(Story updated at 6 p.m. ET.)
Accenture has won a new five-year, $563 million contract to continue its work on the HealthCare.gov federal insurance exchange website, the consulting and technology firm said Monday.
Under its existing contract, Accenture had deployed more than 500 workers to help rehab the formerly troubled website for the current open-enrollment season.
The website appears to be working much better during the current enrollment than it did early in the last sign-up period. Site improvements, including a more consumer-friendly shopping experience, have translated into 2.5 million enrollees through Dec. 15.
The CMS had previously said it would award a new contract for the site in February 2015. Accenture's current contract was scheduled to expire in January 2015, but the CMS had extended it for six months to avoid disruption during open enrollment.
Accenture had replaced CGI Federal, the previous lead contractor. According to a report from HHS' Office of Inspector General, that firm harvested well over $200 million for its work on HealthCare.gov through January 2014.
Follow Darius Tahir on Twitter: @dariustahir
