Research Measurement Assessment Design and Analysis (RMADA)

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services awarded the Research, Measurement, Assessment, Design, and Analysis (RMADA) Master IDIQ on July 10, 2014, with ordering closed as of September 25, 2019. A successor vehicle, RMADA 2, was established on September 26, 2019, making this vehicle no longer active for new task-order placement. The RMADA shared ceiling is $7 billion.

From award through final ordering, CMS placed 137 task orders totaling $2.67 billion in combined potential value, with $2.53 billion already obligated—95 percent of the combined potential. The portfolio shows ordering activity across the vehicle's life spanning 2015 through September 2019, with ordering volume peaking at 37 orders in 2015, declining to 17 orders per year in 2017–2018, then rising to 33 orders in the final year.

The vehicle contracted research, measurement, and analytic support for health care payment and service delivery model testing under the Affordable Care Act and Health Care reform authority. Awarded task orders include evaluation of primary care models (Comprehensive Primary Care Plus, Primary Care First), alternative payment mechanisms (bundled payments, value-based insurance design), state Medicaid innovation programs, and specialized populations (Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program, End Stage Renal Disease, rural health models). All task orders employed Cost Plus Fixed Fee pricing except two orders using Time and Materials and one using Cost No Fee.

Five firms hold 64 percent of awarded orders by count: Mathematica Inc. (32 orders, $658.9 million combined potential value), The Lewin Group Inc. (17 orders, $352.8 million), Research Triangle Institute (16 orders, $601.2 million), Deloitte Consulting LLP (11 orders, $136.2 million), and Acumen LLC (11 orders, $242.7 million). The top five primes by potential value—Mathematica, Research Triangle Institute, The Lewin Group, Acumen, and National Opinion Research Center—hold 77 percent of combined potential value. Nine additional contractors shared the remaining 23 percent.

All 137 task orders were awarded unrestricted; no set-aside designations applied to any awards. CMS served as the sole customer across all task orders. Representative task-order valuations at vehicle closeout ranged from sub-million-dollar orders ($482,971 obligated against a ceiling of $2.84 million for PASRR work) to orders exceeding $100 million (State Innovations Group Multi-Payer Operations at $47.16 million ceiling; Patient Care First POM-Q at $127.71 million). Typical durations extended 2–4 years from award date, with several multi-year task orders extending into 2027–2028.

The purpose of the Research, Measurement, Assessment, Design, and Analysis (RMADA) IDIQ is to respond to expanded needs of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care ACT (ACA) and Health Care reform ACT (HCERA). The work awarded under the RMADA involves the design, implementation and evaluation of a broad range of research and/or payment and service delivery models to test their potential for reducing expenditures for Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and uninsured beneficiaries while maintaining or improving quality of care.