# GAO Clears CMS Part D Services Procurement

The Government Accountability Office denied NDCHealth Corp., doing business as RelayHealth, a protest of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ planned $132 million procurement for transaction facilitator services supporting pharmacies in Medicare Part D. GAO’s decision allows CMS to proceed with its commercial-item acquisition; the signals provide no solicitation number, procurement schedule, or further performance details.

- CMS can continue the procurement, so firms providing transaction facilitator services for pharmacy claims may face a significant federal opportunity as the acquisition proceeds.
- The decision indicates the protester did not establish that CMS’s commercial-item approach was unreasonable. Contractors evaluating similar procurements should account for the selected acquisition approach when assessing competition and proposal strategy.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Healthcare
**Published:** November 06, 2026

### Government Entities
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
- Government Accountability Office (GAO)

### Vendors
- NDCHealth Corp. (doing business as RelayHealth) (protester)

### Sources
- [Medicare’s $132 Million Pharmacies Procurement Survives Protest](https://news.bloombergtax.com/federal-contracting/medicares-132-million-pharmacies-procurement-survives-protest) - news.bloombergtax.com