Public Policy & Practice Change

Streamlining Access to Benefits for Millions

We help government leaders test and adopt practical policy and practice solutions that bring more equity and efficiency to accessing benefits. Since 2019, BDT has helped streamline access to benefits for 3 million people through policy and practice changes.

Our policy experts work closely with states across the country to provide technical assistance, build playbooks and guidebooks, and implement system-level changes to streamline access to programs like Medicaid, WIC, and SNAP.

Modernizing Systems Nationwide

We forge relationships with government agencies to advance wide-reaching policy and practice change. Our efforts include:

  1. Helping People Stay Insured

    We’re collaborating with Medicaid agencies in six states to implement policies and practices that will reduce the number of people cycling on and off of Medicaid unnecessarily.

  2. Icon/02 Isometric/Benefits/Childcare

    Increasing Participation in WIC

    We’ve assisted 9 states in increasing access to WIC through data-driven text outreach, with a goal of reaching people eligible for the program but not yet enrolled.

  3. Comprehensive State Reforms

    We are working in two states to accelerate comprehensive change to provide more dignified, equitable, and proactive benefits access.

  4. Simplifying Access to Food Assistance

    We’ve helped states make it easier to enroll and/or retain SNAP — including for seniors, college students, and people with disabilities — and by allowing applications to be submitted over the phone.

This was an opportunity to do things differently to reach families, and not spend hours and hours putting labels on a post card. So, it's been a great opportunity for WIC."

Alicia High

WIC/Health and Human Service Coordinator, Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Public Policy and Practice Highlights

Blog

BDT’s learning collaborative: helping states stabilize Medicaid coverage

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Blog

Helping states and families prepare for the end of the pandemic emergency declaration

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Toolkit

Increasing WIC coverage through cross-program data matching and targeted outreach

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Toolkit

Stabilizing Medicaid coverage: BDT's Medicaid churn toolkit

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Case Study

Using data matching and targeted outreach to enroll families in WIC

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Guidebook

Using text message outreach to reduce SNAP churn

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Issue Brief

Streamlining SNAP for the gig economy

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Guidebook

An advocate’s guide to the Elderly Simplified Application Project

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