What this opportunity is
The Department of Defense intends to award five sole source contracts to specific vendors for critical system components, software licensing, and specialized services related to the MHS GENESIS environment. This opportunity is suited for small businesses that are part of the proprietary platforms listed, including Cerner Corporation, Philips North America, American Well Corporation, Henry Schein, and Solventum Health Information Systems. As this is a sources sought notice, interested parties should track the progress of the sole source justification rather than prepare to submit competitive bids.
Analysis by Mindy, grounded in the SAM.gov notice.
Description
This is a notice of intent to award five sole source contracts and is not a request for competitive quotes. A sole source justification in accordance with FAR Part 6 is being processed for this requirement and will be posted when the approval process is accomplished.
The forthcoming Class Justification and Approval (J&A) authorizes the Defense Health Agency (DHA) to award multiple sole-source contracts, on an other than full and open competition basis, to the following proprietary platform vendors:
Cerner Corporation (Oracle Health)
8779 Hillcrest RD Kansas City, Missouri, 64138-2700
Cage: 1JCJ0
UEID: DMHXTXRARC74
Philips North America LLC (Philips Healthcare)
222 Jacobs ST, East Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02141-2296
Cage: 0ZBJ4
UEID: PWFVQLA9SX78
American Well Corporation (Amwell)
75 State ST FL 26, Boston, Massachusetts, 02109-1827
Cage: 64FM6
UEID: DJC6XVXQMV15
Henry Schein, Inc.
135 Duryea RD, Melville, New York, 11747-3834
Cage: 0NUS8
UEID: D6MTSKS115L9
Solventum Health Information Systems, Inc. (Solventum)
575 W Murray BLVD, Murray, Utah, 84123-4611
Cage: 3L5X5
UEID: LUYEUMH42L88
These contracts will provide critical system components, software licensing, and specialized services that form the foundational architecture of the Military Health System (MHS) GENESIS environment, which are currently being delivered through a legacy solution provider integrator. The Government's target timing is to transition the Philips and Amwell relationships to direct contracts prior to the end of July 2026, Oracle Health by November 2026, and Henry Schein and Solventum by July 2027. Note: Additional direct relationships may be established over time based on the operational and financial benefit to the Government. If additional proprietary solutions can be broken out are identified, the J&A will be updated to support the direct procurement of those systems.
This action represents a deliberate and strategic shift in the Government's acquisition approach, moving away from a monolithic solution provider integrator model toward a competitive, modular, direct-vendor contracting strategy. Under the new model, DHA will contract directly with the proprietary solution providers for core system capabilities, rather than procuring these services and paying pass-through overhead through an intermediary.
This shift is driven by both operational experience and Department-level policy direction. Historically, the use of a single solution provider integrator—tasked with integrating the efforts of multiple vendors—enabled the rapid deployment and initial stabilization of the MHS GENESIS system-of-systems. However, as the system has reached full deployment and transitioned into the sustainment and optimization phase, this intermediary model has introduced:
Reduced cost transparency
Duplicative layers of vendor management and administration
Limited Government visibility into underlying pricing structures
Constraints on the Government’s ability to directly manage vendor performance and enforce Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
Consistent with Department of Defense policy, DHA is now transitioning to a model that emphasizes direct acquisition from core solution providers, systematically reducing reliance on integrators and improving overall acquisition efficiency.
This sole-source action directly supports those Federal mandates by:
Eliminating integrator pass-through costs and duplicative overhead
Establishing direct contractual relationships with foundational solution providers
Improving pricing transparency and Government cost control
Stabilizing the core architecture to enable future competition at the modular component level (e.g., integration of efforts, ancillary services)
While this transition introduces near-term integration and execution complexities, DHA has determined that such risks are manageable and entirely warranted to align with Department policy direction and achieve long-term improvements in cost efficiency. This phased transition ensures uninterrupted continuity of operations and a controlled assumption of integration responsibilities by the Government.
Because the required capabilities are proprietary, deeply embedded, and available only from the original vendors currently providing them, DHA has determined that award on an other than full and open competition basis is required. Securing these direct vendor relationships is absolutely critical because the MHS GENESIS platform operates as the anchor of a unified Federal health IT ecosystem. In 2018, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the United States Coast Guard (USCG) determined that alignment with the DoD’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) system was in the Government's best interest to enable total interoperability. Today, this shared baseline supports not only DoD operations, but also the United States Coast Guard (USCG), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and other organizations using MHS GENESIS to document the delivery of healthcare. It is also a shared baseline with the VA who is actively deploying its solutions, slated for completion in 2031. Transitioning to direct vendor contracts ensures interagency continuum of care remains stable and undisrupted.
In preparation for conducting a fair and open competition at the completion of the incumbent current contract (N003915D0044), the Defense Healthcare Management System Modernization (DHMSM) Program Management Office (PMO) engaged industry and conducted extensive market research looking to inform its acquisition strategy starting in early 2023 through early 2026. The Government determined that the most responsible and effective path to expanding competition is a phased, deliberate approach. By establishing direct, sole-source contractual relationships with the current proprietary solution providers now, the Government stabilizes the core platform, preserves the…
Source: SAM.gov, as posted. Verify the current solicitation before responding.