Unveiling the Human Experience of Medicaid Renewals: Using a Data‐Driven and Human Centered Design Approach to Improve Public Service Delivery

This case study demonstrates how a transdisciplinary, human‐centered approach to research and process improvement can increase efficiency, enrollment, and customer experience across a complex ecosystem of organizations, people, processes, and technologies. In the wake of an executive order to improve customer experience and service delivery, a team at the United States Digital Service (USDS) worked with Centers for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program Services and state program teams to improve Medicaid eligibility and enrollment. USDS used a mixed‐methods research approach that centered lived experience, and mobilized small strike teams to systematically review software and processes. The ROI was substantial: USDS estimates that this work facilitated over 5 million automatic renewals and saved state employees and the public approximately 2 million hours of burden by the end of 2024.