Altarum Institute

Altarum Institute, a nonprofit health systems research and consulting organization headquartered in Novi, Michigan, provides research services, program evaluation, technical assistance, and strategic consulting to federal health agencies and the Department of Defense as a prime contractor on 99% of its recent awards. The vendor holds no SBA set-aside certifications and competes on unrestricted federal vehicles and full-and-open procurements. Altarum operates two named subsidiaries: Altarum Medicare-Medicaid Services for States and Palladian Partners, Inc.

Altarum's customer concentration is heavily weighted toward defense and health agencies. The top five funding customers by combined potential value account for 99% of the organization's pipeline: the Defense Health Agency dominates with 33 awards and $35.14 billion in combined potential value, followed by the Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration Headquarters (44 awards, $785.9 million), the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration (23 awards, $634.7 million), the CDC Pittsburgh (10 awards, $609.7 million), and the GSA Federal Acquisition Service (18 awards, $228.3 million). By award count, the ranking differs substantially — the Department of the Air Force leads with 220 awards ($374 thousand combined value), the Defense Logistics Agency with 174 awards ($24.6 million), and the Army with 165 awards — indicating numerous small task orders against Altarum's position on defense supply schedules alongside high-dollar health programs.

Altarum's capability portfolio centers on health systems research, program evaluation, technical assistance delivery, and data analytics. Concrete recent work includes a $5.9 million delivery order from the Health Resources and Services Administration for strategic support services to the Regional Pandemic Network, a $15.1 million cost-plus-award-fee delivery order from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for the National Training and Technical Assistance Center for 988 and Crisis Services, and a $1.5 million delivery order from HRSA for the National Hypertension Control Initiative evaluation and technical assistance. Altarum also subcontracts with research partners such as Arbor Research Collaborative for Health and Cardea Services on health-focused evaluations. As a grant recipient, Altarum received a $2.5 million Cooperative Agreement from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (CFDA 16.838, Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and other Substances Use Program) in partnership with Faces & Voices of Recovery and Change Matrix to serve as the Category 2A Training and Technical Assistance Center for Access to Treatment and Peer Recovery Support Services, and serves as prime recipient on federal grant programs from the CDC Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support (sexual health and wellness framework development) and the HHS Maternal and Child Health Bureau (Center for Maternal and Child Health Medicaid Partnerships, awarded September 2024).

Altarum holds multiple high-value IDIQs. The most recent, awarded December 17, 2024, is a seat on the OASIS+ Unrestricted multiple-award GWAC from the GSA Federal Acquisition Service with no specified dollar ceiling, enabling delivery of research, technical assistance, strategic consulting, communications, and program evaluation services government-wide. A $344.7 million single-award Evaluations and Evidence Building IDIQ from HRSA (awarded September 25, 2024, with ultimate completion September 24, 2026) procures comprehensive program evaluations, evidence building activities including needs assessments and predictive analytics, research dissemination, and data optimization support, structured for one base year and four one-year option periods with primary performance in Rockville, Maryland. Altarum also holds a $75 million multiple-award IDIQ from HHS Administration for Community Living (awarded January 22, 2024, through January 21, 2029) and single-award IDIQs from the Veterans Integrated Service Network 1 ($700,000 ceiling, research services, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts) and SAMHSA ($1,000 ceiling, awarded July 18, 2022). On GSA Schedules, Altarum places work under the Federal Supply Schedule GS35F4912H (195 task orders, $42.4 million combined value), the Professional Services Schedule (106 task orders, $187.9 million), and the Multiple Award Schedule for clinical survey and organ donation research.

Service Contract Inventory reporting shows SCI-reportable invoiced revenue of $23.8 million across prime contracts in FY2022–FY2024, scaling from $7 million in FY2022 (22.5 FTEs) through $10.4 million in FY2024 (25.6 FTEs). Government-paid hourly rates on federal service contracts run a median of $147.80 per hour, with senior roles pricing through $257.40 per hour and entry-level research assistants at $113.40 per hour. GSA Schedule labor rates span $59.74 to $391.43 per hour across 26 categories, from research assistants (high school education) through institute managers (20 years experience), with no security-cleared positions offered. Across SCI-reportable prime contracts, subcontractors performed 20 percent of contractor hours on average; Altarum engaged 21 named subcontractors across the SCI dataset, indicating a blended delivery model rather than purely self-performed work.

Recent activity shows modest prime-contract volume — one award in 2026, six in 2025, eighteen in 2024, five in 2023, and six in 2022 — with six prime awards (combined potential value $29.9 million) reaching ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, representing recompete exposure concentrated in near-term health and veterans affairs task orders. The organization maintains a thin subcontracting footprint at the prime level (1% of awards) but engages sub-recipients and subcontractors on grant and contract work; recent subcontract relationships include Arbor Research Collaborative for Health, Cardea Services, Change Matrix LLC, James Bell Associates, and Georgetown University on health systems and clinical research initiatives. Combined potential value across all 1,275 awards (prime and sub) totals $37.91 billion, with only $943.1 million obligated (2% of potential), reflecting the organization's heavy reliance on indefinite-delivery vehicles and long-tailed option-period exposure rather than current cash flow.