Government & Public Services · Microsoft

State HHS agency accelerates benefits eligibility 70% with a shared data backbone

70% faster eligibility decisions · FedRAMP-aligned reference architecture

ClientUS state Health & Human Services agency, serving 4M residents
Duration15 months
Industry Government & Public Services →

At a glance

Key metrics

70%
faster benefits eligibility determination
4 states
live on a shared reference architecture
FedRAMP
aligned controls

Challenge

The situation

Eligibility determinations for Medicaid, SNAP, and TANF relied on overnight batches from separate legacy systems. Residents waited days. Caseworkers duplicated entry across three portals. Federal auditors flagged data quality as a standing finding.

Approach

How we delivered

  1. 01 Built a shared data backbone on Azure + Fabric with FedRAMP-aligned controls from the start.
  2. 02 Modernized eligibility rules into a versioned, test-covered rule service with Azure OpenAI copilots assisting caseworkers on policy interpretation.
  3. 03 Partnered with 3 other states on a common reference architecture — federal funding match made this a shared multiplier.

Architecture

Solution architecture

Azure Data Lake + Microsoft Fabric as the shared semantic layer. Eligibility rule engine on Azure Functions with policy-as-code in Git. Caseworker copilot on Azure OpenAI, grounded strictly on policy documents and current case context, with every interaction logged for audit. Purview for catalog and lineage; Microsoft Entra for identity.

Architecture diagram placeholder Data flow across source systems, platform, governance, and activation layers.

Outcomes

Measured results

  • 70% reduction in average eligibility decision time.
  • Federal finding on data quality resolved at the subsequent audit cycle.
  • 4 states now share the reference architecture, cutting per-state delivery time in half.

Technology

Tech stack

Platform

  • Microsoft Fabric
  • Azure Data Lake
  • Azure OpenAI
  • Azure Functions

Governance

  • Microsoft Purview
  • Microsoft Entra

Compliance

  • FedRAMP Moderate-aligned controls
  • NIST 800-53

“The quickest way to help a family in crisis is to decide faster. Apptad helped us do that and pass the audit.”

— State HHS CIO

Chasing a similar outcome?

Tell us your target — cycle time, cost, risk, adoption. We'll walk you through what we've delivered closest to it.

Talk to us All case studies