CMS extends its primary data-related research contract
Gettyimages.com / Yuichiro Chino
By
Ross Wilkers
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has pushed back the proposal due date for the recompete more than once.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is extending the current iteration of its primary contract for data-related and research services as the agency works toward awarding the next version.
CMS awarded the Research, Measurement, Assessment, Design and Analysis 2 contract to 17 companies in 2019 at a $5 billion ceiling. RMADA 2 was previously slated to expire on July 1 of this year with the RMADA 3 successor penciled in for a start date of Aug. 1.
But CMS has extended the proposal due dates multiple times for RMADA 3 since the final solicitation went live in February. Phase one bids have a July 8 deadline and phase two proposals are due Aug. 26, while oral presentations will take place between Aug. 26 and Sept. 23.
In light of that, CMS said Wednesday it is extending RMADA 2’s period of performance for 12 additional months to give it more runway for working on the new iteration.
CMS uses RMADA as an umbrella contract to acquire analytic and technical services that aid the agency in collecting data on programs created as part of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program and those from private payer sources.
The agency has obligated $967 million in task order volume against RMADA 2 to date, according to Deltek data. Mathemetica, National Opinion Research Center, Deloitte, UnitedHealth Group and RTI International are the top five recipients of that spend.
RMADA 3 will have a five-year duration once it is opened for task order business.