Every issue this month will focus on cybersecurity for state and local government.

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and The Fractional Leader is going to spend the whole month featuring cybersecurity content written for the people who lead and run state and local government. Cybersecurity affects the whole community, and local government’s role in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from cyber incidents has never been more critical.

We start next Tuesday with the attacks on municipal water systems this summer and what they mean for cities, counties, and utilities everywhere. From there we will share what we learned running cyber tabletop exercises with a school district and a city, talk through how an agency prepares for, responds to, and recovers from an incident, and close the month with a practical look at how cooperative purchasing can help put a cybersecurity strategy in place.

If there is a question you would like us to take on along the way, simply contact us at [email protected].

Key Takeaways

Maryland is bringing in external civic technology expertise to its Medicaid operations three months before new federal eligibility rules take effect. The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, which administers the state's health insurance marketplace, Maryland Health Connection, announced a partnership with Code for America. It aims to streamline eligibility and enrollment for Medicaid members and the caseworkers who serve them as the state prepares for the requirements under H.R. 1.

Beginning in January, many adults covered through Medicaid expansion will have to document at least 80 hours a month of work, school, volunteering, or other qualifying activities to keep their coverage. States will also have to check eligibility twice a year. Residents will need to submit proof more often, while caseworkers will have to review it.

Maryland Medicaid covers about 1.5 million people, roughly one in five state residents, and supports more than 120,000 providers. About 320,000 members will be affected by the new rules and are at risk of losing coverage. The organization says tight deadlines, unclear federal guidance and outdated technology will make the changes harder to implement.

Under the partnership, Code for America will work with the exchange to upgrade technology and workflows, drawing on expertise from Maryland Medicaid. Two other civic technology non-profits are part of the effort. Civilla will support a redesign of the state's mobile application, and Public Policy Lab will work on the notices members receive so that required actions and deadlines are clear.

The project covers three areas. The first is mapping how caseworkers handle cases and designing tools with them that reduce manual steps. The second is rewriting confusing notices so members understand what they need to do and when. The third is simplifying the application so residents can access benefits more easily and caseworkers spend less time resolving preventable errors.

Rebecca Piazza, executive director of safety net strategy at Code for America, said that people who meet the work requirement could still lose coverage if they miss a notice or do not know they must report their hours. The partners will identify where residents and caseworkers run into problems, develop solutions with Maryland officials, and test them before expanding their use. Piazza said the goal is to prevent backlogs and delays, keep eligible people enrolled, and give caseworkers more time for cases that need their judgment.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that millions of people could lose coverage because of reporting requirements and other administrative barriers. An April report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities warned that federal deadlines may outpace upgrades to state eligibility systems. Without more time and clear guidance, states may have to launch systems before they are fully ready.

Arizona and Minnesota plan to improve existing systems rather than add new tools. Others are expanding automatic renewals that use tax and wage data to confirm eligibility. Code for America has warned that adding new tools to aging systems can create more work for caseworkers and strain the technology.