Center for the Study of Services

What Center for the Study of Services does

Center for the Study of Services (CSS Research) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) healthcare survey research organization founded in 1974 and headquartered in Washington, DC. It conducts large-scale consumer and patient experience measurement for health plans, healthcare providers, state and federal agencies, dialysis facilities, ACOs, and research partners, with stated annual scale of 2.6 million healthcare consumers surveyed via 3.5 million paper mailings, 2.0 million emails, and 1.2 million CATI (computer-assisted telephone interviewing) contacts. The company's core technology is survey research infrastructure rather than a software product: seven CAHPS survey certifications, customizable pulse survey tooling, fully customized online dashboards, database file exports, and a HITRUST Risk-based 2-year (r2) certified security framework covering its Health Research Performance Measurement Services and Web Portal systems.

The product portfolio comprises six interconnected service lines — CAHPS Surveys, Member Surveys, Provider Surveys, Patient Surveys, Health Plan Decision Support Tools, and Pulse Surveys — delivered under a quote-based, subscription-style B2B model with multi-year contracts. Go-to-market is enterprise sales-led, with direct engagement of healthcare buyers, targeted outreach, and a client portal (portal.cssresearch.org) for survey management and results delivery. Senior staff average nearly 15 years of tenure with 20+ years of CAHPS and survey research experience, and the organization has been recognized by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Consumer Federation of America. The company is privately held as a nonprofit, has no disclosed parent or external ownership, has not raised funding, and does not publicly disclose revenue.

Name

Center for the Study of Services

Legal name

Center for the Study of Services

Website

https://cssresearch.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Center for the Study of Services (CSS Research) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit healthcare survey research organization founded in 1974 that administers CAHPS-certified consumer and patient experience surveys for health plans, providers, government agencies, and ACOs, surveying approximately 2.6 million healthcare consumers annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Survey Research

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Survey, Panel & Fieldwork Services (BPAHALAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Quality Measurement, Reporting & Benchmarking (HEDIS/Stars/CQM) (HLACAHAC)

Keywords

• Healthcare survey research
• CAHPS survey administration
• Patient experience measurement
• Member experience surveys
• Health plan analytics

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Healthcare Survey Services: CSS Research generates revenue through providing survey research services to healthcare organizations including health plans, providers, and government agencies. Services include CAHPS surveys, member surveys, provider surveys, patient surveys, and custom pulse surveys with tailored reporting solutions.
2. Decision Support Tools: Revenue from providing health plan decision support tools and analytics platforms to help healthcare organizations measure, report, and improve consumer/patient experiences

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Center for the Study of Services (operating as CSS Research) conducts and analyzes healthcare consumer experience surveys for health plans, providers, and government agencies. The organization holds seven CAHPS survey certifications and delivers member, provider, patient, and pulse survey services, along with health plan decision support tools, supported by paper, email, and CATI distribution infrastructure.

Product overview

CSS Research is a healthcare survey research organization offering a unified suite of survey-based services rather than a modular software platform. The core portfolio comprises six interconnected survey offerings: CAHPS Surveys (seven certifications for consumer assessment of healthcare providers), Member Surveys, Provider Surveys, Patient Surveys, Health Plan Decision Support Tools, and Pulse Surveys (custom rapid-cycle surveys). Together, these services enable healthcare organizations to collect, measure, and improve patient and consumer experiences through detailed reports, annotated data, and intuitive online portals. The company surveys approximately 2.6 million healthcare consumers annually via paper mailings, emails, and CATI (computer-assisted telephone interviewing), delivering actionable insights for pay-for-performance programs, public reporting, and quality improvement initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CAHPS Surveys Certified CAHPS (Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) survey collection and analysis services for healthcare organizations, covering patient experience measurement across multiple healthcare settings including health plans, ICH dialysis facilities, and ACOs for MIPS reporting.
• Member Surveys Survey services focused on measuring and improving member experience within health plans and insurance programs, supporting quality measurement, pay-for-performance, and member satisfaction initiatives.
• Provider Surveys Survey instruments and analysis for evaluating healthcare provider performance, satisfaction, and quality of care delivery across hospitals, physician networks, and other provider organizations.
• Patient Surveys Patient experience measurement surveys designed to collect feedback for quality improvement and performance evaluation in healthcare settings, including tailored reporting and annotated data outputs.
• Health Plan Decision Support Tools Analytics and reporting tools that help consumers and healthcare organizations make informed decisions about health plan selection and performance, delivered via intuitive online portals and database files.
• Pulse Surveys Custom, rapid-cycle survey solutions that enable payers and providers to quickly assess specific issues, expand populations of inquiry, and receive tailored reporting through online dashboards or database files formatted for import into existing data infrastructure.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2.6M healthcare consumers surveyed annually
• +3 more outcomes

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• NRC Health: NRC Health provides healthcare-specific experience measurement, CAHPS, and consumer insights to health systems and plans. It competes with CSS on CAHPS administration and member/patient experience surveys for healthcare organizations.
• Westat: Westat is a research firm that conducts large-scale health surveys for federal agencies, including CAHPS-related work. It competes with CSS in government healthcare survey research and methodology.
• Press Ganey: Press Ganey is the largest U.S. patient experience and CAHPS survey vendor, directly competing with CSS for health plan, hospital, and provider survey contracts. Both firms are CMS-approved CAHPS vendors serving overlapping customer segments.
• SPH Analytics: SPH Analytics is a CAHPS-approved survey vendor and population health analytics firm serving health plans, providers, and government agencies. It overlaps directly with CSS in CAHPS administration and quality measurement.

Broad incumbents

• Gallup: Gallup is a global analytics and advisory firm with healthcare consumer experience and engagement research. It overlaps with CSS in survey-based consumer insights for healthcare clients, though it is much broader in scope.
• J.D. Power (Healthcare): J.D. Power conducts consumer satisfaction research across healthcare, including health plan and member experience studies. It is comparable to CSS for member/consumer experience measurement but operates as a broad cross-industry research firm.
• Qualtrics (Healthcare): Qualtrics is a broad experience management platform with a healthcare practice that includes CAHPS and patient experience surveys. It competes with CSS across survey-based healthcare research, but as part of a much larger enterprise XM portfolio.

Emerging players

• Health Catalyst: Health Catalyst is a healthcare data and analytics platform provider whose population health and quality measurement offerings intersect with CSS's quality reporting and benchmarking work. Different delivery model (software vs. survey services) but overlapping buyer.

Regional players

• Mathematica Policy Research: Mathematica is a nonpartisan research organization conducting large-scale federal healthcare surveys, including CAHPS-related evaluations. It overlaps with CSS in healthcare survey research and federal contract work, but with a stronger policy research focus.
• RTI International: RTI International is a nonprofit research institute conducting healthcare survey research, including CAHPS-related studies. It competes with CSS for federal healthcare survey contracts and research partnerships.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CSSResearch

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Center for the Study of Services