WASHINGTON: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has issued an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for communications and outreach services worth up to $900 million.
The division of the Department of Health and Human Services expects to award contracts to four to six agencies. The maximum total value of the accounts, set to run from the beginning of next September to the end of August 2025, will be capped at $900 million over the seven-year period.
An IDIQ contract is a two-step process. CMS will initially select a roster of agencies, then those firms must compete with one another for specific projects under the contract.
Projects included in the contract include national, regional, state, and local PR and advertising campaigns, according to the RFP documents. The selected agencies will be expected to develop entire efforts, including strategic planning, producing creative campaign assets, media buying, event planning, research, and overseeing digital, social media, and direct marketing initiatives.
The campaigns will target adults over age 65, the disabled population, parents or guardians of children, uninsured populations ages 18 to 34, and healthcare providers. The contracts may include any of the programs under CMS, including Medicare, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, Quality Data and Physician Compare, and the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Ketchum, Ogilvy, Porter Novelli, and Weber Shandwick have been awarded IDIQ contracts twice by CMS, first in 2006 and again five years later. FleishmanHillard was added to the agency roster in 2011. However, the latest RFP has a value of more than double the most recent contract, which was capped at $400 million.
The deadline for proposals is December 6.
