May 13, 2026 – By Nirav Dalal, Senior Vice President of Sales Leadership With more Medicaid Management Information Systems (MMIS) moving to modular, multi-vendor models, vendor selection is no longer just about technology; it’s about building a network of partners who work together to deliver better outcomes for priority populations. The shift is reshaping Medicaid operations and demands a more strategic, deliberate approach to vendor selection. There is no single path to modularity. The “modularity sequence” varies widely. Some states begin with a single module, such as provider management or claims, while others procure and implement multiple modules concurrently. Each approach brings different levels of complexity, integration risk, and dependency management. Vendor strategies must align not only with technical requirements, but also with where the state is in its modernization journey and the pace at which it plans to expand. They should also reflect the needs of the broader ecosystem, including managed care organizations, beneficiaries, providers, and other connected stakeholder groups and systems to maintain continuity across the enterprise. Here are the top three considerations for State Medicaid Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) to make confident choices and build a high-performing, resilient system: 1. Identify Vendors with Proven Collaboration Skills While technical expertise is crucial, the real value in a multi-vendor ecosystem comes from how well vendors work together to deliver a seamless experience across the enterprise. This is especially important given that states adopt modularity at different speeds, with some introducing vendors incrementally and others onboarding several simultaneously, placing varying demands on coordination and integration from day one. Advanced systems should have no problem being technically integrated, but managing the operational handoffs between vendors and ensuring alignment are the true challenges

Mar 19, 2026 – By Ryan Bosch, MD, FACP, Chief Health & Informatics Officer As state Medicaid agencies adopt modular, specialized systems to meet Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requirements, they gain flexibility but lose a single, unified view of their data. Each module stores and organizes data in its own way, which makes it efficient for generating reports from that specific system, but harder to combine and use data across systems. Meaningful data-to-action insights, especially in population health and value-based care, only emerge when data from multiple modules and external systems is brought together in a shared, structured format. When data is integrated in this way, it enables broader analysis, deeper insights, and more coordinated action. Acentra Health, an AWS Advanced Partner, serves numerous state Medicaid programs, federal agencies, and commercial clients. We address the multi-system data analysis challenge through our Unified Data Platform (UDP) built upon a unique cloud-based data foundation designed to support scalable, cross-domain analytics while preserving operational flexibility. A Unified Operational Data Store Foundation Model Managing a Medicaid program’s performance requires both operational awareness and a longitudinal perspective. Leaders must use data to answer questions like: Is eligibility determination accurate and occurring within required timeframes? Are prior authorizations correct, and are they being managed efficiently? Are claims processing smoothly or encountering delays? Are providers legitimate, and are they being paid accurately, and on time? Acentra Health’s UDP, powered by our own proprietary data model and the AWS secure cloud infrastructure, is designed to help answer these questions, supporting timely reporting, service line benchmarking, and predictive analytics for Medicaid programs. Our Whole Person, Whole Population (WP2) Data Model Acentra Health's UDP goes well beyond legacy data warehouse aggregation. With t