Google Announces Plans to Help Promote Information on Medicaid Redeterminations

At it's annual "Check Up" health care event on March 14, Google announced a series of steps it is taking to help people navigate Medicaid redeterminations, including a feature that will provide specific information for users that are seeking to re-enroll in Medicaid by the end of the month. Google also plans to highlight providers that identify as community health centers offering low cost or free care. 

Google's Chief Health Office Karen DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc, offered additional details on the steps Google is taking to help connect people to coverage in a recent blog post. 

Currently, Google Search makes it easier to find helpful information about commonly asked questions on U.S. benefits programs, like Medicaid and Medicare. We are also helping people find available healthcare appointments and show which different types of insurance providers accept.

Today, we are expanding that work to make sure people can find the right care at the right time. In the U.S., millions of people signed up for Medicaid during the pandemic. At that time, the requirement to re-enroll each year was paused, but that pause is about to expire on March 31. If people fail to re-enroll, they will lose their healthcare coverage. To help support people during this transition, we will make Medicaid re-enrollment information easier to find on Search.

Everyone needs care, whether they have coverage, are uninsured or underinsured. To help in these moments, you will soon be able to see providers that identify as community health centers offering free or low cost care.

We are also employing new techniques to ensure we are connecting people with high quality, up-to-date information. Our conversational AI technology Duplex has called hundreds of thousands of healthcare providers in the U.S. to verify their information on Google Search. And we’ve used Duplex to verify if providers accept certain Medicaid plans in their state.