A man with a visual impairment uses a mobile device to select health insurance coverage through a government website. He holds the device with both hands in front of him, his face pointed down, and his eyes closed.

Ensuring a more inclusive digital experience for California’s Medi-Cal members

January 7, 2025

Key takeaways

California has applied stringent digital accessibility requirements to its public websites, well before the announcement of new federal regulations. When the state updated its minimum accessibility guidelines, Maximus ensured the award-winning Medi-Cal Managed Care Health Care Options site remained compliant.

Accessible interactions

When engaging with government services online or through a mobile app, most people hope the experience is fast and seamless. However, for people with visual or auditory disabilities to have that same experience, the digital platforms they interact with must be accessible.

Digital accessibility is no longer only about choosing the right thing to do. New requirements call for state and local governments to ensure their websites and mobile apps are accessible to all people, including those with disabilities.

California applies stringent requirements to the digital accessibility of its public websites. California’s government entities must follow federal regulations requiring the accessibility of electronic and information technology. The director and chief information officer of each agency must post a signed certification that its website complies with specific accessibility standards.

These requirements apply to programs operated by state agencies, like the Medi-Cal Managed Care Health Care Options (HCO) program under the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). As the enrollment broker for HCO, Maximus provides conflict-free information about managed care plan options to approximately 15 million Medi-Cal members so they can make informed choices about their Medicaid benefits.

Medi-Cal Managed Care Health Care Options program website — Potential visitors to the Medi-Cal Managed Care Health Care Options website include the 782,000 Californians aged 21 to 64 who have a visual or hearing disability. Data source: Erickson, W. Lee, C., & von Schrader, S. (2024). 2022 Disability Status Report: California. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Yang Tan Institute on Employment and Disability.

Challenge

Accessibility demands continuous attention. Digital platforms are constantly changing as content is added or updated. As soon as you build an accessible site or remediate an existing one, it’s imperative that you remain proactive. This includes having a plan to ensure the content added to your site or app adheres to accessibility standards. It’s essential to stay on top of evolving regulations. Equally important is having the latest accessibility testing, process, and remediation tools at your fingertips.

When California updated its minimum accessibility guidelines, DHCS turned to Maximus to make sure the HCO website remained compliant. The good news? We already had a maintenance plan in place to get there.

Solution

Our plan included regular ongoing, in-depth accessibility reviews of the HCO website. We then addressed any areas that required remediation, including a process that ensures digital content is tagged correctly (i.e., labeled) and organized for people who use a screen reader or other assistive technology. We analyzed website components and identified areas that impacted the website's accessibility, including color contrast, keyboard focus, and coding validity. We re-tested the site each time we made corrections to ensure the remediation was successful.

But we didn’t stop there. We updated the website templates to ensure new pages would start compliant with the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) standards. We also developed a customized test plan to make sure new content was assessed as it was being added to the site.

The Maximus difference

Following our efforts, DHCS posted the signed website accessibility certification for the HCO website. The site accommodates assistive technologies, provides web content in various formats, and follows accessibility standards. Our process keeps the HCO site digitally inclusive for people with diverse abilities and improves the digital customer experience for all Medi-Cal members who are making important choices about their healthcare coverage.

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