For state Medicaid agencies, modernization is about more than just replacing aging technology. It is also an opportunity to strengthen program integrity, improve operational performance, reduce administrative burden, and ultimately create a better healthcare experience for the beneficiaries and providers who depend on these programs.
The Wyoming Department of Health’s Medicaid modernization demonstrates what is possible when technology transformation is paired with strong state leadership, disciplined execution, and close collaboration.
Working with Acentra Health, Wyoming transitioned from a Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) originally implemented in 1993 to a configurable, modular Medicaid Enterprise System (MES). Through the Wyoming Integrated Next Generation System (WINGS) initiative, the state became the first Medicaid program in the nation to fully implement a modular system.
The result is a modern technology foundation that helps Wyoming achieve measurable improvements in program integrity and service delivery.
From legacy technology to a modular Medicaid enterprise
Rather than undertaking a single, large-scale system replacement, Wyoming partnered with Acentra Health to pursue a modular, phased implementation strategy. Individual system components could be modernized incrementally while essential Medicaid services continued operating.
Shared governance and a structured implementation approach helped the teams carefully sequence changes, isolate risk within individual modules, and maintain rigorous testing, certification, and oversight. The strategy enabled Wyoming to implement its MES in just 19 months — at the time, the fastest implementation on record in an industry where projects often take two to three years.
The system launched on October 25, 2021, and Wyoming subsequently received Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services certification for its Medicaid Benefit Management System.
That foundation has allowed modernization to continue well beyond implementation.
Turning modernization into program integrity results
In 2025, Wyoming focused its modernization efforts on strengthening Program Integrity operations and improving Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM) performance.
Advanced system edits, structured defect management, and close collaboration between Program Integrity and IT teams supported continuous improvement.
The results are significant.
Wyoming’s Medicaid Fee-for-Service PERM error rate fell from 15.39% in 2022 to 0.43% in 2025, compared with a 2025 national average of 6.12%. The submission also reports a CHIP Fee-for-Service error rate of 0.09%.
Lower error rates have implications far beyond a performance metric. They help protect federal and state Medicaid and CHIP funds, reduce audit risk, strengthen compliance, improve provider engagement, and help preserve critical resources for eligible beneficiaries.
Supporting Medicaid at scale
Wyoming’s modernized system also provides the infrastructure needed to operate Medicaid efficiently at scale.
In 2025, the state processed approximately 2 million claims and $617 million in payments while supporting 22,000 providers. The Benefit Management System and Services supports care for more than 70,000 Medicaid and Kid Care beneficiaries statewide.
A high-performing claims and provider environment can reduce the time agency staff spend managing back-end administrative processes, giving them more capacity to support beneficiaries and providers. Wyoming has also reported progress in provider recruitment and participation, particularly in home health, dental services, and orthodontics — areas that have historically experienced provider shortages.
The transformation was designed around a consistent experience across users and channels as well. Shared design standards, workflows, and data structures support claims processing, provider engagement, and beneficiary services within an integrated system framework, with coordinated service delivery across digital, call center, and in-person channels.
Building for what comes next
A key advantage of modular modernization is that transformation does not end at go-live.
Wyoming has continued enhancing its Medicaid technology while maintaining system stability. The state was also an early adopter of FHIR®-based Medicaid interoperability capabilities, with a production FHIR interoperability solution supporting CMS Patient Access requirements in place by January 2024.
These capabilities provide a foundation for greater data exchange and interoperability. For beneficiaries, that can mean faster and easier access to their health information. For providers, improved access to claims, clinical history, and prior authorization information can support more efficient workflows and more time for beneficiary care.
A model for sustainable Medicaid transformation
Wyoming’s experience shows that Medicaid modernization can deliver value well beyond the implementation of a new system.
A modular technology architecture, paired with collaborative governance and ongoing operational improvement, has given the state a platform that can evolve alongside changing program needs. The partnership between the Wyoming Department of Health and Acentra Health combines technology with fiscal agent business operations, claims processing, provider call center services, technical support, infrastructure, and hosting.
Most importantly, the transformation is producing measurable outcomes: dramatically lower payment error rates, efficient claims processing, stronger program integrity, and a technology foundation designed to keep improving.
For other Medicaid agencies considering modernization, Wyoming offers an important lesson: success is not defined simply by replacing a legacy platform. It is defined by what the modernized program can accomplish afterward.
At Acentra Health, that is the goal of healthcare technology transformation. It’s about helping government partners build high-performing programs that operate more efficiently, adapt to changing requirements, and better serve the people who rely on them.