New federal work requirements mean that state Medicaid agencies must rapidly reconfigure eligibility, enrollment, and verification systems — a task made more difficult by condensed timelines, often onerous state procurement processes, and a complex array of available technologies. To help states navigate these challenges, the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) and the Medicaid Innovation Collaborative (MIC), in coordination with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, hosted Medicaid Tech Demo Days in November 2025 — a two-day event showcasing tech solutions designed to support work requirements implementation.

Drawing on insights from the event, this new Health Affairs Forefront article — coauthored by CHCS and MIC — outlines key considerations for states as they work to meet new federal requirements in ways that minimize coverage loss and continue to deliver high‑quality care. It also highlights strategies to simultaneously modernize the eligibility and enrollment experience, optimize spending, and reduce administrative burden for Medicaid members.