Medicaid.gov · Government · Accessibility · Advanced Search

Redesigning Medicaid.gov advanced search for accessible, sitewide reuse

In a six-week, part-time engagement, I led research, interaction design, and accessibility for Medicaid.gov’s Advanced Search experience. Working with the product owner, project director, lead developer, and business analysts, I redesigned difficult multi-select filters and dense search results and created interactive desktop and mobile prototypes. After my engagement, the project’s designated user group tested the design; it later became a reusable sitewide pattern, and the keyboard-accessibility issue I identified was corrected in production.

UX research
Interaction design
Accessibility

Medicaid.gov Advanced Search before-and-after overview

6 weeks

Part-time research and design

Sitewide

Advanced Search pattern implemented

Production

Keyboard-accessibility correction

2024

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Honor Award for Customer Service

Project overview

Improving access to public program information

The challenge

This project focused initially on Advanced Search for Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) State Plan Amendments—formal requests submitted by states for program changes. The existing experience made it difficult to select multiple filters, understand which filters were active, and scan results efficiently.

My role

I led research, analysis, interaction design, prototyping, and accessibility. I collaborated with the Medicaid.gov product owner, project director, lead developer, and business analysts.

Research + analysis

Understanding the existing search experience

I reviewed the current interaction and documented usability, accessibility, and information-density barriers before defining a reusable pattern.

Five barriers shaped the redesign

Control-key interaction · multiple choices required an uncommon browser convention
Keyboard barrier · instructions and interaction were insufficient
Hidden selections · active choices could move outside the visible list
Dense results · redundant labels and long actions slowed scanning
Adoption risk · stakeholders needed to evaluate behavior before sitewide reuse

The problem was broader than one control: users needed a clearer relationship between filters, active selections, and results.

Original Medicaid.gov Advanced Search multi-select control — The original pattern relied on a browser convention that was difficult to discover and operate.

Original Medicaid.gov dense search-result card — Redundant labels and long actions slowed comparison and scanning.

Interaction design

Making multiple selections visible and manageable

I replaced the original multi-select list with a dropdown designed around clear instructions and persistent system status.

Original

Control-dependent multi-select list

Required Control + click to make multiple selections
Provided insufficient support for keyboard-only users
Allowed active choices to move outside the visible list

Redesign

Visible, removable selections

Tell users to select all that apply
Display selected states or topics as persistent tokens
Allow individual choices to be removed directly

Redesigned Medicaid.gov Advanced Search multi-select filters — The redesigned selector provides clear instruction, visible status, and direct removal controls.

Results design

Simplifying dense search results

I reduced unnecessary labels and visual noise so people could compare more records without losing substantive policy information.

Redesigned Medicaid.gov Advanced Search result card — The redesign removed redundant labels, converted topics to compact tags, shortened the email action, and preserved expandable result behavior.

1Reusable result pattern

4Hierarchy improvements

Removed redundant labels, converted topics to compact tags, shortened the email action, and preserved expandable result behavior.

Interactive prototype

Designing the complete search workflow

The prototype showed stakeholders how the proposed pattern would behave before it was approved for broader use.

One prototype, eight connected behaviors

Open or close Advanced Search and select multiple filters
Choose date ranges, apply filters, and reset the form
Sort results, change results per page, and move through pages
Expand, collapse, and share individual or complete result sets

Desktop and mobile prototypes established consistent behavior across the complete experience, not just isolated screens.

Medicaid.gov Advanced Search workflow for adding selected states — The prototype made adding and reviewing multiple states explicit.

Medicaid.gov Advanced Search collapsed results state — The prototype connected filtering, selection status, sorting, pagination, and result actions.

Accessibility throughout

Integrating accessibility throughout the design

Accessibility shaped controls, labels, selection states, responsive behavior, and implementation decisions from the beginning.

Keyboard interaction

Keyboard states for the multi-select control — Reduced reliance on an uncommon key combination and documented the remaining production issue

Visible system status

Persistent active-filter tokens — Kept selected filters visible and individually removable

Responsive consistency

Desktop and mobile search controls — Defined understandable behavior across screen sizes without treating mobile as an afterthought

Handoff + implementation

From design handoff to testing and production

The Figma prototype and detailed interaction specifications gave the project team a shared decision tool. After I left the project, the designated user group evaluated Advanced Search; the approved pattern later moved to sitewide implementation.

AlignDefine requirements and technical constraints with the product owner, project director, business analysts, and lead developer
DemonstrateUse desktop and mobile prototypes to make interaction behavior concrete for stakeholders
EvaluateAfter my engagement, the project’s designated user group tested Advanced Search
VerifyI later confirmed the recommended keyboard correction in production

My engagement · Requirements → Interactive prototype → Handoff
After my engagement · User testing → Sitewide implementation → Production accessibility correction

Accessibility delivery timeline separating Stephanie’s engagement from later testing and implementation — The diagram distinguishes the requirements, prototype, and handoff completed during my engagement from testing, sitewide implementation, and production correction completed afterward.

Outcomes

A six-week engagement produced durable, sitewide improvements

After my engagement, the Advanced Search pattern was evaluated with the project’s designated user group and implemented across the live Medicaid.gov website. The keyboard-accessibility concern was corrected in production and personally retested. The broader project also earned recognition and increased investment in UX.

Live Medicaid.gov Advanced Search with selected filters and date controls — The approved design became a reusable sitewide Advanced Search pattern.

Live Medicaid.gov Advanced Search results showing the production interaction pattern — The keyboard concern identified during the audit was corrected and personally retested in production.

Sitewide adoption

After my engagement, the design was tested and became a reusable Advanced Search pattern implemented throughout the live website.

Production accessibility

The keyboard concern was corrected in production and personally retested.

Project recognition

The broader project received a 2024 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Honor Award and contributed to continued investment in UX.

A focused redesign became a sitewide pattern because accessibility, responsive behavior, and implementation intent were designed together.

Reflection · Medicaid.gov

Contact

Need a researcher-designer for a complex public-sector system?

Let’s talk about enterprise modernization, accessible workflows, or responsible AI.

snaggums@gmail.com