HHS plans to buy Claude from Anthropic with no open contest

The health department of the federal government, HHS, plans to give Anthropic an award for its Claude AI services. It will not hold an open contest first, and calls it a small “continuity award” until a new contest is prepared. HHS began to use Claude in December 2025. The notice gives no price and does not say which agreements the award continues.

What HHS plans

HHS says Claude is the only tool that gives it chat, summaries, data analysis, access to applications and administrative controls. The notice says HHS must keep the Claude system that it has at this time. A new contest will pick the vendor for the long term.

What is not known

The notice does not say which agreements the award continues. It is not clear if the new contest is open. HHS and Anthropic did not answer questions from the reporter.

What the critic says

Jessica Tillipman of George Washington University says the notice reads as an admission that HHS must use Claude. Tillipman says the services in the notice look as general chatbot services. Tillipman is not sure that a sole award is right here.

Insight: A cheap start can become a lock

HHS began to use Claude in December 2025, after Anthropic offered agencies a price of $1 a year. That discount deal ends on 31 October. HHS says only Claude can do the work, while the FDA moves its Elsa chatbot to Gemini from Google. This seems to show how a low price at the start can make a buyer use one vendor only. Look at the price after 31 October.