The Challenge:
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) Federally Facilitated Exchange (FFE) is a mission critical platform that supports the federal health insurance marketplace, enabling millions of consumers and small businesses to shop for and enroll in health coverage. The FFE operates in a complex, highly visible, and time sensitive environment, characterized by frequent system releases, multiple implementation contractors, and stringent requirements for security, data accuracy, and financial integrity. Given the scale of operations supporting healthcare access across dozens of states and administering billions of dollars annually, CMS required independent oversight to ensure system reliability, disciplined Agile delivery, and operational readiness, while minimizing risk during critical enrollment periods.
Our Approach:
DSFederal provided comprehensive Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V) services across new development and ongoing maintenance efforts for the FFE, supporting enrollment and eligibility, financial management, and plan management capabilities. Our approach delivered independent oversight across technical, programmatic, and governance dimensions, aligned with CMS lifecycle standards and Agile, hybrid, and SAFe delivery models. DSFederal independently assessed system design, development, and release readiness across frequent and time sensitive deployment cycles, enabling early identification of defects, integration risks, performance issues, and cybersecurity considerations. The team established end-to-end traceability across requirements, financial transactions, and system data to support audit readiness and transparency. DSFederal also coordinated IV&V oversight across multiple implementation contractors using standardized processes, templates, and reporting cadences to ensure consistent execution and timely risk identification.
DSFederal produced actionable IV&V deliverables including assessment reports, dashboards, corrective action tracking, and best-practice guidance that enabled CMS leadership to make informed, timely decisions.
The Outcome
DSFederal’s IV&V services strengthened the quality, reliability, and governance of the FFE marketplace, supporting CMS’s ability to deliver coverage services across 31 states and nearly 40 million consumers. Through disciplined and independent oversight, DSFederal identified more than 1,200 risks, issues, and improvement opportunities. Our analysis enabled CMS to identify release risks earlier, prevent late-cycle surprises; improve testing rigor, data quality, and compliance maturity, support confident go or no-go decisions across iterative Agile releases, and reduce audit exposure while increasing confidence in public transparency and financial integrity. CMS leadership relied on DSFederal’s independent findings to improve system quality and support uninterrupted beneficiary access during critical enrollment periods.