Software Development · Management Consulting
CoverME.gov (State of Maine)
Standing up Maine's own marketplace, faster than anyone had done it.
The challenge
Maine set out to run its own health insurance marketplace, moving from the federal system to one the state controlled. The timeline was demanding: IdeaCrew had eight months to launch before open enrollment, and more than 60,000 Mainers already enrolled through the federal marketplace needed to transition seamlessly to the new one. No one had ever moved a state off the federal marketplace that quickly.
The approach
Working shoulder-to-shoulder with Maine’s newly formed Office of the Health Insurance Marketplace and a lean client team, IdeaCrew tailored our cloud marketplace to Maine’s needs. In the first 30 days, we mapped every milestone and dependency with state and federal stakeholders. We built a single streamlined application with real-time Medicaid, CHIP, and premium tax credit eligibility, connected to the Federal Data Services Hub for secure verification of citizenship, immigration status, income, and coverage. We set up accounts for all 60,000 existing enrollees ready for auto-renewal, brought four insurers online, added consumer tools powered by Consumers’ CHECKBOOK, stood up a consumer assistance center with live support, and certified 500 brokers and assisters before open enrollment.
The outcome
CoverME.gov launched on time. By January 2022, a record 66,000 Mainers had enrolled, a 10% increase, with all existing enrollees transitioned without losing an account. Maine achieved its vision of a state-run marketplace in record time, and gained a platform to keep connecting more residents to affordable coverage.
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