent)
- National Opinion Research Center (incumbent)
- Tria Federal (newcomer)
- Westat (incumbent)
Given the nature of BPAs, CMS could name additional awardees and we will update the list accordingly if need be.
The current RMADA 2 pact was awarded in 2019 and is slated to expire on July 31. CMS has obligated $1.2 billion in task order volume to-date against RMADA 2, according to GovTribe data.
Solicitation documents released in June describe the scope of work for RMADA 3 as including support for all aspects of model design and operations, except for IT needs as those are covered by other contracts.
CMS is also tasking awardees to help design and carry out data collection activities such as surveys, obtain and analyze secondary data sources, provide rapid cycle evaluation feedback to CMS and other model participants, create summaries and reports of program findings, and provide grant proposal reviews.