The Priority Everyone Agrees On, But Rarely Measures

Ask any state Medicaid leader if user readiness matters as much as system readiness. Most will say yes without hesitation. Yet look at what teams actually measure before a go-live. The checklist typically covers system performance benchmarks, gate reviews, and technical testing. User readiness rarely gets the same treatment, even though it deserves a spot on that list, too.

That idea sat with us throughout MESC this year. In session after session, conversation after conversation reinforced it. Everyone in this space already values user readiness. So the real opportunity is building the tools and metrics to give it the same weight as the technical milestones states already track closely.

Recurring Themes From the Week

A conference like MESC moves fast: a session here, a booth conversation there, a meeting tucked in between. Moving between all of it for a full week gives you a different vantage point, and this year, a few themes kept surfacing again and again:

• CMS’s new IT standards RFI
• CMS’s agile oversight model
• R. 1 work requirement implementation
• Provider program integrity

What ties these together is the pace of change they’re asking states to absorb. Each one puts new expectations on the people doing the work, not just the systems they use. That’s exactly where the readiness gap tends to show up first.

Building Readiness Into the Process

Which brings us back to where we started. States have invested heavily in the infrastructure to measure technology readiness, and that groundwork has paid off in stronger, more reliable go-lives. The next step is extending that same rigor to the people running these systems: caseworkers, eligibility teams, provider relations staff, and everyone whose daily work depends on these transitions going smoothly. Clear KPIs for user readiness, paired with the technical ones, will give states a fuller picture of go-live success and show where teams need support most.

CMS’s RFI on MES IT standards is open right now. It’s a real opportunity to put that kind of thinking on the record before CMS finalizes the standards. If your agency or organization has a point of view on what readiness should look like, this is the moment to share it.

Thank You, Portland

To everyone who stopped by our booth, sat down for a meeting, or joined us Monday night at Spirit of 77: thank you. It’s our favorite MESC tradition, and this one didn’t disappoint. Good conversation, good company, and a great room to be in for an evening.

We left Portland energized by the conversations we had and the ideas we’re carrying forward. The next few months will decide how much of this momentum turns into real progress. We’re ready to get started.+