Politico Pro Subscription

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking a vendor to provide 25 subscriptions to Politico Pro, a policy and legislative news monitoring service, for a one-year base period with an optional one-year renewal. The service must deliver customizable, real-time news and policy coverage relevant to CMS mission areas, including continuous 24/7 web-based access, curated newsletters and alerts, in-depth reporting, issue-specific expert communities, and access to subscriber-only events featuring journalists and industry experts. Key technical requirements include authorization from Politico LLC to resale licenses to federal agencies, delivery of all 25 subscriptions by the contract start date, real-time news delivery capability, and identification of any licensing limitations. The award will be made using a lowest-price technically acceptable (LPTA) evaluation methodology, with cost evaluation factors including per-license pricing, additional fees, and total pricing for both the base and optional periods. Prospective offerors must submit questions by 10:00 AM EST on February 26, 2026, and submit quotes no later than 12:00 PM EST on March 3, 2026, with quotes limited to three pages in PDF format submitted in two volumes addressing technical understanding and business pricing.

This is an unrestricted procurement with no set-aside designation, and there are no identified incumbent contractors in the solicitation materials. The contract is structured as a firm-fixed-price purchase order under Simplified Acquisition Procedures, with the base period running from March 11, 2026 through March 10, 2027, and the optional renewal period covering an additional twelve months. While specific budget ranges are not disclosed in the solicitation, pricing evaluation will assess per-license costs and total contract value for the full period of performance. The procurement requires vendors to maintain active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) and comply with HIPAA business associate provisions, FISMA/FedRAMP compliance requirements, and other standard federal acquisition regulations. The place of performance is Washington, DC, with contract administration conducted by CMS's Office of Acquisition & Grants Management in Baltimore, Maryland.