Advanced Communication Engine

The Illinois Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) Department is pursuing a sole source contract with Optum Government Solutions, Inc. for the Advanced Communication Engine (ACE) project, aimed at meeting legislative mandate 305 ICS 5/5-30.12. The one-year contract will run from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, and encompasses comprehensive technical services including ACE Solution Maintenance and Support Services, annual iEDI Software Support Services, Informatica B2B and Power Center Software Subscriptions, SOC Reporting, and professional services for Enterprise Data Warehouse interfaces and analytics. The primary objective is to provide a technical solution that assists Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) and providers in reducing claim billing errors and MCO denials. Optum is uniquely positioned as the sole source provider, being one of only three major clearinghouses and the only one capable of meeting the specific legislative requirements. The contract opportunity was posted on December 12, 2024, with a response deadline of December 26, 2024, and requires written comments or hearing requests by December 23, 2024, at 4 p.m.

The procurement is not explicitly restricted to disadvantaged enterprises, and no specific set-aside designations are mentioned in the documentation. Optum Government Solutions has been the incumbent vendor for these services, with previous contract values totaling $45,837,916 from 2019-2023, $6,832,800 for 2023-2024, and $7,029,154 for 2024-2025. The current contract has a total value of $7,244,329, funded through both State Appropriate Funds and Federal Funds. The cost breakdown includes $4,648,245 for ACE Solution Maintenance and Support Services, $175,578 for iEDI Software Support Services, $177,553 for Informatica B2B Software Subscription, $221,269 for Informatica Power Center Software Subscription, $103,000 for SOC Reporting, and $1,918,684 for professional services. The existing infrastructure requires integration with current healthcare claims processing systems, with Optum demonstrating the technical capabilities to meet the state's specific legislative and operational requirements.