Gov. Peter Shumlin’s administration will keep the current company running Vermont’s embattled health care exchange for the foreseeable future.

The Department of Vermont Health Access extended its current contract with OptumInsight Inc. through Aug. 15. The previous contract expired Thursday, and the state sent out a request for bids Feb. 26.

Dean Mudgett, the spokesperson for the Agency of Human Services, said the state decided to extend the contract with Optum for six weeks while the administration negotiates a longer-term deal with the company.

The deal means Optum, which replaced CGI Technology Systems in 2014, will continue maintenance and operations on the exchange for the foreseeable future. It is not clear if the new contract will extend beyond Shumlin’s term, which ends in January.