Meeting the Moment: Using Data to Drive Medicaid Community Engagement Implementation

Provisions in Public Law 119-21, also known as the Working Families Tax Cut Legislation or One Big Beautiful Bill, are reshaping how states and the federal government administer and oversee Medicaid. One of the most significant shifts for Medicaid policy and operations is the law’s community engagement requirement, which mandates that some adults who apply for or are enrolled in Medicaid must engage in work or qualifying community activities.

Determining whether Medicaid recipients meet the community engagement requirement will be a complex process that involves reconciling data across many systems, programs, and agencies. The implementation of these requirements will largely depend on states’ ability to weave together and glean insights from data sources that are not always well-connected.

This white paper explores how states can use data to drive the implementation of Medicaid’s community engagement requirements. By designing solutions with compliance reporting and monitoring in mind, states can anticipate future needs and set themselves up for success beyond community engagement implementation in January 2027.