Policy & Practice | Fall 2026

s the sun rose over Albuquerque on the morning after New Mexico’s Turquoise Claims module went live in March 2026, By Paula Morgan, Shanita Harrison, Lorrina Rivera, Amiran Gelashvili, and Anil Sharma A

n Before MMISR and the launch of yes.nm.gov , the average time to apply for benefits was 30 minutes. Afterward, the average time fell to less than 19 minutes. n Before MMISR and the launch of yes.nm.gov , the average time to report changes to a household was 10 minutes. Afterward, the average time fell to 5 minutes. But operating and maintaining a home brings a different set of responsibilities than building it. The question now is no longer how to build the system. It is how to steward it—how to operate and evolve a living enterprise while maintaining the trust and stability that individuals and families rely upon. H.R. 1 Provides an Early Stress Test That transition from implementation to main tenance and operations marks a new stage of enterprise maturity. New Mexico’s modular, inte grated, and well-governed foundation has created more than stability. It has created readiness: the ability to respond not only to planned change, but to the unexpected. That readiness has already been tested. H.R. 1 introduced significant policy demands, including Medicaid community engagement veri fication requirements, more frequent eligibility redeterminations, and enhanced program integ rity measures. Those changes span eligibility, data, and workflows and require coordination across the enterprise. Rather than requiring extensive system rework or operational disruption, the state has been able to build upon capabilities already in place, leveraging established integrations, shared enterprise data, and a coordinated operating model, while filling gaps where identified. This reduces disruption risk and supports continuity of coverage and access. New Mexico is developing community engage ment verification capabilities as an extension of the existing ecosystem—effectively adding a new “addition” to Casa Medicaid without altering its foundation. Existing system connections are

there was a quiet sense of arrival. For leaders at the New Mexico Health Care Authority (HCA), years of work had come into view. The final core module of the state’s Medicaid Management Information System Replacement (MMISR) transformation was now in place. But like most things built to last, it was not an ending. New Mexico has transformed its Medicaid ecosystem with intention—one module at a time— shaping what it calls “Casa Medicaid.” More than a system, it is a “smart home”: modular, resilient, and connected within a broader neighborhood of inte grated health and human services, leveraging AI solutions, and automating workflows where appro priate and possible. Enabled in part by the KPMG Resource Integration Suite (KRIS) Connected Platform—an enterprise system integration platform—the state established an architecture designed for interoperability, shared data, and long-term adaptability. By the summer of 2026, after several months of operating Turquoise Claims, leaders found themselves reflecting on something larger than implementation. The significance of the March milestone was never simply about deploying a new claims engine. Rather, it marked the point at which years of modular investments began functioning together as a fully connected core enterprise—with eligibility, a unified portal, data services, financial services, quality assurance, provider services, and claims operations all working in concert. The state had secured the certificate of occu pancy for Casa Medicaid and stepped inside. For New Mexicans, that means fewer fragmented touchpoints and a more seamless experience. At its core, this work is about ensuring New Mexicans can access services reliably, quickly, and with fewer barriers—whether they are applying for coverage, managing benefits, or accessing care. Early indicators have been encouraging:

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