Even though many people in the health care technology field worried that significant barriers to adoption would prevent new technologies from taking hold in the health care ecosystem serving low-income Americans, a quiet yet remarkable transformation has been taking place over the past decade in the safety net. Electronic health records (EHRs), electronic prescribing and patient texting to modify behavior, which were once the domain of early adopters in the commercial sector, are now commonly used in the care of Medicaid beneficiaries and others served by the safety net. More recently, the coronavirus pandemic turbocharged the adoption of approaches like telehealth and remote monitoring among safety-net providers and the patients they serve.

In “Technology Innovation in Medicaid: What to Expect in the Next Decade,” a new white paper published on behalf of the California Health Care Foundation, Manatt Health’s Lisa Suennen, Megan K. Ingraham and Hannah Wagner examine the results of a series of surveys and interviews they conducted with health care stakeholders to learn what leaders in the field have experienced to date and expect over the next decade. Leaders from government, investment funds, health care technology companies, payers and health systems anticipate a host of even more profound changes ahead—from increasingly widespread adoption of virtual care platforms and technologies to targeted tools and services aimed at addressing social determinants of health.

Safety-net health plans and provider organizations—as well as the investors and entrepreneurs who serve them and the governments that shape these markets—must stay abreast of the innovations rippling throughout the field to keep pace with new ways of serving constituents. Those that get ahead of the changes can generate life-changing outcomes for their own patients and members, foster greater health equity, and be in a better position to capitalize on regulatory and reimbursement reforms that unleash broader health technology impact across the health care system.

To access the full white paper, click here.