Hospital Quality Reporting System (HQR) Bridge Limited Source Justification
Overview
Buyer
Place of Performance
NAICS
PSC
Set Aside
Original Source
Timeline
Qualification Details
Fit reasons
- NAICS alignment with historical contract wins in similar service areas.
- Scope strongly matches core technical capabilities and delivery model.
Risks
- Past performance thresholds may require one additional teaming partner.
- Potential clarification needed on staffing minimums before bid/no-bid.
Next steps
Validate eligibility requirements, assign capture owner, and schedule partner outreach to confirm teaming strategy before submission planning.
Quick Summary
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), specifically the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), has issued a Limited Source Justification (LSJ) for a bridge contract to Bellese Technologies LLC for the Hospital Quality Reporting (HQR) system. This action ensures the continued maintenance and enhancement of the critical HQR system, which underpins Medicare payment determinations for thousands of hospitals. This is a temporary measure to maintain operations while a new competitive solicitation is prepared.
Scope of Work
This bridge contract covers agile software development services for the Hospital Quality Reporting (HQR) system. The HQR system maintainer is responsible for all operations and maintenance (O&M), ensuring it remains current with evolving user experience requirements, data integration capabilities, and quality reporting program changes. The HQR system is vital for CMS's statutory obligation to issue accurate and timely payments and penalties to Medicare-participating providers across ten individual hospital quality reporting programs.
Contract & Timeline
- Contractor: Bellese Technologies LLC
- Type: Limited Source Justification for a bridge contract
- Contract Vehicle: Hybrid Firm Fixed Price/Time & Materials Order against GSA MAS GS-35F-356DA
- Duration: 12-month base period with a 6-month option
- Set-Aside: None specified (sole-source justification)
- Published: May 6, 2026
- Place of Performance: Owings Mills, MD
Justification for Limited Source
The LSJ details several key reasons for awarding this bridge contract to Bellese Technologies LLC:
- Unique and Highly Specialized Knowledge: Bellese Technologies possesses deep, incumbent knowledge of the custom-developed, complex HQR system, gained since 2017, which is not readily transferable.
- Scale and Complexity: The HQR system is one of the largest quality reporting platforms, impacting Medicare payment determinations for thousands of hospitals, and its complexity cannot be rapidly replicated.
- CMS CIO Directive 25-03: Mandatory personnel vetting procedures create significant onboarding delays for new contractors, posing a risk to operational continuity. Bellese Technologies already has a fully vetted workforce.
- Risk of Operational Lapse: Transitioning to a new contractor risks operational lapses, impacting Medicare payments, public reporting, data integrity, and interagency data-sharing commitments.
- Market Research: Analysis indicated no other vendors possess the system-specific expertise required within the bridge contract timeframe.
- Procurement History: Protracted GAO protests against a successor contract (HEAT) necessitated this bridge contract to ensure continuity.
Future Intent
CMS remains committed to re-establishing full and open competition for long-term HQR system maintainer services.
Contact Information
- Primary Contact: Bryan Dankanich (bryan.dankanich@hhs.gov, 301-272-9111)