Collaboration enables states to streamline Medicaid outreach, simplify renewals, and verify community engagement through an integrated digital platform.
States across the country are facing growing pressure to improve how they engage with residents, streamline enrollment in public programs, and ensure people remain continuously supported throughout their healthcare and human services journeys. As policy shifts and Medicaid requirements evolve—particularly with new community engagement (CE) rules expected in 2026—governments are urgently seeking integrated digital solutions that simplify processes, reduce administrative burden, and keep eligible individuals covered.
Addressing this need, Unite Us, a leading technology provider specializing in coordinated health and social care networks, and Fortuna Health, a digital platform focused on outreach, enrollment, and renewal for government benefit programs, have announced a strategic partnership. Together, the organizations aim to help states deliver people-centered, modernized engagement and real-time coordination to ensure residents stay informed, enrolled, and supported across health, benefits, and human services systems.
An Integrated Approach to Modern Public Benefit Delivery
The partnership blends the strengths of both companies to create an end-to-end engagement and coordination ecosystem. Fortuna Health brings advanced consumer engagement tools, multilingual outreach capabilities, and simplified Medicaid application and renewal workflows. Unite Us contributes its nationwide referral network, secure coordination infrastructure, and verification platform that tracks and validates CE activities such as employment, education, and volunteer hours.
Through this combined model, states, health plans, providers, and community organizations can access interconnected capabilities that support residents across multiple steps of the benefits lifecycle. These include:
- Engaging and retaining members through simple, multilingual, and user-friendly communication channels.
- Guiding users through applications and renewals using intuitive digital workflows that reduce complexity for both residents and administrative teams.
- Coordinating services within a secure, closed-loop network across community-based organizations, workforce partners, and healthcare providers.
- Verifying community engagement hours with standardized data capture, trusted verification processes, and auditable records for state compliance.
- Scaling efficiently with a modular, MITA-aligned (Medicaid Information Technology Architecture) software-as-a-service (SaaS) approach that integrates seamlessly with existing state eligibility systems.
This integrated architecture allows states to overcome fragmented systems, communication barriers, and operational inefficiencies—challenges that have historically made it difficult for residents to maintain continuous access to essential health and social services.
A Shared Vision for Continuous, Connected Care
According to Taylor Justice, CEO and co-founder of Unite Us, the collaboration is designed to improve continuity of care for millions of residents navigating Medicaid and related programs. “Access to care should be continuous, connected, and efficient,” Justice said. “By pairing Fortuna’s benefits engagement engine with Unite Us’ coordination and verification infrastructure, states can reach people quickly, help them act, and automate proof required to keep eligible residents covered.”
This reflects a broader shift happening nationwide: the movement toward a more holistic, people-first public benefits system. Rather than viewing enrollment or renewal as isolated transactions, both organizations view the process as part of a longer-term, ongoing relationship between states and their residents.
Supporting States Through Policy Change and Operational Complexity
Many states are currently adapting to new federal guidelines, shifting Medicaid eligibility requirements, and preparing for 2026 policy updates that emphasize community engagement. At the same time, they must work to minimize unnecessary coverage losses—especially among vulnerable populations.
However, states often rely on legacy systems and disconnected communication tools that slow down processes, increase administrative costs, and make it difficult for individuals to complete necessary steps. Communication gaps, inconsistent outreach, language barriers, and opaque requirements create additional challenges for residents who may already be navigating complex life circumstances.
Unite Us and Fortuna Health’s partnership directly addresses these systemic gaps. Their combined tools make it easier for states to:
- Deliver clear, consistent communication across languages and channels.
- Provide guided, mobile-friendly enrollment and renewal pathways.
- Proactively remind residents about deadlines and required documentation.
- Connect individuals to community organizations that offer transportation, food assistance, workforce training, childcare, and other supports that may impact eligibility.
- Validate CE activities using reliable, auditable systems that help residents remain compliant with program rules.
By modernizing these processes, states can reduce administrative burden, improve compliance rates, and ensure fewer people lose coverage due to avoidable issues such as missed letters, confusing requests, or procedural missteps.
Demonstrated Success Through Real-World Impact
Both Unite Us and Fortuna Health bring significant experience working with state agencies, health plans, and provider networks across the country. Their solutions are designed to integrate with existing Medicaid systems, avoiding disruption while expanding capabilities.
A powerful example of their combined impact can be seen in North Carolina’s Healthy Opportunities Pilots, the first large-scale initiative in the nation to systematically pay for evidence-based, nonmedical drivers of health through Medicaid.
- Unite Us provides the foundational digital infrastructure for NCCARE360, the state’s referral and coordination network that connects healthcare providers and community organizations.
- Fortuna partners with North Carolina health plans to enhance outreach, enrollment support, and renewal engagement, ensuring residents remain connected to benefits and essential services.
Together, their efforts in North Carolina showcase the transformative potential of combining digital engagement with real-time coordination. The Healthy Opportunities Pilots have demonstrated measurable cost savings, improved resident support, and enhanced continuity of care—illustrating what is possible when engagement and coordination operate as one unified system.
Balancing Compliance and Compassion
As Nikita Singareddy, cofounder and CEO of Fortuna Health, explains, states are striving to balance regulatory compliance with the need to support residents effectively. “States are working hard to balance compliance and compassion, and our partnership makes that balance possible,” Singareddy said. “By helping people renew and stay connected through simple, guided experiences and then seamlessly connecting them to essential services, we can meet beneficiaries where they are and reduce the burden of navigating a rapidly changing environment on their own.”
This philosophy aligns closely with national efforts to reimagine Medicaid as a more responsive, accessible, and equitable system—one that reduces unnecessary administrative loss of coverage and strengthens long-term health outcomes.
Building the Future of Resident Experience and State Infrastructure
By working together, Unite Us and Fortuna Health are constructing a modern infrastructure designed to evolve with changing policy requirements and shifting public needs. Their approach centers on digital accessibility, coordination across sectors, and streamlined compliance mechanisms, creating a resilient system that supports residents throughout every stage of their care experience.
This partnership represents a significant step toward helping states deliver lasting access to care, improved resident satisfaction, and stronger health and human services outcomes. With new policy changes on the horizon, the combined capabilities of both organizations position states to meet challenges proactively while prioritizing the people they serve.
About Unite Us
Founded in 2013 by Military Veterans, Unite Us is the nation’s premier technology provider for integrating health and community-based care. Our advanced product suite is used to proactively coordinate services using data-driven insights, streamline referral and case management, and facilitate eligibility assessments and reimbursements across government, healthcare, health plans, and community organizations. The first of its kind, our closed-loop referral system prioritizes privacy and dignity and has integrated data and analytics tools used to measure impact, optimize programs, and shape policy. With over 1.7M services, we host the nation’s largest network of community-based health and economic services dedicated to improving whole-person health.
About Fortuna Health
Fortuna Health is the leading consumer-first platform for navigating Medicaid and government coverage. Fortuna enables end-to-end navigation across eligibility, enrollment, renewal, and transitions off the program. Fortuna is designed to handle the simplest through most complex cases, with capabilities such as data integration, AI-assisted documentation workflows, personalized outreach, and live navigation support. Fortuna Health is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, BoxGroup, and Y Combinator.
source link: https://www.businesswire.com
