Posting of The Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition for Extension of the NEC IDIQ

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has published a Special Notice posting the fully executed Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition for extending the National Education Campaign Outreach Contract (NEC) IDIQ. This posting is being made in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.305, which requires transparency in sole-source contracting decisions. The NEC IDIQ was originally awarded in fiscal year 2018 to four contractors: Daniel J Edelman, Inc., Ketchum, Inc., Porter Novelli Public Services, Inc., and IPG DXTRA, Inc. (Weber Shandwick). The contract has a maximum ceiling of $3 billion across all contracts and supports CMS in developing, implementing, and evaluating national integrated communications campaigns. The current contract was set to expire on August 31, 2025, but requires extension while the recompetition process is completed.

The purpose of this extension is to ensure continuity of critical outreach, education, and communication services at national, regional, state, and local levels while CMS finalizes the recompetition of the NEC IDIQ. The extension will provide a six-month base period with an optional six-month extension period, allowing sufficient time to complete the delayed recompetition process, which has been impacted by communication holds and the need for additional proposal evaluation time. CMS previously published a notice of intent to extend on SAM.gov on May 30, 2025, and received five responses, none of which provided compelling evidence against the short-term extension. The extension will not increase the existing $3 billion contract ceiling or materially alter the scope of work. This is not an opportunity for new contractors to compete, as it represents a sole-source extension of existing contracts to maintain essential communication services without interruption.