This resource is a research paper examining the role of the public safety net in insuring job losers against income loss, analyzing which government programs provide financial support and how benefits vary based on pre-job loss income levels.
This blog post discusses strategies that states can implement to make public assistance applications more accessible during the COVID-19 crisis, emphasizing the importance of flexibility in application processes to accommodate increased demand and social distancing measures.
Benefits Data Trust (BDT) is a nonprofit that connects people to public benefits through a streamlined, phone-based application system called Benefits Launch, which reduces redundant questions and speeds up the process for multiple programs. BDT's approach, supported by a custom-built rules engine, has facilitated over 800,000 benefit enrollments, helping secure over $9 billion for eligible households across seven states.
This report provides an early 2025 snapshot of state Medicaid and CHIP policies as they return to normal operations post‑pandemic, focusing on eligibility, enrollment, and renewal processes.
This study found that using state-specific names for Medicaid programs increased confusion and reduced both positive and negative opinions about the program.
When people hit the moment in the HealthCare.gov sign-up process where they need in-person help, they’re likely frustrated and at risk of abandoning the process altogether. To help, Ad Hoc designers on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Find Local Help team extensively researched user pain points and used human-centered design to create a tool that respects the stress users may experience and delivers the information they need as quickly and simply as possible.
Article announcing five new projects by the Office of Management and Budget that will improve experiences the public has with the government during significant movements in their lives. These “life experience” projects are at the center of a new model for how the Federal Government should better design and deliver benefits, services, and programs to the American people during the moments in their lives that matter most.
This case study documents how Civilla partnered with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to redesign and modernize online enrollment for the state’s largest benefit programs.
The team developed an application to simplify Medicaid and CHIP applications through LLM APIs while addressing limitations such as hallucinations and outdated information by implementing a selective input process for clean and current data.
This piece highlights promising design patterns for account creation and identity proofing in public benefits applications. The publication also identifies areas where additional evidence, resources, and coordinated federal guidance may help support equitable implementations of authentication and identity proofing, enabling agencies to balance access and security.
